Every Wind Turbine and Solar Panel Built Today Will Be Scrap Metal by 2050 - American Experiment

Every Wind Turbine and Solar Panel Built Today Will Be Scrap Metal by 2050 - American Experiment

"Here today, scrap metal by 2050. 

That’s the rough life of wind turbines and solar panels, which only have useful lifetimes of 20 and 30 years, respectively, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Energy Sage.

The short useful lifetimes of wind turbines and solar panels are one of the least talked about, but most important, aspects of energy policy. 

This fact becomes even more important if we are to believe liberal politicians that claim we need to spend billions of dollars on these energy sources because climate change is an “existential crisis.”

These short lifetimes have profound implications on the cost of using wind and solar. 

This is particularly bad news because Xcel Energy plans to squander $7.5 billion building 3,000-4,000 MW of solar (based on today’s costs for solar) and spend $2 billion maintaining wind turbines through 2034, even though these assets will still depend on natural gas backup when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining.
That’s a lot of money to spend on part-time energy sources that do not last as long as coal, natural gas, or nuclear plants, which can run for 40 to 80 years..."

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