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With less than a week to go a few thoughts on the US election – a stark choice when it comes to #climate policy - @JoeBiden ready to join the #RacetoZero and @WhiteHouse incumbent not so much - but despite a recent cull of US clean energy policies, the sector is growing fast…
President Trump’s tenure has added plenty of nails in the coffin of the US coal sector. 37GW of capacity has been retired compared to 33GW under his predecessor https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2020/06/22/stories/1063430425
Conversely, in 2019 renewables generated more power than coal for the first time in 130 years. Capacity is one metric. So is growth. https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/2020/05/29/u-s-renewable-energy-consumption-surpasses-coal-for-the-first-time-in-over-130-years/#gref
Washington talks down “windmills” but elsewhere wind turbines whirl - the US is now the world’s second largest market for wind after China. US wind capacity increased from 83 GW in 2016 to 106 GW in 2019. https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/2020/03/25/2019-was-the-second-biggest-year-for-wind-energy-capacity-additions-gwec-says/#gref
Don’t like solar? Never mind. Utility-scale solar hit a record in the first quarter of 2020, accounting for 40% of new electricity generation capacity added in the US https://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-market-insight-report-2020-q2
For fiscally responsible @GOP supporters, renewables *should* be a winner. Wind and solar energy have become the lowest-cost electricity option in the US over the last decade https://about.bnef.com/blog/scale-up-of-solar-and-wind-puts-existing-coal-gas-at-risk/
That’s now. By 2035, 90% of proposed US gas-fired power plants would be more expensive to operate than new renewable energy plus storage
https://rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/clean-energy-portfolio-two-pager.pdf
https://rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/clean-energy-portfolio-two-pager.pdf
The stock markets loom large for the administration. US clean energy stocks surged in 2020 – despite #COVID19. @Blackrock is now backing wind and solar markets to boost returns… https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-04/blackrock-raises-1-billion-for-clean-power-as-wind-solar-boom?sref=9caaYCoi
On the roads, it’s a similar story. The combustion engine dominates, but the trends spell end of an era. EV sales reached a record high in his first term: there are now 1.5m passenger EVs on US roads…
https://www.eei.org/issuesandpolicy/electrictransportation/Pages/default.aspx
https://www.eei.org/issuesandpolicy/electrictransportation/Pages/default.aspx
But it’s jobs we’re after. Ok then, clean energy employment has increased 70% faster than the US economy since 2015. Yet 600,000 jobs are at risk *if* the US govt continues to back old fossils over clean power…
https://e2.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/E2-Clean-Jobs-America-2020.pdf
https://e2.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/E2-Clean-Jobs-America-2020.pdf
The trends at the state level are worth noting. Despite hostility in some parts of the @GOP fueled by the fossil fuels on K street, red states are shifting. Arizona, Florida, Texas are among those with clean energy investment drives https://eu.azcentral.com/story/money/business/energy/2018/02/12/aps-first-solar-plan-large-west-valley-solar-power-plant-giant-battery/329941002/
In the first quarter of 2020, Florida installed more solar than California, the nation’s leading state for renewables https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/07/10/us-installed-more-solar-in-q1-2020-than-ever-before/
Texas has the largest onshore wind market in the US, with installed capacity exceeding 27 GW. Solar is Texas’ fastest-growing electricity generation source
https://www.seia.org/sites/default/files/2020-06/Texas_2.pdf
https://www.seia.org/sites/default/files/2020-06/Texas_2.pdf
Looking to the 2020s, who’s to say the @GOP position on clean energy won’t change? Three-quarters of Republican voters favor increased clean energy research, giving tax rebates to energy-efficient vehicles and solar panels https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/politics-global-warming-april-2020/2/
That’s the future. This is the present. Whoever wins on #Election2020 
, the trends and data suggest the clean energy transition will only keep accelerating. China, the EU, Japan and South Korea have committed to #NetZero emissions by 2050. The US needs to be in that race.
, the trends and data suggest the clean energy transition will only keep accelerating. China, the EU, Japan and South Korea have committed to #NetZero emissions by 2050. The US needs to be in that race.
To try to turn back the clean energy transition is harmful to jobs, growth, clean air, and competitiveness. It’s a bit like the @RedSox selling @mookiebetts – it will haunt us for years to come. @edking_I
