Three things point to 2019 being the year the tide turns in a big way for alternative energy. First, a seemingly never ending stream of environmental disasters made worse by climate change, convinces people that climate change will affect them personally.
Second, a new congress, infused with younger representatives with new ideas and an acceptance of the science behind catastrophic climate change will drive political action, even among their more conservative peers.
And third, alternative energy is making big gains contributing to the world’s energy mix. And not just for individuals, but for corporations. In this post we’ll go over some of the major stories of 2018 that show us how 2019 will be an even bigger year for alternative energy.
According to Forbes, over the past 20 years, world-wide solar and wind power capacity has grown from 8 to 450 gigawatts. Furthermore, in 2018 nearly half of all new power installations in the U.S. were of the alternative energy variety. This is WAY ahead of where energy pundits thought the world would be by now.
Renewable Sources Account For Most New U.S. Power Capacity, May 06, 2018.
One Gigawatt (GW) = one billion watts, or enough electricity to power 1.15 million average American homes for a month, or 96,163 homes for a year. Based on 2017 data from the US EIA.
That’s great news. Especially because surveys of public opinion show that a large majority of people want 100% renewable energy. From one of my favorite articles of 2018, Vox shows that 100% renewable energy is wildly popular. In the United States “…more than 80 cities, five counties, and two states have committed to 100 percent renewables. Six cities have already hit the target.”
Vox further states that power industry executives are alarmed at the public’s desire for 100% clean energy, believing that it is not readily achievable and would affect the profits from existing fossil fuel power plants.
According to a market survey done by the industry, 70% of the people surveyed believed that we should get 100% of our energy from renewable resources. And, even with a hypothetical 30% increase in their bill, 51% of people still supported this.
And the focus groups weren’t willing to settle for excuses…
For many people the desire for renewable energy isn’t primarily about the environment, carbon emissions, or ideology. It’s just common sense. Who wants to use archaic, polluting, costly power, when abundant, cheap and clean alternative power is possible? That’s a no brainer.
Local governments and people may love and want clean energy, but what about the corporate world? Well, good news on that front too. According to Green Tech media, Corporate Renewable Energy Deals Smash Records in 2018 with about 5 gigawatts of new alternative energy projects under way. The actual number of companies, contracts and gigawatts is probably higher, because the 5 GW figure doesn’t include rooftop solar and other smaller projects.
Major projects from Apple, Google, Microsoft, Walmart and other major energy consumers contributed the most. These companies have been going green for several years now. However, this year also saw the largest number of new companies signing up for green power.
Tech giants like Microsoft, Apple and Google, are pioneering the adoption of alternative energy for corporations big and small. Microsoft has worked with an insurance company to bring some stability to alternative energy buying. Essentially on cloudy or windless days Microsoft pays a little less for power, and on sunny or windy days they pay a little more. This helps to smooth out the costs over the long run, and transfers risk to the insurance companies whose business is managing risk.
In another example of innovation, Apple has partnered with several smaller companies to sponsor the construction of alternative energy power facilities in Virginia. This helps smaller companies join alternative energy projects to get the benefits of green power as well.
Tech giant Google has become one of the biggest corporate buyers of alternative energy. Google wants carbon free, alternative energy available at all times, for all of their data centers. An ambitious goal, given that alternative energy may not always be available in every place they operate. That’s why they, like other business in the examples above, partner with local power companies to build new alternative power facilities and infrastructure.
Is all of this enough? Not yet. Given the scale and the urgency of climate change, the growth in alternative energy probably needs to double or triple every year going forward.
In one of my favorite podcasts, ‘Climate Cast’ from Minnesota Public News, Mindy Lubber, CEO and president of sustainability at Ceres, a non-profit organization that works with investors and companies to create sustainable business concisely lays it out for you in 8 minutes — definitely a must listen podcast.
Given the rapid growth of alternative energy you would think that alternative energy jobs should be easy to find. Well, you’d be right!
A recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report shows that solar panel installer is the fastest growing job in 8 states, including: California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Florida, North Carolina, Missouri, Minnesota, and New Jersey. While wind turbine technician is the fastest growing job in Iowa, North Dakota, Colorado and Texas.
(Interesting to note that farm work is in demand in Alaska. Another effect of warming??)
These are good paying jobs too. The median salary for a PV Technician (solar panel installer) is about $20 per hour. Wind turbine techs get around $26 per hour. And these rates are expected to increase faster than the national average.
According to The Des Moines Register newspaper… Wind turbine technicians are hard to find. With rising pay and a thriving Iowa future, they shouldn’t be. Great article about low cost Associates Degree programs at Iowa community colleges that promise a good, well-paying career, with jobs available immediately upon graduation. I’m sure those classes will be full in no time.
As the demand for clean energy grows, utility companies have no excuse not to provide it. Especially when major corporations are doing their part by creating the legal and financial framework to allow large scale alternative energy projects to be built. And as these projects are built, good paying jobs and economic stability are created, which will be especially important for those persons put out of work as the fossil fuel industry declines.
I believe 2019 is the year that all the pieces will come together. I don’t know about you, but I’m a excited to see this unfold. There is so much more work to be done to create a new energy economy, but this is how it begins.
What do you think? Is this the year it all comes together?
Cover image by skeeze on Pixabay.