Clean energy broke records in 2021 but still can’t catch up with oil and gas

Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

According to two new energy reports released today, oil and gas will continue to dominate the US energy sector for the next three decades, even though clean energy just had a record-setting year in the US.

If the US continues on its current path, it will continue to produce record amounts of crude oil and gas through the year 2050. Unless something changes, oil and gas will be the country's most-consumed sources of energy through the middle of the century.

The goal of virtually eliminating greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is in line with the goals of the Paris climate accord and what the vast body of research has shown is needed to prevent a much more severe climate crisis. The only way to get rid of dirty fossil fuels is to use clean energy sources like solar and wind farms.

There is some movement in that direction, but not much. According to an analysis released today by the Business Council for sustainable energy, clean energy broke several records in the US in 2011.

There was a record $105 billion in private investment last year in renewable energy and batteries, electric transport, as well as hydrogen and carbon capture technologies that might be able to clean up pollution from heavy industry. The amount of renewable energy contributed to the power grid broke a record, thanks to the additional generating capacity built by developers. Sales of electric vehicles doubled from 2020 to 2021.

Even so, renewable energy makes up 20% of the US power sector, while gas is almost double that. The goal of a 100 percent clean power sector by the Biden administration is a long way off. According to a report released last month by the American Clean Power, annual wind, solar, and energy storage installations need to grow at a faster rate than they did in the previous year in order to meet the goal.

The bipartisan infrastructure law passed last year includes $80 billion of federal investment in clean energy technologies, including new transmission lines crucial for bringing energy from far-flung wind and solar farms to cities and towns. The budget reconciliation bill, which Democrats have been fighting over for months, is tied up in much of Biden's remaining plans for cleaning up the power grid. The proposals to set federal clean energy standards and penalize utilities for sticking with dirty energy have already fallen by the wayside. The tax incentives for clean energy in the latest iteration of the bill are still in limbo as the bill remains stuck in Congress.