Extreme Global Heating COULD Affect So Called "Renewable Energy" Availability? You don't say?

[NNadir]

As a general impression, I would say that in the primary scientific literature discussing so called "renewable energy" there is a creeping awareness that, um, gee whiz, that what is generally called "clean energy" (in which, for the first time in decades, now includes nuclear energy in the rhetoric) might have some, um, gee - could it be? - some serious environmental problems, the main one being land use, but the massive requirement for mining the shit out of the planet is also being noted. (In the latter case, even the shit-for-brains antinuke Benjamin Sovacool has noticed, but don't worry, be happy, Benny says we can rip the shit out of the sea floor to be "green." )

Of course, so called "renewable energy" at a cost of trillions of dollars since 2015 , hasn't done a damned thing to address the extreme global heating under which we all now live, on a smoking planet. The heating is accelerating.

I will discuss in this post, this paper which gives references on how these magical "solutions" will fare under the extreme temperatures observed: Photovoltaic Power Station Impacts on the Benthic Ecosystem and Sediment Carbon Storage in Tidal Flats in China Lingxiang Jin, Peisong Yu, Chenggang Liu, Qiang Liu, Qinghe Liu, Rongliang Zhang, Yanbin Tang, Lu Shou, Jiangning Zeng, Quanzhen Chen, and Yibo Liao Environmental Science & Technology 2024 58 (47), 20954-20967

The paper covers the point that if we run out of wilderness and other land to industrialize for so called "renewable energy," we can just cover up all of our tidal flats with industrial solar plants. Happy! Happy! Happy!

The paper is open for public reading, I'll just excerpt the soothsaying part about how extreme global heating might affect so called "renewable energy" um, "resources."

To sustain human production and livelihoods, maintaining the stability of the earth’s climate system is fundamental. Therefore, urgent action is required to control the increases in global temperatures to reduce the risk of triggering climate tipping points as the climate changes. (1,2) Global energy-related CO2 emissions reached a new high of over 36.8 Gt in 2022, (3) so the decarbonization of the energy sector becomes particularly crucial. (4) Renewable energy serves as an effective measure to address climate change and mitigate associated challenges in that it produces significantly less greenhouse gas emissions than nonrenewable energy. (5) Nevertheless, climate change is simultaneously threatening the renewable energy potential. Almost all forms of renewable energy production are threatened by the effects of climate change. (6) For instance, under climate change, global wind energy resources are expected to decline, (7) and forecasts for a specific dam indicate a reduction in hydropower generation of 15%. (8) Under the worst climate change scenario, during the period of 2041–2100, the Earth is projected to experience a widespread decline in photovoltaic potential. (9) Therefore, despite the unprecedented growth of renewable energy, the necessity for the accelerated development of renewable energy persists under climate change conditions to achieve decarbonization goals and address climate-related concerns. (10,11)

Solar energy constitutes one of the most dynamic sectors within the renewable energy field, with photovoltaic power representing its primary application. (10) China is extensively and actively expanding photovoltaic power, with an installed capacity of 414 GW as of 2022, accounting for approximately 35% of the capacity worldwide. (12) At the same, a shift from the land-rich west of China toward the east, where energy demand and markets are well developed, is occurring. (13) There is still a need to deploy photovoltaic power stations (PVPSs) to achieve carbon neutrality in China and mitigate global climate change. (14) However, PVPSs may compete with other land-use types due to high land-use intensity. (13,15,16) Therefore, coastal tidal flats have been recognized as promising sites for PVPS installations, (17) because (1) coastal tidal flats cover an area of 12,049 km2 (18) and represent an abundant land resource, (2) the heat exchange induced by the tides helps to mitigate the adverse impact of temperature increases on the power generation efficiency, (19,20) and (3) can be operated without disrupting existing agricultural functions. (21)

In light of the fact that coastal tidal flat ecosystems face a range of threats worldwide, (22,23) it is especially relevant to understand how PVPSs on coastal tidal flats might impact threatened coastal tidal flat ecosystems, particularly on macrobenthic communities and sediment carbon storage. Macrobenthos, the primary biological group in benthic ecosystems in tidal flats, connect different trophic levels through feeding on lower trophic level organisms and detritus, and being consumed by higher trophic level organisms such as fish and birds. (24−27) Thus, they are critical components in the energy flow and nutrient cycling in tidal flat ecosystems...

The statement that "Renewable energy serves as an effective measure to address climate change and mitigate associated challenges in that it produces significantly less greenhouse gas emissions than nonrenewable energy," is pure nonsense. There is zero evidence that it is "effective." The more money that's thrown at it, the faster the atmosphere degrades. That's a fact. With a little effort one could look it up and find it out.

And since so called "renewable energy" hasn't done a damned thing to address extreme global heating, isn't doing a damned thing and won't do a damned thing, we have to consider the effects of the extreme global heating on what it will do.

Really, we could lose 15% of hydropower potential? You don't say?

Really, global wind availability is subject to decline with extreme global heating? You don't say?

Under the worst scenarios, the one most likely to be observed, global solar could decline? You don't say?

There's lots of talk, as one can see, about capacity, very little about reliability. This standard misinformation is part of the reason that the "renewable energy will save us faith" is allowed to have become an article of quasi-religious faith, the confusion of the unit of (peak) Watts (peak power) with Joules (Energy).

Reference 7: A. Martinez, G. Iglesias, Global wind energy resources decline under climate change, Energy, Volume 288, 2024, 129765,

Reference 8: Halah Kadhim Tayyeh, Ruqayah Mohammed, Vulnerability and resilience of hydropower generation under climate change scenarios: Haditha dam reservoir case study, Applied Energy, Volume 366, 2024, 123308

Reference 9: Riya Dutta, Kironmala Chanda, Rajib Maity, Future of solar energy potential in a changing climate across the world: A CMIP6 multi-model ensemble analysis, Renewable Energy, Volume 188, 2022, Pages 819-829.

I have downloaded these three references, but will probably not find all that much time to read them. There isn't much point, is there? I'm already quite aware that the reactionary impulse to make energy supplies dependent on the weather isn't addressing extreme global heating and aware as well, that we wouldn't get that stark reality through our thick skulls.

I now return everyone to carrying on insipidly about how Three Mile Island was the end of the world.

Enjoy the upcoming last Thanksgiving before the demise of the US Constitution.

[keithbvadu2]

1. I saw some article that said in a quarter million years, mankind will be gone. Earth's climate will be so severe.

We're just impatient.