New research in the United States has shown a record growth in renewable energy energy in the past year, but the future of the sector is not certain amid threats from the Donald Trump administration.
The country brought 48.2 GB of solar capacity on the scale of benefit, wind and batteries in 2024, according to a report From CLANVIEW Research; The report depends on a federal data analysis. That increase in capacity – enough to operate about 3.6 million homes – was 47 % larger than the US increase in the previous year.
This unprecedented growth is attributed to Low cost Michael Thomas, founder of Cleanview and author of the report, said. He said that one of the biggest factors is the law of reducing inflation for the year 2022 in Biden (IRA) and its historical incentives for green technologies.
“The Irish Republican army changed the scene,” he said.
This report comes as Trump targets renewable power, which has pledged to stop federal support for clean energy as part of the fuel -supporting fuel agenda. Experts say that if these promises continue, they may have devastating effects on the sector and the economy.
“The clean energy sector is growing rapidly worldwide, and stopping investments can also undermine America’s competitive advantage in the renewable energy market,” Nathan Schlotr, the energy expert in the home of the organization energy Club, he said in an email.
However, although the president can hinder the growth of clean power, all hope in this sector may not be lost under his administration. “We don’t know how the future looks now. No one is doing.”
Even as fossil fuel production increased in the United States, the vast majority of the new energy energy brought by the country was carbon -free.
Renewable energy sources constituted 93 % of all new capacity last year, with the addition of nuclear energy another 2 %. Thomas said: It is a sign of “the era of zero emissions.”
But not all the sources of renewable fuel grow at the same rate. The Solar Energy Company and batteries-often seen associated, as the power storage batteries from The Sun-recorded success in 2024.
In contrast, the growth in wind energy has stagnated, as the United States adds a lower power of wind every year compared to the passing of the law to reduce inflation. In 2024, the country brought only 5.1 GB of online power source, representing only 9 % of all the new energy that was published in the country last year.
Solar energy and batteries
In 2024, solar energy witnessed the fastest growth in the southern red states. Thomas said that these areas lead to solar energy production and tend to have regulations that facilitate building new projects.
A quarter of a new capacity-8.9 GB-was built in Texas. In second place, Florida was another Republican stronghold, which brought the second online capacity on the Internet at a speed of 3 GB, overcoming California in a new basis for the first time.
The solar energy industry has also grown in the states of other republics such as Arkansas, Missouri and Louisiana.
The United States also added a record amount of new battery storage capacity to its power system, where California leads the package and rexation not far away.
New markets for industry have appeared in the states of Arizona and Nevada. Watch both a multiple batteries project – with a capacity of 100 megawatts or more – come online.
Wind energy is in danger
However, the wind industry faces a wide range of challenges. Use rates, for example, have risen, as well as steel and other materials. Supply chains have also been disabled since Covid-19. And since wind farms are longer and more clear than solar farms, they often attract more opposition from local communities, which are sometimes Wrong feed information From the fossil fuel industry.
Since wind energy is usually published in populated areas, it also requires transportation lines to send energy to cities. the We lack This infrastructure, and requires long, arduous, constructive permit operations.
This is a problem for the climate, because the wind is a decisive piece of clean energy puzzle. It is the most productive and inexpensive at night, when the energy is not available from the sun.
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“The wind is very necessary,” he said.
The next opposite wind
The clean energy sector faces challenges during the Trump era, which coordinated renewable energy sources with a set of executive orders and the agency’s directives and spending freezes with a threat to more attacks. But growth will not stop completely, as experts say.
Despite Trump’s attacks, some of the challenges facing the wind industry began to calm down, with the start of supply chains and more officials began to take the transmission problem seriously. Also, renewable projects that have already passed the process of permits, including specialization Wind Farms in New EnglandIt is likely to come online as planned.
Thomas said that the future for unconfirmed renewable energy projects that have not yet been confirmed, but growth may continue. The solar power during Trump’s first term has doubled in office, but it is unclear whether this type of progress will be possible this time.
“There is a scenario in which he talks about a big game, but it does not do much to follow these threats,” Thomas said. “But there is a bad news scenario that will be very bad for industries.”
“In this scenario, [Department of Energy] Is everything in their power for renewed energy? ” It is the incentives of the intestine to manufacture clean energy components and maintain customs tariffs simultaneously to prevent imports. It will be a nightmare. “
In the face of this uncertainty, officials pressure the Trump administration to maintain federal support for renewable energy. Last month, eight republics have delivered a certificate on the federal government Non -cutting The Irish Republican Army tax credits, which have benefited from the red countries in a way that is not commensurate with.
This week, 132 municipalities and local officials from 38 states -22 were sent in favor of Trump in 2024-a letter to Congress demanding that all renewable power tax credits be available to government governments and local governments.
The officials wrote: “We urge you to give priority to the economic future and energy of our societies by preserving all tax credits for clean energy available to government governments and local governments through optional wages.”
Mayor Kate Galigo from Phoenix, Arizona, who has solar energy for the individual from any other large municipality, signed the message. She said that clean energy helps “bring good jobs to our society, reduce the electrical bills for the population, and secure our network.”
She said: “I hope that Congress will get to know the urgent need for continuous progress in clean energy and protect the tools used by public and private sector entities to open these opportunities.”
