Jeff Clark: Get ready for the clean energy future
Published: 02-04-2025 5:01 PM |
I beg to differ on a few points in the Jan. 30 guest column ”Just not ready for clean energy future” by Stephen Fox. First, Gov. Maura Maura Healey and the Legislature are quite aware of the concerns he lays out and are addressing the challenges of climate changes. They are putting policies in place to get us to net zero (i.e., not producing more carbon than the environment can sequester) by 2050.
Secondly, the adoption of EVs, heat pumps, induction stoves, and other technologies that get us off fossil fuels is happening and will continue. Their adoption is happening globally, and unfortunately the U.S. is lagging other developed countries. I agree that adoption of these technologies will require more electricity, but that is not an issue today. It may be an issue in 2050, when the demands of AI and other forces will be even greater than clean technology.
Today, the penetration of solar and wind in our region is significant, but not so high that its fluctuating output exceeds our total demand for electricity, which is provided by gas, hydro, and nuclear. Over time, solar and offshore wind will displace the use of gas, and utility grid storage will be both pervasive and economical. The result is a cleaner power grid and cheaper demand charges.
I worked for a solar energy advocacy nonprofit in the 1980s. Our motto was, “Solar energy — the future is now.” Unfortunately, well-funded interests and the current administration are all that are keeping that future at bay.
Jeff Clark
Amherst