A new report, Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2020, shows that clean power capacity increased in 2019 by 184GW, a 20GW jump from the added capacity in 2018. This record increase comes along with other record-breaking stats including the highest solar power capacity addition in one year and the highest investment in offshore wind in one year, among others. 

As Forbes reports:

With the cost of installing renewable energy [hitting] new lows, future investments will deliver far more capacity per dollar spent. The 184GW in new capacity was a new record by 12% in terms of gigawatts but came at a cost just 1% higher than 2018’s investment. 

The article continues on to explain: 

This is because the all-in, or levelized, cost of electricity continues to fall for wind and solar, thanks to advances in technology, economies of scale as more plants are built and fierce competition in auctions for new renewable capacity. ‘Costs for electricity from new solar photovoltaic plants in the second half of 2019 were 83 per cent lower than a decade earlier,’ BNEF says.

Such improvements have climate change groups clamouring for investment in green energy as part of America’s economic recovery from COVID-19. Lawmakers should not be blind to the growing green energy market. 

In fact, according to Balkan Green Energy News, Goldman Sachs predicts renewable energy investment will beat oil and gas for the first time ever in 2021, as it is on track to claim 25% of total energy capital expenditure worldwide. 

As technology continues to improve, and people find innovative ways to increase clean energy storage and production, the demand for clean energy rises and prices are driven down. Whether some like it or not, the green energy market is here to stay. 

So let’s celebrate decreasing clean energy costs while continuing to support the rise of a whole new market. Americans want to have a clean planet for generations to come, but we must continue to have further innovation for technology development so that green energy can be a feasible and reliable alternative for the future.