- embedded CO2 in renewable gen is very low compared to fossil fuels
- lithium is abundant and cobalt/nickel are not needed in most battery applications (and lithium may be replaced in the future, too)
- waste from solar is trivial compared to things like municipal waste, coal ash. I think wind is similar, but I’m less sure - either way, recycling is improving
- (in the US, at least) we have plenty of land for renewables, especially compared to things like corn crops used for transportation ethanol (a silly thing in my opinion) and pasture used for beef cattle (something there will likely be a lot less of in the future)
Anything you find while looking into the numbers that disagrees with the above points is possibly outdated or just wrong.
But a few things to note:
- embedded CO2 in renewable gen is very low compared to fossil fuels
- lithium is abundant and cobalt/nickel are not needed in most battery applications (and lithium may be replaced in the future, too)
- waste from solar is trivial compared to things like municipal waste, coal ash. I think wind is similar, but I’m less sure - either way, recycling is improving
- (in the US, at least) we have plenty of land for renewables, especially compared to things like corn crops used for transportation ethanol (a silly thing in my opinion) and pasture used for beef cattle (something there will likely be a lot less of in the future)
Anything you find while looking into the numbers that disagrees with the above points is possibly outdated or just wrong.