With all the political hand-wringing going on these days, you’d think there’s no good news anywhere.
But at least when it comes to clean energy, there’s almost nothing but good news.
- Solar panels on home rooftops and in industrial-sized fields accounted for 39% of new electricity generation last year. That beat the 29% that came from natural gas and the 26% from wind. If you take wind and solar together, 65% of our new electricity generation came from clean energy!
- The price of solar has dropped drastically, making the technology highly affordable. Meanwhile, solar doesn’t have nearly the negative environmental impact that burning coal, oil or natural gas do. It’s called “clean energy” because it doesn’t create air pollution or release the carbon dioxide that cause climate change.
- The solar industry employs 260,000 people. One out of every 50 new American jobs in 2016 was in the solar industry. Not only is that up 25% from 2015 but it reflects a trend that is expected to continue as demand for clean energy by homeowners and businesses continues to grow.
Perhaps most amazingly of all, even those who support President Trump, a notoriously anti-solar politician, favor solar energy. Seventy percent of Trump voters want clean energy to “make America great again.”
Meanwhile, Republican and Democratic governors from 20 states have sent the White House a bi-partisan letter asking the Trump Administration to “strengthen America’s energy future” by extending government support for offshore wind, research and development, grid modernization and improved permitting for utility-scale renewables. Why?
First, because wind and solar provide more American jobs than coal, oil and natural-gas extraction combined. In fact, the solar industry now represents 43 percent of all jobs in America’s electric power sector. Meanwhile, from 2010 to 2015, America lost 25,000 jobs in the coal mining sector; global oil price crashes and reduced drilling have led to tens of thousands of lost jobs in oil and gas extraction.
The governors said they have “seen the benefits of renewable energy firsthand, and agree that expanding renewable energy production is one of the best ways to meet the country’s growing demand for energy…
“Today’s wind and solar resources offer consumers nearly unlimited electric energy with no fuel costs, no national security impacts, and a number of environmental benefits. The boons of renewable energy can be virtually endless.”
The governors are also eager to continue to see their states benefit from how much money they can earn by building and operating clean energy facilities in their regions. Currently, U.S. wind facilities pay rural landowners $222 million a year; $100 billion has been invested in low-income counties, where some 70 percent of the nation’s wind farms are located. Given that these counties were some of the hardest hit economically during the recent recession, solar and wind are helping them bounce back in a way that certainly the shrinking coal industry is not.
Though wind generates only about 5.5 percent of the nation’s total electricity, it generates a much larger share in some parts of the country. For example, on February 12, 2017, more than 50% of the electricity in the Southwest Power Pool, the entity that manages the electric grid for 14 states in the central U.S., came from wind energy.
More and more homeowners are putting solar panels on their rooftops, as well. The existence of the Solar Investment Tax Credit, coupled with state rebates, significantly reduced utility bills and the ability to sell Solar Renewable Energy Credits to utilities that need to add more solar power to their electricity sources, have helped make residential photovoltaic systems more affordable than they’ve ever been. Plus, a home already outfitted with a solar system seems to add as much resale value as new kitchen counters and cabinets, reports Redfin. More than 1 million homes already have solar; another million are projected to be installed in the next two years, says Greentech Media.
Want to keep the clean energy revolution rolling? Here are three actions you can take that won’t cost you a dime but will still make a difference.
- Figure out if solar is right for you. For free, groups like PickMySolar.com explain how solar works and can help you figure out whether a solar system makes sense given how much sunlight falls on your roof. If it does, they can put you in touch with reputable installers that will also help you figure out how to take advantage of federal and state tax credits and other ways to offset the cost of getting a solar system.
- Encourage local, state and federal officials to strengthen the programs that help clean energy develop and expand. Encourage your state governor to join the Governors’ Wind & Solar Energy Coalition, whose mission is to strengthen America’s energy future by growing the renewable energy industry.
- Continue to support the work Moms Clean Air Force is doing to protect the America’s Clean Power Plan and build a national grassroots movement that supports clean energy.