Renew Support for Renewable Energy

Renew Support for Renewable Energy

Who The editors edited by Megha Satyanarayana

President-elect Donald Trump and his administration have called climate change warnings “alarmist” and pledged to further expand oil and natural gas production. But there are important reasons for the US to expand clean energy technologies as well. Renewable energy doesn’t just reduce carbon emissions; is economic juggernaut.

Renewable energy is growing faster than any other source of electricity in the US, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Globally, the market for these technologies is expected to grow from $700 billion in 2023 to more than $2 trillion in 2035.

China dominates the world markets for solar panels, electric vehicles and batteries that can store energy when the sun or wind goes down. If the US does not support domestic renewable energy industries, China’s dominance will only grow, with the European Union and India poised to rise as well. If the Trump administration freezes federal aid for renewables or, worse, discourages them, the nation will continue to degrade its environment and miss out on a profound economic opportunity. “This is handing over the future,” says Steven Cohen, director of Columbia University’s master’s degree in sustainability management.

About supporting science journalism

If you like this article, please consider supporting our award-winning journalism subscribe. By purchasing a subscription, you’re helping to ensure a future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas that shape our world.

More renewables also mean greater energy independence for the US, which right now means more support for domestic industries. According to an August 2024 report by Rhodium Group and partners, the five states receiving the most Clean Energy and Tech dollars from the Inflation Reduction Act, relative to the size of their economy, are red or “swing” states: Nevada, Wyoming, Arizona, Tennessee and Montana. There is more money to be distributed from the SCA, unless the Trump administration dismantles the legislation.

That would be a mistake. The rise of renewable energy does not mean the decline of oil or natural gas. U.S. production is growing there, and overall demand for power is increasing. We are not proposing a future without fossil fuels. Big energy transitions take time. But as numerous studies have shown, increased consumption of fossil fuels causes climate change, air and water pollution, and worsening public health. At the end of the day, renewable energy costs less, and cheaper technology always wins. Some US states have gotten the message: Texas, the nation’s oil hub, now produces more wind power than any other state. The clean technology market is “increasingly catching up with the fossil fuel markets,” Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, said in an October 2024 release of the agency’s latest analysis.

A common refrain from critics is that the US renewable energy industry is dependent on subsidies. Actually, this is how canals, roads, trains, steel, aluminum, corn, soybeans and even space rockets were developed. And while the US oil and gas industries are more than a century old, they also receive heavy subsidies. China is subsidizing its renewable technology industries, and for the rest of the world, this is a positive. China’s cheap solar panels, electric cars and wind turbines are helping to accelerate the energy transition around the world. Energy transitions are expensive, warns Jeffrey Frankel, professor of capital formation and growth at Harvard University and research assistant at the US National Bureau of Economic Research. So, he asks, why not let Chinese taxpayers foot the bill for subsidies that help spread renewable energy everywhere?

Capitol Hill’s view of the renewable energy industry may be influenced by the fossil fuel industry’s powerful lobby. But the big users of renewable energy also have a big impact. More than 70 percent of U.S. gross domestic product now comes from the service sector, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, and it is gaining political power. Meta is the largest buyer of solar panels in the country. The service sector consumes a lot of energy; see the meteoric rise in energy demand for artificial intelligence data centers. These companies want the cheapest electricity prices, and renewables provide them. “Money tends to trump ideology,” says Cohen.

Most people recognize that climate change is real and that it is the result of our actions, especially the burning of fossil fuels, which they see as increasingly harmful. According to a major 2023 survey by the Pew Research Center, “59 percent (of Americans) believe air and water quality would improve if the U.S. greatly reduced fossil fuel energy production and increased production from renewable sources.” The poll also found that “67 percent of Americans say the U.S. should prioritize the development of alternative energy sources such as wind, solar and hydrogen technology, while 32 percent say the priority should be expanding the exploration and production of oil, coal and natural gas.” “

The cultural shift is underway, in part because more people in the US are exposed to extreme weather: most recently, unprecedented flooding in North Carolina from Hurricane Helene and record drought that has killed crops in many states. In some coastal states, homeowners cannot obtain flood insurance. These experiences put millions of Americans at high risk of death, injury, or financial ruin. People can see that scientific predictions have been correct. They are increasingly concerned about their health and the well-being of their children. They are feeling the human impact.

Supporting renewable energy is not asking anyone to do without; we won’t have to leave our truck or air conditioner. It offers an opportunity to reduce the threats we all face and lead a rapidly expanding and growing economy.