Energy.

It’s the driving force behind economic progress and a higher standard of living. And in the 21st century, the world has become much more dependent on it.

Energy drives business and industry. It sustains our societies and boosts our economies.

Without it, most daily activities would simply grind to a halt. And with electric vehicles becoming more mainstream, our energy use is only going to increase.

The World’s Changing Energy Mix

The electric power sector generates most of our energy here in the U.S. And the transportation, industrial, residential and commercial sectors consume it.

For the last 100 years, fossil fuels have dominated the global energy mix. But that’s all changing.

Most of the world is focused on arresting and reversing global warming. The energy we consume from this point forward must be clean and affordable.

Fossil fuels are going the way of the dodo bird. And coal is on the way out.

Additionally, natural gas peaker plants are quickly being replaced by cheap battery storage.

And even though nuclear plants are carbon-free, there are no new nuclear plants under construction in the U.S. That’s because they – and the other sources above – can’t compete with renewable energy.

Solar and wind, combined with cheap battery storage, are rapidly becoming the cheapest sources of electrical generation.

Winning With Wind

The good news is that renewable energy is no longer a pipe dream. It’s rapidly replacing fossil fuel-generated electricity.

According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, battery storage, wind and solar will generate more than $10 trillion in new investments between now and 2050.

Take wind energy, for instance. Today, the U.S. has more than 57,000 wind turbines in 41 states and two territories.

Together, they produce enough electricity to power more than 30 million homes. And the pipeline of wind projects in development or under construction has reached a new record of 41.8 gigawatts (GW). That’s an increase of 10% over the last year!

And that’s just U.S. onshore wind. Offshore wind is just getting started too.

Nearly every Atlantic coastal state has plans for at least one offshore wind farm. As of June 2018, the U.S. offshore wind project pipeline totals 25.4 GW. That’s just the northeast coast. Additional projects have been proposed off of southern states as well.

And for good reason.

The potential of offshore wind in the U.S. is more than 2,000 GW. That’s almost twice the daily energy use of the entire country.

In addition to the northeastern states, both Hawaii and California are interested in offshore wind, as are states surrounding the Great Lakes.

Hawaii, in particular, plans to be running off of 100% renewable energy by 2045.

Solar Taking Over

Wind isn’t the only fast-moving area of renewable energy. Solar is about to get a big boost from Congress.

The Renewable Energy Extension Act is about to be simultaneously introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives. It would extend the 30% solar investment tax credit from its expiration at the end of this year for another five years.

If passed, the credit will remain at 30% for the entire five-year extension. This extension could boost U.S. solar generation by more than 30% by 2030.

Renewable energy is widely supported by more than 75% of Americans. Forty-eight percent of Americans would be willing to pay more for renewable energy. And 53% said they would put solar panels on their roofs today if they could recoup the investment in five years or less.

Battery Storage Completes the Picture

In the past, critics of renewable energy have argued that wind and solar are useless as energy sources. The sun doesn’t always shine (especially at night), and the wind doesn’t always blow.

Today, that argument no longer holds water. That’s because cheap battery storage enables utilities to store electricity and release it when needed.

And with today’s battery storage systems, that energy is available in milliseconds. That’s important because energy demand on the grid fluctuates constantly. No longer will utilities need to wait hours or even days to bring additional generating capacity online.

Utilities are rapidly deploying large, utility-scale battery storage on our grids. This is energy in the 21st century.

It’s clean, doesn’t contribute to climate change and is affordable. Renewable energy (including battery storage) is totally disrupting the way we generate, use and now store energy.

You’ll want to make sure you have a stake in renewable energy companies moving forward. It’s an unstoppable force that can supercharge your energy portfolio.

Good investing,

Dave