The last four years has seen a continued increase in the adoption of renewable energy, and many state’s have made Net Zero commitments by certain years. The main change we have seen is that there is a domestic manufacturing renaissance in clean energy and storage underway due to the provisions in the IRA and the CHIPS and Science Act, both passed in 2022. There have been many announcements of new solar and battery manufacturing facilities in the US. We shall see if the incoming administration disrupts those programs, however if the goal is to stop conceding high tech and manufacturing jobs to the Asian economies, there is some healthy momentum at present. The US added about 150,000 clean energy jobs in 2023 according to the 2024 report here https://www.energy.gov/policy/us-energy-employment-jobs-report-useer.
Secretary of Energy Jenifer Granholm is interviewed by Robinson Meyer of the Shift Key podcast, and we found it to be an educational hour. https://heatmap.news/podcast/shift-key-s2-e18-jennifer-granholm
We are hopeful the incoming administration continues the current positive trend, however it has been announced the nominee to head this department will be Chris Wright, who is the chief executive of an oil and fracking services company. While it seems likely that we may be taking a step backwards at the federal level, much of the progress that has been made is not able to be undone at this point. Again we may find ourselves in a situation where some states will lead and ultimately the progress will depend on us as individuals. This is a situation we have become accustomed to over the decades and is at the heart of our mission here at Power Trip Energy.