Mane Energy Issue 11 - January 2019 | Page 11

JANUARY 2019 | MANE ENERGY | 11

It is predicted that renewable energy can provide 80 percent of US electricity by 2050. The Renewable Electricity Futures Study found that an 80 percent renewable future is feasible with the current technologies which are available such as wind turbines, geothermal and hydropower.

The United States has one of the world’s largest installed solar PV capacities and an installed wind energy capacity, coming in second to China. However, even though the US has a large installed solar PV capacity, it comes second in the biggest energy consumer in the world, thus meaning it cancels out much of its renewable energy.

Around eighteen percent of all electricity in the United States was produced by renewable sources in 2017, including solar and wind. This was up three percent from 2016, an increase driven by the increase in solar and wind projects all over the US.

It’s estimated that the US invested over $40.5 billion into renewable energy in 2017. Renewable energy cost declines made them the cheapest sources of new electricity in many regions in the US. The reduced pricing meant that renewables were the most added source of energy generation in 2017 with an added 11 gigawatts (GW) of new wind and solar capacity added, making it the fourth consecutive year that renewables made up more than half of energy additions in the US.

The industry growth in the US within the energy sector has created a huge amount of jobs, particularly in rural areas where employment was hard to find. With the increase in renewable energy investment, the United States is now seen to be home to a thriving energy industry. Campaigns are aiming to reach $1 trillion in investment into the renewable energy sector, meaning it’s about time for the US to modernise the currently technologies and push to be greener as a country.

One issue is President Donald Trump being a lover of fossil fuels. As of March 2017, he signed an executive order to every federal agency to loosen regulations around the matter. Trump recently eased off environmental restrictions to allow for continued operation of coal-fired power plants. Not only this, he relaxed regulations on oil drilling on US soil, thus meaning fossil fuels like oil and coal remain the country’s main energy source.

With coal and oil-fired power generation being one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, it seems like Trump’s decisions are causing the US to take step backwards in the sense of going greener. With predictions such as the US being able to provide 80 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2050, the use of fossil fuels will most definitely have to decrease.

Due to the size of the United States, it is easier for them to have one of the world’s largest renewable installations. However, just because of their size, this does not equate to them being able to provide as much renewable energy as other countries with less installations.

Costa Rica ran on 100% renewable energy for 299 days in 2018. The United States is around 152 times bigger than Costa Rica, highlighting how much more needs to be invested and how much potential is still left within the US energy industry to expand and grow.

Today, the United States produces more geothermal energy than any other country (2.5GW); has the second-largest bioenergy industry (13.2GW); the second-largest wind industry (87.5GW); the third-largest hydropower industry (102.1GW); and the third-largest solar industry (42.9GW).

With the expected investment in renewable energy to reach trillions in the next decade or so in the US, the country will soon reap the benefits of cutting down on carbon emissions. With big investments comes more opportunities for those within the energy sector, here at Mane we hope we can be involved in this and help the US reach their goal of being able to provide 80 percent of US electricity from renewables by 2050.

So how does MANE fit into all of this? As a business overall, and as a sub-division of the Mane Group of Companies, I spend a lot of time researching and looking to the future – often up to 10 years in the future. We are involved in high level conversations with business looking to expand their own works across the pond, and I’m excited to see to how the USA begins to transition from traditional energy to the green side.

For a more detailed discussion regarding Mane’s interface in the United States please feel free to contact me on the number(s) above and I would be delighted to talk further.

Article from

Chris Stupack (Head of Energy)

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