American meteorologists see June 1st as the start of the hurricane season and for this year 2023 the forecasts indicate a high level of uncertainty due to the coincidence of a natural phenomenon, El Niño, on the one hand, and the high temperatures in the Atlantic on the other. The latter situation is caused by climate change, which is accelerated by human activities such as burning oil, gas and coal.
When talking about climate change, one inevitably has to talk about the need for energy as the cause of many climate problems, but the door to hope is open. With the technological development of renewable energy sources, a path of change is open that can prevent or mitigate the worst temperature rises and meet energy needs.
“We have a responsibility to lead the transformation to a clean, renewable and sustainable energy future to combat the climate crisis while transitioning our workforce to the growing clean energy jobs of the future.”
Pedro Azagra
“The science is clear: to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, emissions must be reduced by almost half by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050,” the United Nations states. According to this international organization, to achieve these goals it is necessary to limit dependence on fossil fuels, which still account for 80% of global energy production.
Pedro Azagra, CEO of Avangrid, a subsidiary of Iberdrola, explains that we have the technologies that allow us to have all the electricity we need for our daily lives, “without polluting the environment and without the “We have a responsibility to lead the transition towards a clean, renewable and sustainable energy future to combat the climate crisis while transitioning our workforce to the growing jobs of the future in the sector to facilitate clean energy.”
As a leader in sustainable energy and the third largest wind operator in the U.S., Avangrid owns and operates more than 8 GW of installed wind and solar capacity nationwide. With Vineyard Wind 1, the company is developing the country’s first large-scale commercial offshore wind farm. Azagra stresses that while it is very important to tell people that we can have more electricity, “we also need to ensure that it is produced in a responsible way, limiting the impact on our communities and our environment and marine life.” “damages” communities. Generations are coming.”
The adoption of these technologies and these sources of electricity generation at a time when more energy is being consumed than ever before is critical and urgently needed this decade, says the report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC in its acronym). English) dated March 2023. to prevent damage that is progressive and potentially irreversible.
An existential threat
In Maine, Laney Brown talks about the smoke from wildfires in Canada this spring, which has filtered sunlight with a veil of smoke and carried pollutants to various places across the U.S., from the state where she lives to New York. Brown, vice president of sustainability at Avangrid, believes the situation poses an existential threat, recalling that FEMA, the organization that helps manage climate risks after storms and other events, “faces events every year that cost billions of dollars.” took place every five years.”
For the expert, sustainability means using nature’s resources in such a way that life on the planet is preserved. And not only in terms of sources, but also in terms of the materials used in this sector, because both solar and wind turbines as well as storage batteries require the extraction of critical minerals. However, according to the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), even with carbon capture, the life cycle emissions of the necessary technologies are significantly lower than fossil fuel alternatives. Additionally, Brown explains that there are recycling programs for turbines and batteries. In the latter case, “there is a large secondary market and it is a perfect example of a circular economy.”
Sustainability is also economical. “When you think about the floods, fires and general energy insecurity, there is a huge cost involved,” Brown said.
Energy security is something that José Zayas, executive vice president of policy and programs at ACORE, is clear about. “Think about the war in Ukraine and how many problems it has created for natural gas, a sector whose prices have increased for consumers. In the case of renewable energy, the fuel is essentially always free and always yours, giving you energy independence and security from a source that never runs out.”
And in that sense, the United States is “blessed with many renewable resources,” says Zayas, explaining that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of August 2022 – which provides for $369,000 million in spending and tax credits – and other laws “have that.” emphasized the importance of the sector and awareness of the opportunities that are crucial for a sector that already generates 23% of the country’s energy.”
Renewable energy outperforms coal-fired power
According to the US Energy Information Administration, electricity production from renewable sources – wind, solar, hydro, biomass and geothermal – exceeded coal-fired electricity production for the first time in 2022. Already in 2021 it exceeded nuclear energy, as it did last year. The largest source of electricity (39% of the total) is natural gas.
Wind and solar sources have been the basis for the growth of this clean sector. Official forecasts suggest that renewable energy capacity will grow by 380% between 2022 and 2050, while fossil fuel generation capacity (coal and natural gas) will grow by 11% over the same period. The forecast is based on two basic pillars. The cost and reliability.
Global warming and climate change concept. Half world polluted and green environmental background. Paper art of ecology and environment concept. Vector illustration. Man as Thep (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Avangrid explains that the technological development in the field of renewable energies has been very rapid in both respects, and with regard to the first, he assures: “Not even 15 years ago, but now I can say that it is not only the cleanest, but is also the most competitive in terms of costs.” Marine installations are starting to reduce costs further.
From ACORE, Zayas explained that when it comes to billing users, not all markets in the country are the same and everyone manages their electricity system differently, “but the reason why more and more renewable capacity is being installed is because the costs are competitive. “In some places this results in prices being maintained without increasing them, and in other places they are reduced. In addition, it manifests itself in other opportunities, such as in the economies in which it is located.” In this sense, in 2021, this sector has created more than 539,000 jobs, to which will be added those created at the initiative of the IRA .
The reliability test
As for reliability, Avangrid explains that technological developments have made this energy source safe, as demonstrated by recent storms, proving its resilience on par with other energy sources. We must remember that fossil fuels have not been infallible in disaster situations. During the Uri storm in Texas in February 2021, when there was a power distribution outage, three-quarters of the problems were caused by natural gas and coal-fired power plants. During Storm Elliot in December 2022, 91% of power outages in the Atlantic region were due to fossil fuel power plants.
Azagra recognizes that renewable energy is an intermittent energy source, sometimes the sun doesn’t come out, sometimes the winds calm down, “but improving battery storage systems will help us with this intermittent energy and have a more stable profile.” Zayas, ACORE’s vice president, adds that geographic diversity to maintain balance and improve connectivity, which is the major issue at hand, will ultimately establish the reliability of the renewable system.
Digitally generated image of the infinity sign from a cross section of multiple environments with different types of power supplies on a gray background. Sustainable energy concept. Andriy Onufriyenko (Getty Images)
Avangrid is able to guarantee service because the company has been operating on both sides of this industry for two decades: production and transmission and distribution. “Transmission was seen as an important part of the future, part of the solution to the renewable energy revolution.” ACORE believes that combining renewable energy with an expansion of transmission networks will be of great benefit to production security, because if in one place the The sun doesn’t shine, the wind shines somewhere else.
Technological development, lower prices, the environmental need to accelerate change and the government’s push are reasons why renewable energy will have an ever-growing future. The government says it and Azagra believes it, saying that in 20 years the green solution will be the most important in the generational mix. “There will probably be support from other sources, but we will have the technology and the capacity to ensure that energy production is, above all, renewable and that is good because we remember that we are not doing this just for ourselves yourself, but for the new.” Generations. We must leave a better world than the one we were in.”
CREDITS
Design and layout: Mónica Juárez Martín and Alfredo García