How do solar and wind change the electric grid?
Power grids don’t just move electricity around – they are complex works of engineering
Latest in
Insights
-
-
A large solar plant in California is closing – what does it mean for solar power?
The Ivanpah solar plant uses solar concentration power, very different from the technology used in most solar farms today.
-
What caused Iberia’s blackout? Renewable energy’s opponents were quick to blame solar and wind, but multiple factors appear to be at play
We still do not have official information on what caused the blackout, but we can say that blaming solar or wind is likely overly simplistic and misleading.
-
Do renewables increase the price of electricity? Not necessarily
Adding more solar and wind can increase the price that homes pay for electricity. But energy type is only one piece of the puzzle, and simply because a grid has more solar or wind does not mean it is more expensive.
-
Natural gas may be cleaner than coal, but it isn’t cleaner than nuclear or renewable energy
More than one-fifth of the world’s energy is drawn from natural gas. That part varies around the world: as low…
-
Training and using ChatGPT uses a lot of energy, but exact numbers are tricky to pin down without data from OpenAI
As the capabilities and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) continue to grow, so are its energy impacts. Training and ongoing use of AI models requires significant energy due to their use of data centers – one of the most energy-intensive building types.
-
Will solar panels overrun farmland? The two are more likely to coexist
Even if solar capacity continues to grow at unprecedented rates in the next several years, data suggests that the land used for solar panels will account for a small portion of the land used for agriculture.
-
Offshore wind turbines aren’t louder than high winds or passing ships, no evidence they harm whales
Offshore wind developers have faced fierce backlash from politicians and anti-wind campaigners, funded by or linked to the fossil fuel industry. Offshore wind turbines aren’t quiet, but it’s misleading to label their noise as a danger to whales while ignoring other noise sources.
-
Wind turbines and solar panels are lower-emissions than fossil fuels overall
Scientific evidence leaves no doubt that solar panels and wind turbines are far less emissions-intensive than their fossil fuel counterparts. Even the highest-end estimates for emissions from solar panels and wind turbines are lower than the lowest-end estimates of emissions from fossil fuel power plants like coal and gas.
-
Environmental impacts of the fossil fuel industry outweigh those of EV metal mining, experts say
Nearly one in five new vehicles sold around the world in 2023 was an electric vehicle (EV), up from around…