Publisher's Synopsis
The "energy transition" is accompanied by the slogan "Wind and sun don't send a bill". Fine - the coal seam and the oil well don't send a bill either. The bill is sent by the various devices used to convert the energy, which is initially either extracted as chemically bound energy carriers or converted from flow or radiation energy to, for example, electrical energy. Since energy is not "renewed" but can only ever be converted from one form to another, this is precisely what the costs - and losses - are for. So how high are these costs for the production of the PV and wind power plants? How can we make a usable constant power supply out of their extremely unsteady electricity? What are the costs of the necessary storage facilities, what resources have to be dug up all over the world for this purpose, what are the costs and are the world reserves of the required rare and expensive elements sufficient at all for this purpose? How much does it cost to extract, process and transport them, and what pollutants are emitted in the process? What damage will occur at the installation site for people, animals and plants? Will the weather and local climate be affected? Is it worthwhile to import the "green electricity"? So what is the bottom line of the CO2 and actual pollutant balance of energy production by "renewables", what price per kWh has to be calculated - undistorted by subsidies and certificates? How many wind turbines and how many km² of PV modules, how many additional batteries or electrolysis plants have to be installed in the country in the end, in order to convert e.g. the complete electric power supply? The answer to these questions is sobering to shocking and will hopefully inspire some to rethink - at least those who mean well with this planet.
