Prevailing winds at the end of 2013 indicated that the US is blowing towards a clean energy economy. In October, 99.3% of new capacity additions to the US electric grid were from renewables, such as wind and solar. By the end of the year, about 66GW of wind had been installed, with as much as 13Gw being solar.
During his State of the Union Address at the start of 2013,
President Barack Obama told Americans that if Congress doesn't
act, he would take matters into his own hands in the Oval
Office. "If Congress won’t act soon to protect future
generations, I will," President Obama stated. "I will direct my
Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and
in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for
the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to
more sustainable sources of energy.”
The industry held its breath in anticipation of Obama's
follow-up act to prevent momentum for renewables from fizzling
out in the second half of this decade. With many state-renewable
portfolio standards already meeting their targets for 2020,
particularly in California, the expiration of the Production Tax
Credit for wind energy at the end of 2013, and the sunset of
solar's Investment Tax Credit from 2016, comments like Obama's
do not pass without high hopes.
After all, in the long-term the future looks bright for
renewables. The US Energy Information Agency forecasts that
increased generation from renewable energy will account for 32%
of the overall growth in electricity generation from 2011 to
2040 – a figure that assumes federal and state incentives.
But the renewable industry could only exhale after 10 months
with the deployment this past December of Obama's weapon of last
resort in the fight against climate change – the executive
order.
"In order to create a clean energy economy that will increase
our nation's prosperity, promote energy security, combat climate
change, protect the interests of taxpayers, and safeguard the
health of our environment, the federal government must lead by
example," President Obama said at the time.
The order requires 20% of the total amount of electricity
consumed by government agencies to be sourced from renewable
energy, triple the current figure.
The initial industry response was favourable. “This is a
landmark moment in our nation’s history," gushed Rhone
Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries
Association, or SEIA. "Today, climate change is a real and
growing threat to America and the rest of the world… it’s so
important for the federal government to lead by example. We
applaud President Obama for standing firm and following through
on a key commitment he made as part of his Climate Action Plan …
America’s solar energy industry is doing its part."
But here's the catch: The executive order states the target
should be achieved to the extent that it is "economically
feasible and technically practicable", providing a clear exit
clause if the process of greening the federal government's
500,000 buildings and 600,000 vehicles looks like it might
become too expensive.