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| - Fact Check: Do wind turbines consume more energy and resources than they produce?
Highlighting the energy, resources, and CO2 emissions involved in manufacturing wind turbines, a social media post questions their environmental impact despite their role in achieving Net Zero by 2050
Claim :Energy, resources, and CO2 emissions involved in manufacturing wind turbines are significant
Fact :While wind turbine manufacturing has an initial environmental footprint, a wind turbine typically offsets this footprint in less than six months of operation
Soon after assuming office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order which temporarily prevents offshore wind energy lease sales in federal waters while it also pauses approvals, permits and loans for both offshore and onshore wind.
Trump has said wind projects are “the most expensive form of energy that you can have, by far” while Lazard, the world's leading financial advisory and asset management firm, recently claimed that wind energy is the cheapest source of new electricity in the United States. Because, it is a widely available, affordable, and reliable electric generation method for significantly reducing air pollution.
However, the critics claim that the wind energy is very expensive and the government’s subsidies for wind turbines are a waste of taxpayer money. To substantiate their claim, a user on X (Wide Awake Media) has shared a video showing the installation of a wind turbine while claiming that. “staggering quantity of energy and resources (and thus CO2 emissions) required to erect a single wind turbine.”
The X user further claims that “currently an estimated 500,000 wind turbines are operating worldwide” and it is “expected to grow exponentially by 2030” as the countries are trying to achieve Net Zero by 2050.
The viral claim ink here and the archive link here.
Here’s the screenshot of the viral claim.
Fact Check:
During the investigation, the Telugupost Fact Check team found the claim pertaining to the installation of a wind turbine is misleading as it is not taking the overall environmental impact of wind energy into account.
In order to debunk this claim, we need to look at various factors that explain why wind energy is a better option as it produces zero pollution while the fossil-fuel sources of electricity - natural gas and coal - fare poorly compared to it.
Environmental impact of manufacturing:
While wind turbine manufacturing has an initial environmental footprint, a wind turbine typically offsets this footprint in less than six months of operationEfficient use of resources:
Owing to the advancements in technology, the construction of wind turbines has become more resource-efficient. The manufacturing process has minimized the material while increasing its output. Technological advancements in the preparation of longer blades and larger towers have made it possible to generate more electricity from the same amount of wind.
By the end of this decade (2030), wind is expected to become the second largest source of global renewable electricity generation behind solar PV, surpassing generation from hydropower.
Greenhouse gases emissions factor:
While it is true that wind turbines do produce greenhouse gases during their manufacturing, transportation, installation, and decommissioning phases, the “life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from renewable sources such as solar, wind, and nuclear technologies are considerably lower and less variable than emissions from technologies powered by combustion-based natural gas and coal,” says the NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory).
Wind energy produces around 11 grams of CO2 per kilowatt-hour generated, which is nearly 90 times less than coal and over 40 times less than natural gas.
Recycling and sustainability:
The blades of wind turbines are made from fiberglass or carbon fiber and the manufacturing process also requires rare earth materials. Therefore, the wind turbine blades are challenging to recycle due to composite materials, However, the industry is actively working on solutions.
The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) says that the wind industry is committed to improving sustainability, including reducing the use of rare earth metals and increasing recyclability.
Benefits of wind energy:
According to an Oxford University study, the world could save as much as 12 trillion US dollars by switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The report further said that it was wrong to claim that adoption of cleaner energy sources was expensive.
The claim that wind turbines require a "staggering quantity of energy and resources is misleading. The scientific evidence quoted above from reputable sources indicated that wind energy is a critical tool in the global effort to combat climate change.
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