Abstract
A revised version of the “End Green Delusions” essay (Verso, 2018), this chapter argues that there is no such thing as renewable energy, only fossil fuel+. Raw material resource extraction for so-called renewable energy development relates to spreading socio-ecological degradation. Recognizing the supply chain costs for “renewable energy” as well as the socio-ecological impact of implementing wind parks, the chapter contends that fossil fuel+ is a more accurate description of “renewable energy”. Furthermore, it contends that fossil fuel+ infrastructures are breaking ecological and planetary cycles by harnessing the vitality of “renewable resources”. This means widening the lens of renewable energy’s “social acceptance” research to understand the socio-ecological chain of costs for fossil fuel+ development.
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Notes
- 1.
Malm’s (2016) advocacy for “renewable energy” at the end of his book exemplifies this false dichotomy—demonstrating a common, but also normalized cognitive dissonance concerning (highly toxic) extractive, manufacturing and labour regimes necessary for fossil fuel+ systems.
- 2.
See Power & People. (2012) Peru: Undermining Justice. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2012/05/20125311829466420.html
- 3.
There is a rise of “green” smelters, using hydropower (see Hobson, 2017). This requires further investigation (look for Susanne Norman’s forthcoming work).
- 4.
This refers to the process of adding or splicing rare earth minerals into steel to avoid rusting as well as enhance durability and other infrastructural functions.
- 5.
Personal communication with Judith Pigneur.
- 6.
“The Military is Going Green” with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Available at: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/years-of-living-dangerously/videos/the-militarys-going-green/
- 7.
The renewable energy-extraction nexus was written in 2017 for a book chapter in the Anarchist Political Ecology Volume, which has experienced severe publication delays.
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Dunlap, A. (2021). Does Renewable Energy Exist? Fossil Fuel+ Technologies and the Search for Renewable Energy. In: Batel, S., Rudolph, D. (eds) A critical approach to the social acceptance of renewable energy infrastructures. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73699-6_5
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