Renewable Energy Will Be The Cheapest Energy Source by 2020

In recent research done by Morgan Stanley, it has been estimated that renewable energy will be the cheapest resource by 2020. If this pans out, analysts predict that the U.S. will meet the Paris commitment goals regardless of Trump’s withdrawal from the climate agreement.

“By our forecasts, in most cases favorable renewables economics rather than government policy will be the primary driver of changes to utilities’ carbon emissions levels,” writes the bank in a statement. “For example, notwithstanding president Trump’s stated intention to withdraw the US from the Paris climate accord, we expect the US to exceed the Paris commitment of a 26-28% reduction in its 2005-level carbon emissions by 2020.”

In recent years, wind turbine blade lengths have greatly increased due to stronger materials and better design. This makes wind power both exponentially more efficient and cheaper than it was before. Furthermore, solar panels have decreased in price by 50% in between and 2016 and 2017, making them a more and more appealing option.   

With this continuing progress towards the efficiency and cost of renewable energy, it will soon make economic sense to transition away from fossil fuels and it will inevitably start to happen.

References: Business Insider, Quartz