We believe that 2023 will be seen as a turning point in the clean energy revolution and the race to save the planet. This was the time when solar and wind energy became cheaper to produce than traditional energy. 2023 is the year municipalities have invested heavily in a clean energy future, paving the way for a majority of America’s energy to come from renewable sources in the next few decades. What are the clean energy trends driving this sea change towards a sustainable future? Here are our top picks for clean energy trends to watch in 2023.
Read on below
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EV sales soared with one million sold
Electric cars are finally taking off, with more than one million sold in the US for the first time by 2023. Even though only 40% of Americans say their next car will be an EV, interest in electric vehicles is becoming mainstream for the first time.
Related: Hydrogen Made from Biomass Turns Clean Energy
And there are finally plenty of options of EVs to buy, although the price of cars has been a challenge due to recent near-double-digit inflation. Bloomberg predicts that more Americans will drive EVs than ICE cars by 2030, meaning the EV revolution is happening this decade. We are in it now.
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Offshore wind flight
In 2023, the US’s first large-scale offshore wind farms come online. The US currently has only two offshore wind farms in operation, in Rhode Island and Virginia, with a total of seven turbines and capacity of 42 megawatts. It is not a very important contribution to the roster.
By the end of the year, the first of a new set of giant offshore wind farms should be operating nearby in the US. Vineyard Wind 1 will be located outside Massachusetts, with 800 megawatts of capacity, and South Fork Wind will be outside New York with 132 megawatts of capacity. BloombergNEF reports another 5,400 megawatts are on track to finalize financing or start construction in 2023. As solar and wind power continue to become cheaper than traditional alternative fuels to produce, we expect this to be the tipping point when wind power really takes off.
Legislation changes the world
Well, it’s not a headline we thought we’d write, to be honest, but the US government and other world governments deserve their props for what climate-focused legislation they can produce to save the world in time to avoid catastrophic climate change . State legislatures in Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota are preparing to pass climate and clean energy legislation.
The Inflation Reduction Act is driving heavy investment in American manufacturing for the first time in decades thanks to EV tax credits and other incentives. It comes at a time when, for the first time in modern history, clean technology can power plants and produce sustainable products. According to the International Monetary Fund, the IRA is the most important piece of climate legislation ever created in US history, using $400 billion over the next decade in climate change mitigation projects.
If managed correctly, the recent climate calculations could shift the course of history.
The headwind against wind power
The Inflation Reduction Act barely passed in 2022. Political instability and malevolence in the US continue to threaten climate goals that affect the entire world.
But there are good signs that wind power is really here to stay this time. The IRA contains about $370 billion in tax credits and incentives for renewable energy and EVs, including extra incentives for companies making clean energy technologies in the U.S. Where recent years have been dominated by partisan politics, state governments are now racing to meet climate goals and realizing it pays to work together working to build the heart of the US sustainable energy industry for the next generation.
“Congress has an important role to play in guiding the rapid and effective implementation of the IRA,” said Jose Zayas, executive vice president of policy and programs for the American Renewable Energy Council, a trade group. “The Treasury Department continues to issue guidance related to key provisions, which will have crucial implications for developers and homeowners seeking to take advantage of a range of new clean energy tax credits. Congress must use its oversight authority to ensure the expeditious completion of the Treasury directive. “
In other words, the final challenge is implementation. Can these programs live up to their promises? As battery technology develops the ability to power the future and more clean energy plants are pushed through financing and permitting, how we roll out our climate-oriented programs over the next decade will partly direct the course of history as we move into a sustainable future struggles .
Via Inside Climate News
Lead image via Pexels
