Discovery Channel has a rather curious show called Myth Busters. The show evaluates various myths — from MacGyver tricks to the Apollo 11 Moon landing — by staging them in a controlled setting. You may wonder why this may be relevant to renewable energy. The truth is, this entertainment show has more things in common with renewable energy than you think. The main goal of the show is to “bust” myths by proving them wrong. The same strategy can and should be used to increase popularity and public support of renewable energy initiatives.
As Discovery Channel does in its show, renewable energy companies should work together to “bust” negative myths about the industry. Of course, the most common criticism of almost any form of renewable energy is the intermittency of its resources. Remarkably, the public usually seems to have few objections to the potential lack of continuous availability of solar or wind power. They appear to be more concerned with the technical and ecological issues that may arise when producing clean energy. Below are some of the most common misconceptions about the renewable energy industry that cause unnecessary tension and disapproval in the public eye.
Myth: Hydropower is not carbon-neutral
Some critics of hydropower claim that this source of energy is not, in fact, carbon-neutral. They claim that some hydropower dams create more greenhouse gases than a fossil fuel plant of the same size. If soil and vegetation are trapped in turbines, spillways and surfaces of a dam, they will decay and emit methane and carbon dioxide. In addition, they argue that to build a dam, nearby forests that absorb CO2 from the atmosphere are destroyed, thus further damaging the environment.
Bust: Methane emissions can be controlled
A proper public relations campaign should be implemented to clarify how and why methane is emitted as a result of hydropower production. The industry must make sure the public understands that while such emission is natural, it can be controlled and eliminated. With proper technology dams can be built to be ‘clean’, emitting very little or no methane at all. In addition, it is crucial to educate the public in hydropower facts; that it is a clean alternative to coal and has the potential to fully replace fossil fuel energy.