Renewable growth may accelerate in 2021 as the new administration starts to execute on a platform, investing $2 trillion in clean energy, and fully decarbonizing the power sector by 2035 in order to achieve a larger goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. A new administration is expected to wield its executive authority to facilitate the deployment of renewables. This may include powers over emissions, public lands, procurement, foreign relations, trade, and agency appointments. Even without a direct incentive for green infrastructure development in the economic stimulus measures passed in response to COVID-19, clean energy demand proved resilient as renewables and storage recorded declining costs and rising capacity and usage factors.
An industry that has focused heavily on solar and wind, supportive federal actions could help progress timelines for further expansion into new technologies, including advanced batteries and other forms of storage, offshore wind, and green hydrogen technology. As these new technologies, especially green hydrogen production and storage, move toward commercialization, we may see more power-to-x projects to store, convert, and reconvert surplus solar and wind power into carbon-neutral fuels and chemicals. The potential for increasing renewable energy demand, as well as the electrification of the transportation and industrial sectors and oil and gas companies’ plans to increase participation in the electricity value chain, are accelerating energy industry convergence. These trends may foster collaboration that gives rise to new business models and helps advance the energy transition.