Is Renewable Energy Helping To Achieve Net-Zero Carbon Emissions Fast Enough?

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Ever since the industrial revolution, human activities have released tons of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have reportedly hit an all-time high. These greenhouse gasses can end up trapping heat causing the earth’s surface temperature to increase — a process called the greenhouse effect.

Globally, the primary sources of greenhouse gasses are electricity and heat (31%), agriculture (11%), transportation (15%), forestry (6%) and manufacturing (12%). According to a report from IEA, global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions surged by 6% in 2021 to 36.3 billion tons. The report says the spike was because of the substantial reliance on coal for power as the world rebounded from the COVID pandemic.

The recent spike in carbon emissions has arguably caused many companies to become green energy advocates while many countries are adopting renewable energy to minimize their carbon footprints. Tesla Inc. TSLA is one the big companies that stopped accepting Bitcoin BTC/USD, citing concerns over the rapid increase in the use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining.

Nations Going Green?

Just recently, Canada unveiled a $7.3 billion plan to reduce its carbon emissions — particularly in the oil and gas industry.  

“The whole world is focusing on clean energy … and Canada cannot afford not to do that,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. 

The move is an effort to migrate from relying on Russia for oil and natural gas with an ultimate goal to shift toward renewable energy.

Germany is heading in a similar direction. The country rolled out measures to speed up the adoption of renewable energy and expects green energy to account for 80% of the country’s power by 2030, up from the current 30%.

The Biden administration has also been pushing for measures to decarbonize the U.S. Early last year, President Joe Bidden rejoined the Paris climate agreement, setting a new course by looking to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Several state and federal programs have been launched to reduce carbon footprints in the U.S. The Hill District in Pittsburgh recently received a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to research how vacant places can be used to generate renewable energy. Money allocated through the grant will be used to hire renewable energy experts who will assess potential areas for renewable energy generation.

Developers and companies in the renewable energy space say they are geared up to deploy massive amounts of solar energy to help the president achieve this long-term goal. Orbital Solar Services, a subsidiary of Orbital Energy Group Inc. OEG is a company that says that renewables can in fact fill in the gaps quickly.

Orbital Solar Services offers construction and project management services in the solar energy space. The company has worked on over 50 projects, including the installation of solar farms and the construction of substations.

Orbital is currently building two notable projects, a 130-megawatt direct current solar farm in Montgomery County, Alabama and a 130 MW DC solar farm in Happy, Arkansas. 

This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice.