Corporate America Wants Renewable Energy: What’s The Hold Up?
In October, Vox exposed an issue power utilities are facing – more and more people are demanding energy be 100% sustainable. It’s pretty obvious why: renewable energy is the future of energy because it’s clean, cutting-edge, and provides plenty of employment. The Sierra Club reports that the US has upwards of eighty cities and five regions focusing their attention on acquiring 100% sustainable, renewable, green energy – of these identified areas, six have already achieved this.
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WHAT DO PEOPLE WANT?
Recent research shows that upwards of 70% of those surveyed, believe that solar power should be used as much as possible and that the 100% of our electricity should come from sustainable sources, like solar power, in the near future. The industry, however, doesn’t necessarily agree that this is possible, raising issues such as impact on ability to serve customers, along with being technologically infeasible and impractical. Remarkably, those surveyed consider 100% renewable energy a good idea even with the possibility of a 30% increase in electricity costs. What does this really mean? It means that utilities are going to have to step it up because it’s looks like they’re failing at providing the public with what they want – 100% green energy.
Companies like Apple, Coca-Cola, Facebook, GM, Google, Ikea, and Lego have already committed to 100% renewable energy power sources.
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WHAT’S THE HOLD UP?
Utilities list several reasons as to why they cannot deliver 100% renewable energy, such as unavailable technology and the massive amounts of land space required to attain this goal. The public, however, doesn’t care to hear the excuses. Utilities list the problems and issues, the people want to hear the solutions and the work being done to overcome these hurdles.
There are three current views regarding complete renewable energy. The first endorses 100% renewable energy trusting it to be the best choice, as an attainable and definite energy source target. The second, believes using mixed power sources is the best way of obtaining overall green energy because it is the more secure and cost effective means. Adding other zero-carbon sources such as nuclear, biomass, fossil fuel or geothermal to the mix will mean more reliability, and aid in feasibility. Finally, the third team – the utilities team – believes in 100% renewable energy is something of the distant future, and not currently attainable for most commercial businesses in the USA.
The general public, however, seems to care very little of the problems, hurdles and superficial excuses being made by utilities. They want one-hundred percent renewable energy, now or at the latest, in the near future at the expense of low costs and reliability. They don’t want to hear about why or how it cannot be done. They just want it done. Now.
Contributed by 770 Electric Corp., A Certified Women’s Business Enterprise And An Industry Leader In Commercial Solar Development In NYC. 770 Electric Corp. Is The Commercial Subsidiary & Wing Of Grid City Electric.
