Affordable Clean Energy is More Achievable Than Ever Before in 2022
2020 and 2021 were both groundbreaking years for renewable energy and climate policy. According to reports from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), this growth is expected to continue in 2022.
The EIA predicts that power generation from renewable sources will increase from 20% to 23% in 2022. In the forecast, the EIA also says it expects the share of total generation for renewables other than hydropower, which was 13% in 2021, to rise to 16% in 2022.
Other predictions for 2022 are that more utility-owned clean energy projects will emerge, providing more renewable plans for consumers while simultaneously making them more affordable.
As federal policy and corporate demand meet to increase the number of renewable energy options available to homeowners and businesses, the demand for consumer-specific energy plans will also increase.
Trends to watch out for in 2022 include emerging technologies like green hydrogen, increased long-duration energy storage and an increased focus on transmission development.
Interest in green hydrogen, which is hydrogen generated by renewable energy, is skyrocketing. It could almost eliminate CO2 emissions in sectors like steel, aviation and chemicals. The U.S. Department of Energy issued a request for information on hydrogen demonstrations to better understand the needs and challenges of this technology.
Because the demand for renewables is also skyrocketing, long-duration energy storage is, in turn, becoming more critical. We could see an increase in funding for long-duration energy storage in 2022 as the market continues to evolve.
Transmission development is required to provide reliable power as demand increases and to cope with the rise of renewable projects. Federal funding in the Infrastructure Deal contains $73 billion for the electric grid.
With all of these renewable trends on the rise, 2022 has the potential to be a record year for clean energy deployments. WattBuy’s mission has always been to democratize affordable, clean energy. We will continue to focus on bringing transparency, intelligence, and actionable insights to consumers wherever they might be making home energy decisions.