Alternative energy production methods have been criticized in the past by supporters of fossil fuel production methods. While nobody argues that something that doesn’t pollute is better than something that pollutes, this is not the crux of the support for follis fuels. Instead, this support comes in terms of viability to be able to produce enough electricity to handle consumer demands, and the costs that must be covered in order to produce electricity in this way. The argument is economic, and essentially it hinges on the fact that people would like to pay less for something, even if there is a certain amount of damage that comes with it. When something costs a lot and does not do the same amount of damage as something that costs less, people begin to formulate opinions on acceptable levels of damage in order to justify paying less. The entire debate would end if the cleaner method also cost less, and it appears that data is now showing that this situation is upon us. Research is now showing that green energy technology has evolved to the point that it can produce enough energy to satisfy the needs of large communities without the need for backups, and that the costs that consumers will need to pay are lower. But how was this achieved?

There is no cost associated with purchasing the fuel sources in green technology, as the sun and wind are free. Oil and coal, wood and any other fossil fuel will have a cost associated with its purchase, no matter how low that cost is. The ultimate goal of turning turbines to produce electricity is the same in all methods, it is just achieved in different ways. Green technology is more expensive because the components of the process are technologically advanced, and ultimately get damaged in the field. The actual damage to solar panels and wind turbines as a result of exposure is relatively low, and the costs that have made green energy expensive in the past are found in surge related damage. The components in the process are tied together through power and data transfer lines, and when lightning strikes the panels or the wind turbines it easily sends a power surge along these lines. The damage to joined components that are some distances away compounds the damage of the strike, and components that would not normally suffer any damage at all need to be replaced. In addition, after a strike systems are taken offline, reducing the capacities for systems to create enough electricity to satisfy consumer demand. Through the integration of more advanced surge protection devices, the damage as a result of the strikes has been reduced to a level previously unseen, and systems are able to stay online and producing for far longer periods of time. Because of these two improvements, costs are finally lower than the costs associated with burning fossil fuels, and the debate no longer has anything to do with atmospheric damage. Today, green energy technology produces electricity at less cost than fossil fuels. so anyone who wants to pay less per month for their power bill needs to make their voice known.