Philip,

Are the construction costs of wind towers (concrete, steel, rare earths, etc.) or solar panels ever factored in, over their working lives of ten-twelve years ?

Yes, I know like everybody else does, that fairies make wind towers at night, using no energy at all, and certainly not coal-fired power in China. But (this will show my complete ignorance) what about the costs of transport and setting-up of wind towers and solar panels ? As you say, maintenance - perhaps maintenance workers go out to maintain and fix wind towers on fairy-power as well.

We may come to envy Scotland for their more-or-less, 83 %, steady supply of electricity.

So when is nuclear energy going to be seriously considered, like in France and Finland ?

Joe

Meanwhile, there is jubilation in Western Australia as new iron ore mines are opened.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/rio-tinto-plans-to-start-mining-at-huge-iron-ore-site-in-pilbara-20180618-p4zm79.html

Do they smelt iron ore with renewable energy?

Is most of the world's steel produced with renewables?

Joe (Loudmouth),
It's the anti renewables crowd who are off with the fairies.
There were certainly studies into the environmental costs of wind tower/turbine construction a few years ago, but the results so strongly favoured the wind turbines that I don't know if they still bother.

BTW they don't always use rare earths. And the can be expected to work a lot longer than ten to twelve years (as can solar panels).

Nuclear power would have been a sensible solution for Australia twenty years ago. Now it's too late - renewables can do the job cheaper, even when the cost of storage is factored in. But nuclear power still has a great future in smaller, less sunny and less windy countries.

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Philip S,
The planned cable linking Scotland and Norway will do a lot to fix the problem - when they actually get round to building it.

Like Australia, they're slow in doing what need to be done.

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Is Mise,
>Do they smelt iron ore with renewable energy?
Not yet. But renewables play a big part in Sanjeev Gupta's plans for Whyalla.

>Is most of the world's steel produced with renewables?
No. AFAIK Brazil is so far the only country to produce significant amounts of steel with renewables.

We're going to have to wait a few years for the cost to come down and the technology to be developed, but I expect most of the world's steel will be produced with renewables by 2040.

Dear Philip S,

The good ol boys at the Institute of Engineering and Shipbuilding in Scotland have been banging that drum for ages always with 'civil unrest' at front and center of their scaremongering.

People whinge about 'global warming alarmists' but this lot put them well and truly to shame.

Got anything more even handed for us?

Hi Aidan,

Perhaps one day, wind towers and solar panels will be profitably produced using renewable energy, and no subsidies. But probably only in very-low-wage economies. One day.

Joe

Whilst we are talking of wind farms, one thing has me puzzled; the
"Sapphire Wind Farm is located in the New England region of northern NSW. The site is 28km east of Inverell and 18km west of Glen Innes to the north of the Gwydir Highway in the Kings Plains area. It has two neighbouring wind farms, White Rock and Glen Innes, which are located to the south of the highway."
http://www.sapphirewindfarm.com.au/project/

Now the Saphire has bright red lights atop its towers but the farms to the South of the highway do not and I've wondered why; is it just some form of bizarre advertizing or is there another explanation?