Numerous cities and countries around the globe, from Copenhagen to Taiwan, are experiencing significant, lasting changes on commitments to ensure a clean and sustainable future for generations to come. The American non-profit organization Environmental Working Group (EWG), which specializes in environmental research and advocacy, analyzed government data and expert studies in support of 100% renewable energy:

• Solar capacity has almost tripled in recent years, from 19,000 megawatts in 2015 to 48,000 megawatts in 2018.
• Wind production has also almost tripled since 2009, from 35,000 megawatts in 2009 to more than 90,000 megawatts in 2018.
• Growth in wind and solar has lowered the cost of solar and wind by 88 percent and 69 percent, respectively, since 2009.
• There are now three times as many renewable energy jobs as coal, nuclear and natural gas jobs.
• The true cost of green energy sources is now less than the cost of coal, natural gas and nuclear.

In 2018, the US set a new record, doubling its renewable energy use to 17.6 percent of all electricity generation from renewable sources, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The EIA report also cites wind generation increased from 55 million megawatt hours in 2008 to 275 million megawatt hours in 2018, while solar generation grew from 2 million megawatt hours in 2008 to 96 million megawatt hours in 2018.

This growing demand continues globally, especially offshore wind. A recent study released by Global Industry Analysis forecasted a remarkable growth of more than 80 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity through 2024. Offshore wind is becoming increasingly cost-effective, thanks to innovative turbine technologies and declining costs of transmission cables.

As Forbes notes, “Earlier this month, Britain announced that it plans to derive 30% of its electricity from offshore wind by 2030. The United States – one of the world’s most prominent wind energy producers – has around 2 GW of offshore wind but could achieve over 20 GW by 2030 under favorable market and regulatory conditions. America’s offshore wind potential is estimated to be greater than 22,000 GW (or 22 Terawatts), double the country’s current electricity consumption.”