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Reliable and affordable natural gas can play a vital role in our transition to a cleaner future by working together with #renewables. Unlike coal or nuclear, #NaturalGas power plants can turn on and off within minutes, allowing the grid to quickly meet our energy demands and avoid blackouts when wind or solar can’t produce energy. Read more from the Progressive Policy Institute:

🔌 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒: 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 🌞 Solar power is set for a 40% growth according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, while battery storage is projected to increase by 82%, underscoring the nation's push towards renewable energy and addressing renewable intermittency. Wind energy will also expand, albeit at a slower 5% pace, navigating cost and permitting challenges 📊 The broader outlook? A 3% rise in daily electricity generation, with renewables claiming 24% of the energy mix by 2024. Coal's share is predicted to drop by 9%, emphasizing the decline of carbon-heavy power, while nuclear, hydro, and geothermal sources will see minimal to no growth, reflecting a strategic pivot to more scalable renewable energies ⚠️ Despite these advances, U.S. emissions are expected to decrease only marginally by 0.1%, signaling a need for more aggressive climate action 🔍 Explore the visual below for a comprehensive look at America's clean energy trajectory in 2024 📬 Stay ahead with our weekly newsletter: https://lnkd.in/dTdMp9j #CleanEnergy #USRenewables #EnergyTransition #Sustainability #FutureOfPower

Wind and solar energy may seem like attractive alternatives to fossil fuels, but they are not the solution to decarbonize the power grid. Why not? Because they depend on natural gas or coal to back them up when the weather is unfavorable. This creates a hidden dependency between renewables and fossil fuels, which undermines the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. I explored this issue in depth in an article I wrote some time ago, which you can read here: https://lnkd.in/gnRFYQs5. Solar and wind end up in a contradiction because a technology that depends on fossil fuels cannot be a solution for eliminating them. The article below confirms my findings. Wind and solar energy have a low decarbonization potential and keep the power grid reliant on fossil fuels such as coal or gas, perpetuating the status quo of the oil and gas industry. This is especially evident in California, where I live. Despite deploying a large amount of solar and wind capacity since 2018, California has not reduced the carbon intensity of its grid, as it still relies on gas to balance the fluctuations of wind and solar. Or Texas, subsidizing urgent deployment of gas power plants to stabilize an excessive proliferation of intermittent generation. Or Germany, building 25 GW of new gas power plants before 2030 for the same reason. Fortunately, there are better ways to decarbonize the power grid. Nuclear, geothermal, and hydropower can provide clean, reliable, affordable, and efficient electricity, without the need for fossil fuel backup. These are the technologies we should deploy if we want to achieve a sustainable, fossil-free future.

CSIRO's GenCost Report In a groundbreaking report, CSIRO reveals that renewable energy sources are sustainable and more cost-effective than fossil fuels and nuclear power. This aligns with the global trend towards cleaner energy solutions. The report projects a significant decrease in power costs for households as we transition to a grid dominated by renewables. This is a crucial consideration for businesses and policymakers as we navigate towards a greener, more sustainable energy landscape. You can read the full draft GenCoast report here: https://lnkd.in/gPiCHDx3 #RenewableEnergy #SustainableBusiness #EnergyEconomics #CSIRO"

⚠ I am saddened by all the negativity I read in the (social) media about the energy transition, the move to a more human-, environmental and climate friendly energy system for our societies and economies. ➡ Some good news to counter it: According to think tank Ember, production of "Electricity (is) at its cleanest, as wind and solar generate 12% of global power The carbon intensity of global electricity generation fell to a record low of 436 gCO2/kWh in 2022, the cleanest-ever electricity. This was due to record growth in wind and solar, which reached a 12% share in the global electricity mix, up from 10% in 2021. Together, all clean electricity sources (renewables and nuclear) reached 39% of global electricity, a new record high. Solar generation rose by 24%, making it the fastest-growing electricity source for 18 years in a row; wind generation grew by 17%" So many times we read that it is impossible/uneconomic to power the world with renewable energy. Time and time again, the predictions that the grid will collapse, that we need as much fossil backup as we implement RES and the accusations that clean energy technology is actually depleting our resources are proven wrong by science and by positive evolutions. ✔ Let's keep up the good work and push the energy transition forward! #energytransition #renewableenergy #wind #solar #storage #bioenergy #hydro https://lnkd.in/e9DMru7N

Global investment in low-carbon electricity will rise to 10 times as much as fossil fuel power this year due to an increase in spending on solar projects, according to the International Energy Agency. The global energy watchdog has predicted that investment in clean energy including renewables and nuclear power as well as electric vehicles, power grids, energy storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency improvements and heat pumps will reach $2tn this year. The global clean energy investment figure, which topped fossil fuels for the first time last year, is likely to be double the $1tn forecast for coal, gas and oil in 2024, the IEA said. https://lnkd.in/eWffv3XX

Almost half of EU member states - 13 countries - produced more electricity from wind and solar over the last six months than from fossil fuels. For the first time, wind and solar generated more of the EU’s electricity than fossil fuels in the first half of this year. A new analysis from energy think tank Ember has found that electricity from wind and solar grew to an all-time high of 30 per cent in the last six months compared to 27 per cent from fossil fuels. The remaining 43 per cent was made up by a mix of hydropower, nuclear and other sources. ❗ Read full article here: https://lnkd.in/e3Hmj8Hp #WirelessSolutions #Wireless #SolarPanels #TyconSystems #PoE #PowerOverEthernet

From time to time, people raise questions about the life-cycle GHG emissions of renewable and non-emitting energy sources compared to fossil fuels. Frequently, emissions during construction and manufacturing are raised as sources that increase overall emissions compared to fossil sources. Here's a good reminder from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory: https://lnkd.in/eyDu58cv. The bottom line is that those points are not founded: renewables and nuclear have lower emissions than fossil fuels.

'The global energy watchdog has predicted that investment in clean energy including renewables and nuclear power as well as electric vehicles, power grids, energy storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency improvements and heat pumps will reach $2tn this year. The global clean energy investment figure, which topped fossil fuels for the first time last year, is likely to be double the $1tn forecast for coal, gas and oil in 2024, the IEA said. “For every dollar going to fossil fuels today, almost $2 are invested in clean energy,” said the IEA’s executive director, Fatih Birol.' https://lnkd.in/dasg9miX

There are many energy supply sources for electricity, but they can be summarised as fossil fuels (coal and gas mostly), and renewables (wind, solar, hydropower, nuclear) Historically, the rise in electricity demand has required both fossil fuels and renewables to grow to meet “total system growth”. No longer. 2024 will be the first year, of a new era, in which the global electricity demand growth can be met by renewables expansion alone, meaning the growth of fossil fuel use in the electricity grid is now over, and will enter decline.