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Renewable Energy Reality Talking Points [1]

['Bring The Lions', 'Meteor Blades', 'Greg Dworkin']

Date: 2026-08-17  

Renewables

are cheaper than the alternatives

have provided the majority of annual installed capacity since 2012

been the fastest growing job sector for the last decade

generate over 30% of total worldwide energy &

employ around 500,000 today

Coal is 38,300

Fossil fuels around 2,600,000

PS: Solar IS Civil Defense https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0mjqjgZ64E

renewables are cheaper than alternatives

Onshore wind averages $33–$34/MWh

utility-scale solar PV averages around $43–$44/MWh globally

New-build combined-cycle natural gas $51 – $129/MWh

Coal $68 – $166/MWh

Nuclear – $141 – $221/MWh

have provided the majority of annual installed capacity every year since 2012

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211467X19300082#bib10

The share of renewables in total capacity expansion in 2025 was 85.7%, down from 92.7% in 2024

https://www.irena.org/News/pressreleases/2026/Jul/Renewable-Power-Generation-Records-Its-Fastest-Growth-Ever

renewables now make up 31.7% of total worldwide generation

https://www.irena.org/News/pressreleases/2026/Jul/Renewable-Power-Generation-Records-Its-Fastest-Growth-Ever

over 500,000 Americans are directly employed in renewable energy generation

https://irecusa.org/census-solar-job-trends/

approximately 38,300 people directly employed in the U.S. coal mining industry

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CES1021210001

Approximately 2,590,700 in all of fossil fuels

has been the fastest growing job sector for the last decade

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/fastest-growing.htm

The Bureau of Labor Statistics first found wind technician and solar installer as the number one and number two fastest-growing jobs nationwide in their multi-year employment projections in 2016-2018. “They remain the top-projected fastest-growing jobs. Current federal projections estimate growth rates of nearly 50% for wind techs and over 42% for solar installers over the ongoing decade-long evaluation windows.”

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/8/17/800085767/community/renewable-energy-reality-talking-points/

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