Query: The amount of energy used to construct solar and wind facilities is greater than they produce in their working lives.

Relevant passages:
Renewable energy <=SEP=> Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources , which are naturally replenished on a human timescale , such as sunlight , wind , rain , tides , waves , and geothermal heat . Renewable energy often provides energy in four important areas : electricity generation , air and water heating/cooling , transportation , and rural ( off-grid ) energy services .   Based on REN21 's 2016 report , renewables contributed 19.2 % to humans ' global energy consumption and 23.7 % to their generation of electricity in 2014 and 2015 , respectively . This energy consumption is divided as 8.9 % coming from traditional biomass , 4.2 % as heat energy ( modern biomass , geothermal and solar heat ) , 3.9 % hydro electricity and 2.2 % is electricity from wind , solar , geothermal , and biomass . Worldwide investments in renewable technologies amounted to more than US$ 286 billion in 2015 , with countries like China and the United States heavily investing in wind , hydro , solar and biofuels . Globally , there are an estimated 7.7 million jobs associated with the renewable energy industries , with solar photovoltaics being the largest renewable employer . As of 2015 worldwide , more than half of all new electricity capacity installed was renewable .   Renewable energy resources exist over wide geographical areas , in contrast to other energy sources , which are concentrated in a limited number of countries . Rapid deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency is resulting in significant energy security , climate change mitigation , and economic benefits . The results of a recent review of the literature concluded that as greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emitters begin to be held liable for damages resulting from GHG emissions resulting in climate change , a high value for liability mitigation would provide powerful incentives for deployment of renewable energy technologies . In international public opinion surveys there is strong support for promoting renewable sources such as solar power and wind power . At the national level , at least 30 nations around the world already have renewable energy contributing more than 20 percent of energy supply . National renewable energy markets are projected to continue to grow strongly in the coming decade and beyond . Some places and at least two countries , Iceland and Norway generate all their electricity using renewable energy already , and many other countries have the set a goal to reach 100 % renewable energy in the future . For example , in Denmark the government decided to switch the total energy supply ( electricity , mobility and heating/cooling ) to 100 % renewable energy by 2050 .   While many renewable energy projects are large-scale , renewable technologies are also suited to rural and remote areas and developing countries , where energy is often crucial in human development . United Nations ' Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that renewable energy has the ability to lift the poorest nations to new levels of prosperity . As most of renewables provide electricity , renewable energy deployment is often applied in conjunction with further electrification , which has several benefits : Electricity can be converted to heat ( where necessary generating higher temperatures than fossil fuels ) , can be converted into mechanical energy with high efficiency and is clean at the point of consumption . In addition to that electrification with renewable energy is much more efficient and therefore leads to a significant reduction in primary energy requirements , because most renewables do n't have a steam cycle with high losses ( fossil power plants usually have losses of 40 to 65 % ) .   Renewable energy systems are rapidly becoming more efficient and cheaper . Their share of total energy consumption is increasing . Growth in consumption of coal and oil could end by 2020 due to increased uptake of renewables and natural gas .

Wind power <=SEP=> Wind power is the use of air flow through wind turbines to mechanically power generators for electric power . Wind power , as an alternative to burning fossil fuels , is plentiful , renewable , widely distributed , clean , produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation , consumes no water , and uses little land . The net effects on the environment are far less problematic than those of nonrenewable power sources .   Wind farms consist of many individual wind turbines which are connected to the electric power transmission network . Onshore wind is an inexpensive source of electric power , competitive with or in many places cheaper than coal or gas plants . Offshore wind is steadier and stronger than on land , and offshore farms have less visual impact , but construction and maintenance costs are considerably higher . Small onshore wind farms can feed some energy into the grid or provide electric power to isolated off-grid locations .   Wind power gives variable power which is very consistent from year to year but which has significant variation over shorter time scales . It is therefore used in conjunction with other electric power sources to give a reliable supply . As the proportion of wind power in a region increases , a need to upgrade the grid , and a lowered ability to supplant conventional production can occur . Power management techniques such as having excess capacity , geographically distributed turbines , dispatchable backing sources , sufficient hydroelectric power , exporting and importing power to neighboring areas , using vehicle-to-grid strategies or reducing demand when wind production is low , can in many cases overcome these problems . In addition , weather forecasting permits the electric power network to be readied for the predictable variations in production that occur .   As of 2015 , Denmark generates 40 % of its electric power from wind , and at least 83 other countries around the world are using wind power to supply their electric power grids . In 2014 global wind power capacity expanded 16 % to 369,553 MW . Yearly wind energy production is also growing rapidly and has reached around 4 % of worldwide electric power usage , 11.4 % in the EU .

Net metering <=SEP=> Net metering ( or net energy metering , NEM ) allows consumers who generate some or all of their own electricity to use that electricity anytime , instead of when it is generated . This is particularly important with wind and solar , which are non-dispatchable . Monthly net metering allows consumers to use solar power generated during the day at night , or wind from a windy day later in the month . Annual net metering rolls over a net kilowatt credit to the following month , allowing solar power that was generated in July to be used in December , or wind power from March in August .   Net metering policies can vary significantly by country and by state or province : if net metering is available , if and how long banked credits can be retained , and how much the credits are worth ( retail/wholesale ) . Most net metering laws involve monthly roll over of kWh credits , a small monthly connection fee , require monthly payment of deficits ( i.e. normal electric bill ) , and annual settlement of any residual credit . Unlike a feed-in tariff ( FIT ) , which requires two meters , net metering uses a single , bi-directional meter and can measure current flowing in two directions .  Net metering can be implemented solely as an accounting procedure , and requires no special metering , or even any prior arrangement or notification .   Net metering is an enabling policy designed to foster private investment in renewable energy .

Zero-energy building <=SEP=> A zero-energy building , also known as a zero net energy ( ZNE ) building , net-zero energy building ( NZEB ) , or net zero building , is a building with zero net energy consumption , meaning the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basis is roughly equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site , or in other definitions by renewable energy sources elsewhere . These buildings consequently contribute less overall greenhouse gas to the atmosphere than similar non-ZNE buildings . They do at times consume non-renewable energy and produce greenhouse gases , but at other times reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas production elsewhere by the same amount . A similar concept approved and implemented by the European Union and other agreeing countries is nearly Zero Energy Building ( nZEB ) , with the goal of having all buildings in the region under nZEB standards by 2020 .   Most zero net energy buildings get half or more of their energy from the grid , and return the same amount at other times . Buildings that produce a surplus of energy over the year may be called `` energy-plus buildings '' and buildings that consume slightly more energy than they produce are called `` near-zero energy buildings '' or `` ultra-low energy houses '' .   Traditional buildings consume 40 % of the total fossil fuel energy in the US and European Union and are significant contributors of greenhouse gases . The zero net energy consumption principle is viewed as a means to reduce carbon emissions and reduce dependence on fossil fuels and although zero-energy buildings remain uncommon even in developed countries , they are gaining importance and popularity .   Most zero-energy buildings use the electrical grid for energy storage but some are independent of the grid . Energy is usually harvested on-site through energy producing technologies like solar and wind , while reducing the overall use of energy with highly efficient HVAC and lighting technologies . The zero-energy goal is becoming more practical as the costs of alternative energy technologies decrease and the costs of traditional fossil fuels increase .   The development of modern zero-energy buildings became possible not only through the progress made in new energy and construction technologies and techniques , but it has also been significantly improved by academic research , which collects precise energy performance data on traditional and experimental buildings and provides performance parameters for advanced computer models to predict the efficacy of engineering designs . Zero-energy buildings can be part of a smart grid . Some advantages of these buildings are as follows :  Integration of renewable energy resources  Integration of plug-in electric vehicles  Implementation of zero-energy concepts   The net zero concept is applicable to a wide range of resources due to the many options for producing and conserving resources in buildings ( e.g. energy , water , waste ) . Energy is the first resource to be targeted because it is highly managed , expected to continually become more efficient , and the ability to distribute and allocate it will improve disaster resiliency .