Mike Prior-Jones
I’ve seen a few people posting stuff saying that renewable energy systems (solar, battery, wind) aren’t sustainable because they still need mining and processing to make them in the first place. This is disingenuous and seems like green purity-spiral stuff (and I have unfollowed one person posting it).
Apr 4 at 11:58amWeb
Show threadMike Prior-Jones1d ago

Embedded carbon is a thing, but the amount of energy used to make a wind turbine is dwarfed by the amount it produces, and at present the alternative is either burning fossil fuels or nuclear.

Please: the low-carbon energy revolution is here - don’t say it’s not good enough because it involves a bit of steel and concrete!

Show threadMike Prior-Jones1d ago
Solar panels are as close to being “sustainable” as is reasonably practicable: the frames are made from aluminium (which is made with electricity), the rest is glass, silicon and copper, all of which are potentially produceable without fossil fuels.
Show threadMike Prior-Jones1d ago
Steel and concrete are both more of an issue (steel is made using coal as an ingredient, but can potentially be made with hydrogen instead) and cement requires lots of energy and emits a lot of CO2 during manufacturing.
Show threadLarry Garfield1d ago
@drmikepj Though there is active development on both green concrete and green steel.
Show threadwoollypigs1d ago
@drmikepj I heard one podcast talking about recycling the solar panels and lithium batteries. One reason why there aren't big infrastructure to do so now is that these things have a life span of 20+ years. So not enough old stuff laying around to be recycled yet to make it a business.
Show threadMike Prior-Jones1d ago

@woollypigs even better - turns out they last a lot longer than forecast, so many of the 30-year-old panels that are out there are still doing sterling service and don't need replacing! So yes, at some point they'll be recycled, but they don't need to be yet.

https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/30-year-old-solar-panels-still-going-strong/4022052.article

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/el/d4el00040d

30-year-old solar panels still going strong

Reliabilities of modules manufactured in the late 1980s and early 1990s provide design lessons for modern photovoltaics

Chemistry World
Show threadwoollypigs1d ago
@drmikepj yes even better.
Show threadAlister Bulman1d ago

@drmikepj Yep, Solar and wind is totally unsustainable - like a toaster.

You made some toast, and now you have to buy a whole new toaster because you destroyed the old toaster by making breakfast yesterday.

Show threadMissingtale1d ago
@drmikepj it's sad that people are so addicted to inhaling dinosaurs. And mostly renewable are mainly recyclable unlike the alternative. To quote Robert Llewellyn. Show me litre of recycled diesel...