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Renewable energy projects keep getting bigger — This Week in Cleantech

Renewable energy projects keep getting bigger — This Week in Cleantech
An aerial photo showcasing progress of the Mammoth Solar project in Indiana as of December, 2023 (courtesy: Doral Renewables)

This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. Produced by Renewable Energy World and Tigercomm, This Week in Cleantech will air every Friday in the Factor This! podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s episode features Michael Thomas, author of the “Distilled” newsletter, who reported on the growing size of clean energy projects in the U.S.

This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Andrew Savage, vice president and founding team at electric vehicle and bike sharing company, Lime. 

1. The World Needs More Batteries for Electric Vehicles — But Not This Many — Bloomberg

By 2025, battery factories worldwide are set to produce 5x more cells than necessary to meet demand for EVs and battery storage systems. China faces the largest amount of battery cell overcapacity. They’re set to exceed demand by 400% for the decade. 

The U.S. and Europe are not far behind this overcapacity. The Biden administration has pushed for a domestic battery supply chain through IRA incentives and directly with a $9.2 billion loan to Ford last year for three new battery factories. European governments are also subsidizing new battery factories.

2. House hearing to be held to consider bill to reform how public utility regulators are appointed — WOSU Public Media

After the House Bill 6 corruption scandal revealed the problematic dealings between current public utility regulators and the companies they’re meant to regulate, Ohio is convening a house hearing to discuss a bill that would mandate consumer representation on the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. The bill would ensure fairer representation and stop former utility employees from regulating their old coworkers.

3. Long-Range EVs Now Cost Less Than the Average New Car in the US — Bloomberg

Tesla, Hyundai-Kia and GM now offer EVs with a range of over 300 miles that can be priced about 25% below a $47,000, new gas-powered car in the U.S. As EVs became more popular, EV buyers became more aware of the limited battery range, slow charging speeds and sparse charger accessibility.

Now, technology advancements and cost reductions are rapidly bridging the gap between EVs and traditional gasoline-powered cars. It’s become more feasible for middle class drivers to buy an EV and not have to worry as much about range anxiety or charging.

Watch the full episode on YouTube

4. World faces ‘staggering’ oil glut by end of decade, energy watchdog warns — Financial Times

Oil demand is forecast to peak before 2030 due to EVs, Middle Eastern countries’ desire to switch from oil to renewables, and slower economic growth in China. But oil producers are continuing to start new drilling projects that will take years to pay off. The International Energy Agency (IEA) cautioned that minor shifts, such as slightly higher global economic growth, a drop in oil prices, or a slower rollout of EVs, could reverse the forecasted decline in oil demand by the end of the decade.

The IEA also projects that if oil companies continue to increase production, we could see over eight million barrels of oil per day in spare capacity by the end of the decade.

5. The Rise of the Clean Energy Megaproject — Distilled

One big reason for clean energy growth is through the rise of clean energy megaprojects. Solar projects are 6x bigger than they were a decade ago, and the average 2025 solar project is predicted to have 125 MW of capacity – nearly 2x the size of an average project built this year.

Wind is getting bigger too, with projects 3x larger than they were two decades ago. These projects have the potential to get even bigger because we have moved from building solely on land, to building offshore wind in the ocean.

Battery storage has grown the most, with projects 15x larger than they were half a decade ago.

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Join us every Friday for new episodes of This Week in Cleantech in the Factor This! podcast feed, and tune into new episodes of Factor This! every Monday.

This Week in Cleantech is hosted by Renewable Energy World senior content director John Engel and Tigercomm president Mike Casey. The show is produced by Brian Mendes with research support from Alex Petersen and Clare Quirin.