Renewables on the Rise - Rob Horowitz

Renewables on the Rise - Rob Horowitz

Renewable energy outpaced coal in 2020 as a source of U.S. electricity generation, continuing its marked rise, according to recently released numbers from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).  Renewable energy--solar, wind and hydroelectric power--is now responsible for 21% of our electricity generation and EIA projects that even without Biden’s more aggressive approach designed to accelerate the transition to non-carbon producing energy sources, renewables will surpass natural gas as our number one source of electricity by 2030.

The welcome rise of renewables is mainly a result of rapidly declining costs as technology has improved and economies of scale are being realized.  These market trends have been amplified by states, cities and businesses prioritizing increasing the use of renewable energy due to its importance in combating climate change.  President Trump’s best efforts to reverse these trends and boost planet heating coal production were destined to fail and did so.  The former president did succeed, however, in slowing the transition to non-carbon producing fuels that is required to limit global temperature increases and avoid the worst consequences of climate change.
As a result, energy analysts and experts say that in order for President Biden to meet his ambitious goal of a “carbon-free power sector by 2035,” he must work to speed the positive energy market trends.  As Robbie Orbis, director of energy policy design at the think tank Energy Innovation, told Inside Climate News. “What we’re talking about is getting policies in place to enforce the trend that we’ve seen and accelerate it,”

President Biden will be able to count on the strong support and continued critical local actions of a broad coalition of state, local and business leaders.  The strong support at the state and local level, where many key energy decisions are made, for action on the climate was one of the key reasons some progress toward reducing carbon emissions have continued over the past 4 years despite President Trump’s all-out effort to reverse Obama Administration policies in this area.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

“America is All In,” comprised of thousands of state and local elected officials and private sectors leaders, reaffirmed their commitment to sweeping climate action  Pledging to partner with the Biden Administration,  Mike Bloomberg,  United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions and former NYC mayor said,  “Over the last four years, Americans from across the country have continued pushing forward and cutting emissions, because they understand that fighting climate change strengthens our economy and protects people’s health. They’ve kept us on track to reach our Paris Agreement commitment, and with a strong partner in the White House, we can exceed it. We have a lot of work to do, and the more we support cities, states, businesses, and climate leaders across the country, the faster we can make progress. That’s the goal of our new coalition, and we’re looking forward to working with the new administration to build on the progress we’ve made and accelerate it in the lead-up to the COP26 climate summit this November.”

President Biden will be able to leverage these committed elected and private sector leaders, along with the continuing positive trends in the energy market. And his initial executive orders, including leveraging the purchasing power of the federal government by requiring federal agencies to purchase electric cars and renewable energy and canceling the XL Keystone Pipeline, demonstrate he is serious. The president also knows that it is essential that we set a strong example in the United States in order to make our international climate diplomacy successful, producing stronger commitments and actions from the world’s other top carbon emitters. After all, it was the major climate actions taken by the Obama Administration that produced the bilateral breakthroughs with China, paving the way for the landmark Paris Global Climate Accords.

As President Biden remarked when unveiling his climate executive orders, “This is not — it’s not the time for small measures; we need to be bold.”  The good news is the rise of renewables, propelled by steep declining costs and a broad coalition in the nation of energy decision-makers committed to transitioning to non-carbon producing energy sources, provides the Biden Administration with a solid foundation upon which to build a federal approach bold enough to ensure a planet that remains habitable for our children.

 

Rob Horowitz is a strategic and communications consultant who provides general consulting, public relations, direct mail services and polling for national and state issue organizations, various non-profits, and elected officials and candidates. He is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island.