I have followed developments and advocated for clean energy progress for decades now. You might recall from past blog entries, I am most in support of roof-top solar and nuclear fission and fusion.

One thing I have noticed is that the headlines do not always match reality. Even when a new research result can be replicated and devices can be manufactured, it does not always mean it will become widespread or commercially viable. There are untold numbers of obstacles in getting new clean energy products and systems to market. One interesting obstacle that crops up is monopoly action in the market. Sometimes legacy products cannot be displaced even though the new products is much better.

The most common problem is affordability. New clean energy technology is often expensive and it takes a while, sometimes years, to reach economies of scale that help to bring the costs down. A different problem right now is the monetary and political environment, creating high prices in everything.

You would not know it from the headlines, but current clean energy is not economically feasible. I covered some of the reasons why in this past blog post. And this one. Also, surprising reasons why it is so expensive. Now with the rising cost of fossil fuels, everything, including solar panels and wind turbines will soar in cost. Almost every link in the renewable energy supply chain is affected by rising fossil fuel costs. There are hardly any solar panel or wind turbine factories that are powered exclusively by renewable energy. Add in the fact that materials needed for manufacturing the renewable energy products are becoming in short supply, and there are real problems developing. Here are a few recent headlines:

Beware 100% clean energy (with current technology). The negative environmental cost of mining and land usage will be substantial.

Batteries needed for current renewables are already in short supply and it might get much worse in the short-term, leading to surging prices.

Tesla raised the price of its battery packs months ago and more price hikes are probably coming.

Some people expect major disruptions in the economy if we don't slow down the transition to clean energy.

Detailed, rational, and comprehensive economic analysis indicates current renewable energy is many times more expensive than traditional fossil fuels.

There are a lot of challenges in the short-term due to the high price and lack of fossil fuels, in addition to out-of-control inflation. Renewables are not economically feasible for full-scale replacement of current energy infrastructure, but there is still hope n the long term. As I mention often, there are thousands of incremental improvements happening every day. Here is just one I saw recently came across: A new way to recycle hydrogen , making it easier to be used as a clean fuel.

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