Continuing from last week’s Coffee Chats column’s year-end review, here are some positive soundbites from my perspective as a longtime clean-energy advocate in Idaho and clean-tech investor, this past year:
Solar-generated electrical power costs have come down so dramatically that an average homeowner could save $400-$600 per year from a community solar project.
If Blaine County built its own community solar project, it could produce enough power for the county’s own annual $117,000 electricity bill on a four-acre site as well as create savings for other homeowner subscribers.
“In 2018, wind energy contributed 6.5 percent of the nation’s electricity supply… and more than 30 percent in three states.” DOE
“Scotland is now generating so much wind energy, it could power two Scotlands.”
Idaho has tremendous naturally-occurring wind resources for wind farms.
Solar and wind energy jobs are among the fastest-growing category of jobs in America.
In the 19 years I have been investing in clean-energy technology, I have seen installations of clean-energy technology exponentially increase and costs dramatically fall.
Solar power that cost $350 per megawatt hour in 2009 dropped to $50 per megawatt hour by 2017, and now, in 2019, is at $22 per megawatt hour.
There is going to be 36 gigawatts of battery energy storage installed by 2025, from practically zero installations in 2012. Nevada alone is primed for up to a gigawatt of energy storage by 2030 because it will save money for ratepayers as the most cost-effective solution; Warren Buffet and his NV Energy have signed contracts to provide a bunch of this battery storage.
The world order is going to change when most countries can produce their own power through renewables. There won’t need to be wars fought for stockpiles of oil.
In Africa, India and other emerging countries, billions of people have gotten access to energy for the first time through solar panels on their roofs, solar cook stoves and lanterns, and solar-powered well-water pumps.
Renewable energy technologies have only received $5.93 billion of federal subsidies (like tax credits) since 1994-2009. (Oil & Gas received $446.96 billion of federal subsidies 1918-2009; Nuclear $185.38 billion 1947-2009. Oil & Gas & Nuclear continue to receive $52-$67 billion each year today.)
Saving energy is patriotic! To plant the Victory Gardens of 2020, we can reduce our dependence on oil from foreign countries that may not share our values by changing a light bulb to a higher efficiency one, or putting solar on our roof, or installing more insulation.