Is Clean Energy Ready?

A significant amount of our electricity is already provided by clean energy technologies. These technologies not only work today, but are being improved each year to improve their efficiency and costs. Ongoing barriers to its development are being addressed through policy and market development efforts at the local and national level, making clean energy easier to develop each year.

Current Clean Energy Development

Statisitics provided by the US Department of Energy track kilowatt-hours of electricity produced by clean energy each year. Follow this link.

Clean Energy Costs

The cost of clean energy technology is generally perceived to be the main barrier to its development. However, some technologies like hydropower, biomass, and large-scale wind are already largely competitive with the costs of other electricity generation. Solar photovoltaics and fuel cells are more expensive, and generally require financial incentives at present. However, the costs of these technologies have declined significantly and consistently in recent years, with solar costs declining by about a third and fuel cell costs declining by 50%. Future cost projections indicate they will be completely competitive in coming decades.

For all clean energy technologies, market demand is the key to lower costs and increased use. A number of factors are already contributing to increased demand. Renewable Portfolio Standards require a certain amount of generation to come from clean energy within certain timeframes. Renewable Portfolio Standards have been implemented in many states, including Massachusetts. Public incentive programs implemented through electricity deregulation bills have also emerged in Massachusetts (the Renewable Energy Trust) and other states.

Siting and Approvals

Siting and approval processes have presented time and cost barriers for many clean energy projects but are improving as more clean energy is installed. Because many clean energy technologies are new to review boards, inspectors, and community participants, the siting processes for clean energy have often been unclear and lengthy. Particularly for wind development, which has visual impacts and raises environmental impact questions in some locations, the siting process is largely focused on community education and navigating local approval processes.

For smaller, on-site or distributed generation technologies like solar photovoltaics and fuel cells, the most significant approval process is the interconnection review conducted by utilities to determine whether a project can be connected to the electric grid. Great strides have been made in this area, with a uniform review process implemented across Massachusetts and similar standards implemented in other states. Under these new standards, small projects often go through an expedited review intended to make interconnection much easier.

At present, the main activity that will improve siting and approval processes is the continued installation of new clean energy facilities that can serve as precedents for future facilities. A great deal has been learned through existing projects. As more facilities are developed, the people involved, from customers to inspectors and review boards, will gain more experience with the review and approval processes and make it easier to install clean energy.

Individual Technology Benefits and Barriers

To learn more about the benefits and barriers for each clean energy technology, you can visit the Clean Energy Technologies section.

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