5 myths about sustainable RES development

Myth 1: „Renewable energy sources are unstable and will not produce continuous energy”

Critics say wind and solar power are too variable to ensure a stable power supply. According to the report IEA Renewables 2024 renewables are expected to provide 46% of global power generation by 2030[1.], and battery storage costs have fallen by 93% since 2010[2.]. Hybrid RES-plus-battery installations effectively eliminate the volatility problem. In Poland, according to data from PSE and the Energy Forum, in May 2024, RES reached a record 35.9% share of energy production - with no system disruptions[3.].

Myth 2: „RES are more expensive than coal and gas.”

There is a perception that green energy is a luxury. Data IRENA from the report Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2024 show the opposite: 91% of new RES capacity produced electricity more cheaply than the cheapest fossil alternative[4.] The global LCOE of onshore wind was $0.034/kWh and that of solar PV was $0.043/kWh, which is 53% and 41% below fossil fuels, respectively[5.]. In Poland, the LCOE of new wind farms is already lower than that of new coal-fired units[6.].

Myth 3: „Panel and turbine manufacturing destroys the environment more than it helps.”

Myth suggests that emissions in RES equipment production offset climate benefits. Reported by NREL of 2024 showed that a photovoltaic system returns the energy used to produce it in less than 1.2 years, and then generates clean energy for 29 years[7.] According to IPCC AR6 emissions over the life cycle of photovoltaics are about 20-50 g CO₂eq/kWh versus more than 800 g for coal[8.] In Poland, each new panel replaces a particularly carbon-intensive coal production.

Myth 4: „RES devour too much land and kill birds”.”

According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wind turbines cause about 234,000 bird deaths per year in the U.S., while domestic cats cause 2.4 billion, and collisions with buildings cause 599 million[9.] That's a difference of four orders of magnitude. Solar farms are increasingly being combined with agriculture in the agrivoltaics model. In Poland, offshore wind farms in the Baltic minimize conflict with land use.

Myth 5: „There are not enough raw materials, so RES are unsustainable.”

Report IEA Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2024 and accompanying report Recycling of Critical Minerals indicate that recycling could reduce copper and cobalt mining demand by 40%, and lithium and nickel by 25% by 2050[10.]. Technological advances are also helping - the amount of silver and silicon in cells has fallen by 40-50% in the last decade[11.] Poland can benefit from the development of European battery recycling chains.

Summary

Scientific data leave no doubt: sustainable development of RES is not only possible, but is already the economically and environmentally most favorable energy path. Every year of delay is a real loss. Dispelling myths is the first step to faster decisions.

Footnotes

1. IEA, Renewables 2024: Analysis and Forecast to 2030, Executive Summary, Paris 2024. available: https://www.iea.org/reports/renewables-2024/executive-summary
2. IRENA, Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2024, Abu Dhabi 2025, p. 3 (Executive Summary, Table S1). Available: https://www.irena.org/Publications/2025/Jun/Renewable-Power-Generation-Costs-in-2024
3. Energy Forum, 2024_wrapped: summary of the electric power industry in 2024, Warsaw, January 2025. available: https://www.forum-energii.eu/2024_wrapped
4. IRENA, Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2024, op. cit. pp. 2-4 (Executive Summary). 91% new RES capacity cheaper than fossil fuels.
5. Ibid, p. 3 (Table S1): LCOE of onshore wind $0.034/kWh, solar PV $0.043/kWh; 53% and 41% below the cost of fossil fuels, respectively.
6. Energy Forum, 2024_wrapped, op. cit. Comparative LCOE data for Poland based on ARE and PSE.
7. B. Smith, A. Sekar, H. Mirletz, G. Heath, R. Margolis, An Updated Life Cycle Assessment of Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Systems Installed in the United States, NREL Technical Report NREL/TP-6A20-87372, Golden 2024, pp. iv-v. EPBT: 0.5-1.2 years. Available: https://docs.nrel.gov/docs/fy24osti/87372.pdf 
8. IPCC, Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change, Working Group III, Chapter 6: Energy Systems, Cambridge 2022, Figure 6.18 and Annex III. Median PV emissions: about 26-48 g CO₂eq/kWh; coal: about 820 g CO₂eq/kWh. Available: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/chapter/chapter-6/
9. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Threats to Birds, 2024. Wind turbines: about 234,000/year; cats: 2.4 billion/year; buildings: 599 million/year. Available: https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/threats-birds. Original data: S.R. Loss, T. Will, P.P. Marra, The Impact of Free-Ranging Domestic Cats on Wildlife of the United States, Nature Communications 4:1396, 2013.
10. IEA, Recycling of Critical Minerals, Executive Summary, Paris 2024. In the APS scenario, recycling reduces the need for new mines by 40% (Cu, Co) and 25% (Li, Ni) by 2050 available: https://www.iea.org/reports/recycling-of-critical-minerals/executive-summary
11. IEA, The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions, Executive Summary, Paris 2023. Reducing silver and silicon consumption in PV cells by 40-50% in the decade 2013-2023. Available: https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions/executive-summary