The rapid growth in renewable energy technology is not sustainable if the technologies and materials behind it are not , says a thesis published by PhD student Simon Davies . Further, the extraction of these resources in a manner which is both timely and environmentally friendly needs to be considered, as well as their future availability. He suggests that while solar and wind technologies produce renewable energy , the materials used to produce the solar panels and wind turbines are not necessarily sustainable , hence the rapid scaling - up of renewable energy creates more pressure on resource availability further down the line . Davidsson said it was important to consider materials flow and to create technologies that work in a resource efficient way .
The rapid growth in renewable energy technology is not sustainable if the technologies and materials behind it are not , says a thesis published by PhD student Simon Davies . He suggests that while solar and wind technologies produce renewable energy , the materials used to produce the solar panels and wind turbines are not necessarily sustainable , hence the rapid scaling - up of renewable energy creates more pressure on resource availability further down the line . Davidsson said it was important to consider materials flow and to create technologies that work in a resource efficient way .