NYT graph based on The Energy Institute’s 2023 Statistical Review of World Energy |
Historically, Europe's transition to renewable energy has outpaced the U.S. "But the United States is catching up, and globally, change is happening at a pace that is surprising even the experts who track it closely," the Times reports. "Wind and solar power are breaking records, and renewables are now expected to overtake coal by 2025 as the world's largest source of electricity. Automakers have made electric vehicles central to their business strategies and are openly talking about an expiration date on the internal combustion engine. Heating, cooling, cooking and some manufacturing are going electric."
The transition is worldwide. "The cost of generating electricity from the sun and wind is falling fast and in many areas is now cheaper than gas, oil or coal. Private investment is flooding into companies that are jockeying for advantage in emerging green industries. . . . As the planet registers the highest temperatures on record, rising in some places to levels incompatible with human life," the Times reports. "More than $1.7 trillion worldwide is expected to be invested in technologies such as wind, solar power, electric vehicles and batteries globally this year, according to the International Energy Agency, compared with just over $1 trillion in fossil fuels. That is by far the most ever spent on clean energy in a year. Those investments are driving explosive growth."
In many areas, economic investment in renewables is prompting regional change. The city "once known as the 'Oil Capital of the World' where the minor league baseball team is the "Drillers" is immersed in a new energy revolution," the Times reports. "As the workday begins in Tulsa, Okla., the assembly line at the electric school bus factory rattles to life. Crews fan out across the city to install solar panels on century-old Tudor homes. Teslas and Ford F-150 Lightnings pull up to charging stations powered in part by the country's second-largest wind farm. And at the University of Tulsa's School of Petroleum Engineering, faculty are working on ways to use hydrogen as a clean energy source."
U.S. government investments have helped move the needle for American clean energy. "A $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law provided money to enhance the power grid, buy electric buses for schools and build a national network of electric vehicle chargers," the Times reports. "Regulations are also hastening the energy transition. Mr. Biden has proposed tough new federal pollution limits on tailpipes and smokestacks, but several states are acting on their own."
"The shift is happening so quickly that some of America’s most iconic automakers are preparing for a world beyond gasoline-powered cars and trucks," the Times reports. "General Motors, which has the largest market share of any carmaker in the United States, has committed to selling only zero-emissions vehicles by 2035. It’s a 'once-in-a-generation inflection point' for the 114-year-old automaker, according to Mary Barra, GM’s chief executive."
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