Living in an area where wind / solar are being developed and the energy transmitted to far away locations I can say that the environmental impacts are enormous. Landscapes that have been untouched for millenia are now forever disturbed in important desert habitats and migration corridors. Competing energy providers build thousands of miles of high frequency transmission lines right next to each other. This does not even account for the extraction of raw materials needed to make the turbines or panels, nor the disposal of turbine blades which have caused big problems In Wyoming.

This is all so individuals in far away cities of Utah and California can feel good about renewable energy. The energy source may be continuous but the real impacts to the landscape and wildlife are negative and also continuous.

Not a silver bullet by any means.