New Report Explores Barriers to Clean-Energy Transition
America plans to reduce its emissions by eliminating fossil fuels from energy generation and replacing fossil fuel-dependent technology with alternatives that run on renewable energy. Certain policy measures including the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have reduced clean-energy prices to such a degree that renewables now cost the same as generating energy from combusting fossil fuels.
Although making green energy as affordable as fossil-fuel energy is a major step toward achieving a carbon-free economy, a new report has highlighted noncost factors that are slowing down green energy adoption in the United States. After analyzing different modeling scenarios, the Clean Investment Monitor report found that factors such as long grid-connection delays and local opposition to green energy are hampering the rate of the green-energy transition worldwide.
Lead author Trevor Houser reports that two decades of prorenewable energy policies have made renewables so affordable they can compete with natural gas and coal, two of the most commonly used fuels in the world. However, despite the drop in clean-energy prices, the switch to renewables isn’t happening fast enough because of issues such as rising inflation and supply problems.
Houser notes that while these issues have resulted in a temporary spike in clean-energy prices, costs are steadily correcting. Even so, he says ramping up production, connecting to power-transmission lines, and dealing with the growing local resistance to clean-energy alternatives remain the biggest hurdles to the green-energy transition. The opposition to renewables is significant because wind and solar-power generation need more land than natural gas or coal-fired power plants, increasing their chances of being near residential or commercial areas.
According to Houser, people are generally supportive of renewable energy, but they don’t want wind and solar plants near their homes or businesses. A 2023 report by Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law noted that there was organized resistance to green-energy plants in 35 states, which led to at least 228 major local restrictions. Report author Matthew Eisenson points out that some state-level laws have also made it easier for local governments to ban green-energy projects in their jurisdictions.
Delays with connecting green energy to the national grid are also holding up the adoption of renewables such as solar and wind. Lori Bird, director of global research firm U.S. Energy for the World Resources, says new green-energy projects are required to go through a rigorous study process before they can connect to the transmission system. The result is a “very large backlog” of renewable projects, Bird says, especially as the study processes are taking longer than they used to.
As these society-level bottlenecks are worked through, numerous companies such as First Tellurium Corp. (CSE: FTEL) (OTCQB: FSTTL) are working as best they can to avail sufficient supplies of the metals, such as tungsten and copper, needed to enable the green-energy transition.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to First Tellurium Corp. (CSE: FTEL) (OTCQB: FSTTF) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/FSTTF
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the GreenEnergyStocks website applicable to all content provided by GES, wherever published or re-published: https://www.greennrgstocks.com/Disclaimer
America plans to reduce its emissions by eliminating fossil fuels from energy generation and replacing fossil fuel-dependent technology with alternatives that run on renewable energy. Certain policy measures including the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have reduced clean-energy prices to such a degree that renewables now cost the same as generating energy from combusting fossil fuels.
Although making green energy as affordable as fossil-fuel energy is a major step toward achieving a carbon-free economy, a new report has highlighted noncost factors that are slowing down green energy adoption in the United States. After analyzing different modeling scenarios, the Clean Investment Monitor report found that factors such as long grid-connection delays and local opposition to green energy are hampering the rate of the green-energy transition worldwide.
Lead author Trevor Houser reports that two decades of prorenewable energy policies have made renewables so affordable they can compete with natural gas and coal, two of the most commonly used fuels in the world. However, despite the drop in clean-energy prices, the switch to renewables isn’t happening fast enough because of issues such as rising inflation and supply problems.
Houser notes that while these issues have resulted in a temporary spike in clean-energy prices, costs are steadily correcting. Even so, he says ramping up production, connecting to power-transmission lines, and dealing with the growing local resistance to clean-energy alternatives remain the biggest hurdles to the green-energy transition. The opposition to renewables is significant because wind and solar-power generation need more land than natural gas or coal-fired power plants, increasing their chances of being near residential or commercial areas.
According to Houser, people are generally supportive of renewable energy, but they don’t want wind and solar plants near their homes or businesses. A 2023 report by Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law noted that there was organized resistance to green-energy plants in 35 states, which led to at least 228 major local restrictions. Report author Matthew Eisenson points out that some state-level laws have also made it easier for local governments to ban green-energy projects in their jurisdictions.
Delays with connecting green energy to the national grid are also holding up the adoption of renewables such as solar and wind. Lori Bird, director of global research firm U.S. Energy for the World Resources, says new green-energy projects are required to go through a rigorous study process before they can connect to the transmission system. The result is a “very large backlog” of renewable projects, Bird says, especially as the study processes are taking longer than they used to.
As these society-level bottlenecks are worked through, numerous companies such as First Tellurium Corp. (CSE: FTEL) (OTCQB: FSTTL) are working as best they can to avail sufficient supplies of the metals, such as tungsten and copper, needed to enable the green-energy transition.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to First Tellurium Corp. (CSE: FTEL) (OTCQB: FSTTF) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/FSTTF
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the GreenEnergyStocks website applicable to all content provided by GES, wherever published or re-published: https://www.greennrgstocks.com/Disclaimer
