No. 39 of 108
July 22, 2025
About 90% of newly commissioned renewable energy costs less per kilowatt than traditional fossil fuel electrical generation, according to a new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency. 168 countries and the European Union belong to IRENA. (Yes, the U.S. is a member.) Lower costs are attributed to advances in technology and economies of scale. The cost of battery energy story systems, for example, is 93% less expensive/unit of energy stored than in 2010. The top ten countries in renewable energy as a percentage of their total energy production are: Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Brazil, New Zealand, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Finland and Colombia. The two fastest growing renewable energy countries are China (projected to have half of the total capacity by the end of this decade), and India which is growing at the fastest rate among major economies. The largest electricity producer/user/consumer is China, followed by the U.S.
Countries make decisions in their own favor – more or less. What is in their favor? Do they look at the long haul, or the short haul? What factors are taken into consideration, and how do they reconcile competing factors? How do they manage transitions? The infrastructure nature of energy means no advance is made unless investment is made. IRENA was established in 2009 and was seen as a clear sign that the world had shifted in its recognition of the need to systematically invest (funds, knowledge, will) in that which will power all the things, and to transition from fossil fuels as an imperative for the life of the planet. But what if a country doesn’t buy the life-of-the-planet-thing? Well, surely the cheaper cost? Or increasingly difficult and more expensive extraction of fossil fuels, expected in the fifty-to-seventy-year range for most, and about the 100-year range for coal? Or does a country just wait? What does it mean to be a good ancestor? Time for an eye examination and new lens prescription if short sightedness becomes a problem in seeing what is right in front of us.