So first we force free people to buy more expensive green energy generators. Then we force these formerly free people to spend more money disposing of the green generators. How do we buy back our freedom? How much will that cost?
Impossible to calculate the cost accurately because there are so many related issues which are complex and uncertain.
For example, if we did an energy-cost comparison between the latest Ultra-Supercritical coal-fired power station, which included the use of state-of-the-art emission controls which of course adds to the cost, and the latest Solar Panel system with the latest battery storage to ensure there's no interruption of supply, the energy from the coal-fired power station would probably be significantly cheaper, excluding the cost of removing all emissions of CO2 which is not a pollutant and is beneficial for plant growth.
However, to get a more accurate over all cost, we have to consider the related costs of the mining of coal, such as the health effects on people living in the area if the mine is open-cut, the health effects on the miners underground, the effects on agriculture when fertile areas suitable for growing crops are used for mining coal, and the cost of rehabilitating the environment after the coal mining ceases.
If we add these related costs, the energy from coal would not be cheaper. However, if we also add the related costs to the production of renewable energy, which of course we should, then the energy from coal could still be cheaper. The cost of recycling windmills and solar panels is one of those costs which is not included in the energy price. Another is the cost of depriving farmers of fertile land to grow crops, by covering the ground with solar panels. Another is the degradation of the environment due to the mining of Lithium and other metals necessary for batteries.
"The Chilean Atacama region has been exploited for its rich mineral deposits, including copper, gold, silver, molybdenum and lithium. On one hand, lithium mining brings revenues to the State coffer and profits for national and foreign companies. On the other hand, these economic benefits have come with social and environmental costs. The mining industry is extracting a large amount of groundwater in one of the driest desert regions in the world. As the mining sites overlap with nature conservation areas, mining activities have been responsible for ecosystem degradation. The process of forced migration of populations from villages and the abandonment of ancestral settlements has been precipitated by water scarcity and an increasingly erratic water supply."https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aae9b1
