U.S. Moves to Expand Renewable Energy Grid and Slash Carbon Emissions By 2030

Renewable energy is a major focus for national governments and big businesses alike, especially amidst an increasing emphasis on combating global climate change. This news update brought to you by Ideal Power offers a round-up of just some of the most eye-catching headlines around renewable energy and the market opportunities associated with them. 

This month, our news update includes a study that offers a roadmap to cutting emissions in half by 2030, a regional effort with federal backing to expand offshore wind in the U.S., and the burgeoning plans to rapidly expand the nation’s electric vehicle charging capacity. Each of these developments will be key in realizing the U.S.’s Paris Climate Agreement target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.

Hitting emissions targets by 2030 is possible with help of renewables, study says

The aggressive expansion of offshore wind energy production may be coming just in time. A recent study performed by researchers and policy analysts concluded there are multiple pathways for the U.S. to achieve its goal of reducing 50% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, a metric established under the Paris Climate Agreement. However, those pathways all involve aggressive investment and the development of even more renewable energy infrastructure immediately.

"This study should give policy makers and other energy stakeholders some level of comfort, by showing that everybody in the field is pointing in the same direction. The case for clean energy is stronger than ever before and our study shows that the 2030 emission target can be achieved," Nikit Abhyankar, one of the study's authors and a scientist in the Electricity Markets & Policy Department at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, wrote.

"With the right policies and infrastructure, we can reduce our emissions, while saving American consumers billions of dollars and generating new employment," wrote Abhyankar. Those policies include doubling renewable energy capacity each year, as well as making a major transition to electric vehicles within the next eight years.

Other key findings in the report include:

• To reduce overall emissions by half, the U.S. needs to generate 80% of its electricity from renewable energy, double what it is today. Additionally, the majority of new vehicle sales must be electric vehicles.
   
• Electrification of buildings and major industries must be a top priority to take advantage of expanded renewable energy generation.

• A coordinated policy between states and the federal government will be required in order to expand renewable energy infrastructure at a rapid enough pace.

• Transitioning to clean energy would reduce air pollution, prevent up to 200,000 deaths per year, and mitigate $800 billion in healthcare and environmental costs through 2050.

"Since announcing the nation's emissions reduction pledge at the 2021 United Nations climate conference, the United States has taken steps in the right direction," said Abhyankar. "But a lot still needs to happen. What we are hoping is that this study will give some level of a blueprint of how it could be done."

Federal government and East Coast governors eye offshore wind expansion

The White House announced recently a formal partnership to expand offshore wind infrastructure with the governors of 11 states along the East Coast. The goal of the deal is to expand significant portions of the offshore wind supply chain, from manufacturing facilities to ports. It also includes a focus on workforce training and job development to ensure the labor market can support increased production and implementation of offshore wind technology. The partnership includes participation from the state governments of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.

The effort is a major push to realize President Joe Biden’s target of boosting offshore wind energy production by 30 gigawatts by 2030. That would be enough electricity to support 10 million homes and, according to the White House, create 77,000 jobs and drive $12 billion annually in private investment. The effort is already underway with two major projects approved in Massachusetts and New York, and 10 additional projects that would generate an additional 22 gigawatts of energy now under review by the Department of the Interior. 

Plans to expand the nation’s electric vehicle charging grid underway

Companies like Tesla (TSLA) are always making headlines, and it's big news that legacy automakers like General Motors (GM) and Ford (F) are entering the fray as well. However, amidst all the excitement surrounding electric vehicles, there’s a major problem: the nation’s electric vehicle charging network is too small and too slow. 

According to CNBC, there are now roughly 2 million electric vehicle motorists in the U.S., a more than 600% increase since 2016. However, there are only 55,000 charging stations available for electric vehicles at present. An estimate from McKinsey and Company suggests there need to be 20 times more charging stations available to support the growing demand for EVs — that’s 1.2 million chargers.

In order to fulfill this need, automakers and startups are springing into action, and they’ll have help from the federal government. Earlier this year, the federal government availed $7.5 billion in funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to be invested in the expansion of the country’s electric vehicle charging grid. The target is to add 500,000 additional charging stations by 2030. The White House also released new standards for EV charging stations, which would require each charging station to be compatible with all-electric vehicles.

Renewable energy industry poised for big growth

Renewables are a space that’s sure to grow, with strong market indicators and long-term adoption despite current headwinds. A recent analysis performed by Allied Market Research estimated the renewable energy industry will grow in market value from $882 billion in 2020 to $2 trillion by 2030 as international energy systems are updated to accommodate expanding capacity from renewables. Deloitte anticipates the major driving factors of this growth include increased innovation in technology, improved infrastructure development, and declining costs in renewable energy technology. For investors in the renewables space, a clean energy future could mean a major opportunity today.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Other Topics

Renewable Energy Sustainability