But renewables don't build "a consumer society like ours" - it's well understood that a large part of the problem you are complaining about is a result of an energy system that is built large scale centralized thermal generation like coal and nuclear.
The nature of centralized generation means the business model has to be a controlled monopoly.
That, in turn, leads to management techniques that promote expansion of demand - it happens every time. To expand demand and justified by anticipation of it (see how that circular reasoning slips in), capacity in expanded in excess of forecast need.
Since large scale thermal plants are most efficient when run at an optimum speed 24/7, it is to the benefit of the utility to sell excess power for anything it will bring, ensuring that even the true retail cost of energy (which in the case of coal and nuclear is already externalizing a huge amount of their true costs) is something that the manufacturing seldom has to take into consideration.
Renewable energy, on the other hand, is largely harvested in a way that puts production in front of people - removing the 'black box' nature of electricity and raising awareness of consumption and costs among both business and the public. This awareness introduces natural incentives towards being more frugal with energy. I mean, ask yourself where your drive to reduce consumption originated? I can guarantee that the first step was removal of the 'black box' aspect of energy from your world view. You've stated that you once had lifestyle that was far closer to the norm, so your childhood experiences would seem to be something that you were motivated to recover from your mental archive and polish off for closer inspection. No matter the specific cause in you personally, we know from abundant studies that distributed renewables have a strong tendency to inculcate the same sort of norm.
So while your statement might be sort of technically true, what it leaves out in the nature of renewables makes in irrelevant as a valid critique.
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