The electricity sector is becoming more efficient with how it uses power, but that hasn’t translated to a drop in emissions, according to a report from BloombergNEF (BNEF) and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE).
Many companies in the electricity sector are leaning increasingly heavily on natural gas power generation and renewable energy, which would theoretically represent a step in the right direction in regards to worldwide efforts to prevent carbon dioxide levels from rising. However, those efforts are countered by rapid economic development and severe weather, which is itself a sign of the climate change the move away from carbon dioxide emissions is supposed to prevent.
“More coal plants closing and being replaced by cleaner sources of power marked a key trend that continued in 2018,” said Ethan Zindler, BloombergNEF's head of Americas. “However, the overall jump in CO₂ emissions during 2018 is a clear reminder that technological advancements on their own cannot address the climate challenge. Strong, supportive policies are needed at the local, state, as well as federal level.”
The report identified several major energy trends, including increased spending on energy efficiency through formal frameworks (i.e. new building codes); an increased capacity for natural gas-fired power; and installations of renewable energy generators. Natural gas now provides a record 35 percent of the United States’ power. In the renewable energy sector, solar is at the top of the list with 11.6 gigawatts of new installations last year, followed by wind at 7.5. gigawatts. Energy sources that are not supported by policy, such as biomass and geothermal, have not grown as quickly or consistently.
“Continued expansion of sustainable energy is not just beneficial to the environment, it is an engine of American economic growth,” said BCSE President Lisa Jacobson. “In our seventh year of analysis, we found that energy efficiency, natural gas, and renewable energy continue to be key economic drivers. At the same time, they contribute substantially to important efforts to reduce emissions and develop modern and resilient infrastructure.”
