Electroverse@Electroversenet
Wind and solar look cheap on paper, but only because their true costs are hidden.
Power grids must balance supply and demand every second. Wind and solar cannot do that. Their output follows the weather, which is variable.
So every megawatt of wind or solar requires a matching megawatt of reliable backup. A 100 MW wind farm does not replace a 100 MW gas plant. The gas plant still has to be built, staffed, fueled and kept ready at all times.
Consumers are effectively paying for two systems, but only one is accounted for.
Think of it like hiring a worker who only shows up 30% of the time. The hourly wage looks cheap, but you still need a fully trained backup worker available 24-7 to fill in for the other 70%. That backup is required and still costs money even when sitting idle. But the extra cost is ignored.
This accounting trick explains why renewables look inexpensive in charts, while electricity prices soar in grids that rely heavily on them.
Globally, the renewable failure is clear.
In 2024, solar supplied just 1.4% of global primary energy. Wind supplied about 1.5%. Fossil fuels still provided around 87%. This is not a global energy transition. It is a costly experiment played by a handful of Western economies.