Major Advances in Affordable Clean Energy

As America goes back to the energy stone age, canceling solar and wind projects and accelerating fossil fuel use, the rest of the world is making major advances in affordable clean energy.

Climate efforts by countries 

• China is building the world’s largest solar farm, a 15-GW PV installation in the Tibetan Plateau. But the farm is doing much more than making electricity.
• India plans to reach 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030. 
• The UK’s 3.6-GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the North Sea will power the equivalent of six million homes, when completed in 2027. 
• France is building the largest offshore wind farm, a 1.5-GW installation 40 km off the Normandy coast.
• Australia has so much solar energy that by 2027, all Australians will receive three free hours of electricity every afternoon. The many benefits of this plan include lowering peak use in the evening, which will save the system money otherwise needed to build new peak power supply. A home battery could be filled up during the day, and that electricity used during peak hours when rates are higher.
• South Korea requires every parking lot with more than 80 spaces to be covered with solar panels. The panels create jobs and help stabilize the local grid with more renewable energy. The shaded structures protect vehicles from heavy rain, snow, and summer sun, keep car interiors cooler, extend the life of plastics and upholstery, help preserve battery range in EVs by reducing their AC loads, and provide charging for EVs. 
• In Germany, people who want solar go to the store, buy a solar panel, and plug it in at home to a normal wall outlet.
• The Philippines pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, outlining specific targets and strategies to lower emissions by 75% by 2030. The plan includes reforestation, renewable energy, coastal resource management, and much more.
• Denmark is making remarkable strides in wind energy. An impressive amount of its energy is produced from wind turbines.
• The European Union’s Green Deal plans to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. This plan includes increasing renewable energy, enhancing energy efficiency, and promoting cleaner transportation. The EU is also working on ensuring that developing nations have access to the resources and technology to combat climate change.
• South Korea is investing heavily in smart grid technologies to enhance energy distribution efficiency.
• Morocco plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 53% by 2025. and increase renewable energy to 52% by 2030. This transition is estimated to take over 96% of domestic power generation by 2050. 

These are just a few examples. There are more countries working on climate crisis remediation. Check out the Climate Change Performance Index, which quantifies the effectiveness of various countries’ policies.

What’s happening in the US

Meanwhile, in the US, where the solar cell was invented, we lose economic advantage with every cancelled project, including 223 previously awarded projects valued at over $7.5 billion. A canceled project in Nevada would have powered two million homes. The project would have been the largest solar array in America. 

As the US cuts back on solar projects, multiple new data centers are increasing demand for electricity. As a result, our electricity prices are going up dramatically–especially in the mid-Atlantic and midwestern states. 

It’s not surprising that US methane emissions are skyrocketing and carbon emissions are rising, as China’s emissions are declining. As if that’s not enough bad news, the US government gave fossil fuel companies a $40 billion dollar subsidy this year. How do you feel about that? Climate disruption is nearly out of control, as fossil fuels continue pumping harmful gases into the atmosphere, causing climate crisis to produce more extreme weather. 

As a result of our inaction, the world is literally on fire. According to NASA, extreme wildfires have more than doubled worldwide and have become more frequent, larger, and more intense. Climate crisis is the reason. Wildfires are everywhere, including in the US.  Large sections of Los Angeles, our second-largest city, burned to the ground earlier this year. 

In the words of Greta Thunberg, 16 year-old Swedish climate activist speaking at the UN climate summit in 2019, I want you to act as if your house is on fire, because it is. Listen to her entire speech here. Greta was 8 years old when she found out about climate change. If an 8 year-old can get it, why can’t adults?

We have to get serious about not only mitigating, but also adapting to climate crisis and changing our lifestyles. Contact Transition Town Greater Media to find out how you can help.  Do it now.

P.S. If you need a little levity after all that, try this video, a fake meditation for oil executives.

AI was not used in the creation of this blog.