According to the report Renewable Energy Industry Outlook, the industry will continue to grow in 2020.
Marlene Motyka, Deloitte’s Global and US Renewable Energy Leader, said the three key drivers for continued renewable energy growth in 2020, include:
Increased opportunities for the offshore wind sector boosted by a spate of state and federal policy initiatives that have stimulated the industry over the last two years.
Expanded distributed energy resources development to address grid resiliency issues after the increase in severe weather events across the county.
Increased opportunities to collaborate with other industries, especially in smart city initiatives, that accelerate technological development, financial innovation, and other initiatives.
2020 renewable energy industry trends include:
Renewables’ costs competitiveness ushers in a new era of competition.
The door is ajar for new offshore wind opportunities and may open wider.
Growing resiliency imperative may mean an increased role for renewables and storage.
Collaboration is key to innovation in the sector.
2019 trends
For the first time ever, in April 2019, renewable energy outpaced coal by providing 23% of US power generation, compared to coal’s 20% share.
In the first half of 2019, wind and solar accounted for approximately 50% of total US renewable electricity generation.
Declining costs, rising capacity along with increased competitiveness of battery storage drove growth in 2019.
Levelised cost of onshore wind and utility-scale solar declined by 10% and 18%, respectively.
Renewable energy consumption by residential and commercial customers increased 6% and 5%, respectively, while industrial consumption declined slightly by 3% in 2019.
As of late 2019, at least 10 utilities have announced 100% decarbonisation goals.
The wind industry expects record growth for 2019.
