Energy Projections in 2020 and Beyond...

The United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects a 30% increase in industrial energy consumption around the globe to 2050. Largely centered in Asia, transportation and building energy consumption will see similar gains at 40% and 65%, respectively. Building energy - which includes residential and commercial structures alike - are poised to increase from 91 quadrillion Btu to 139 quadrillion Btu.

As energy consumption across the planet increases, so, too, does renewable energy consumption. The EIA indicates renewable energy consumption will grow by 3.1% annually to 2050.

Projections for energy consumption in the immediate future in the United States remain mixed. A cooler-than-average summer in 2020 may actually lead to a slight decrease in energy consumption in the immediate future in the US. With this in mind, energy costs will continue to rise in the residential sector from $13.01 per kilowatt hour in 2019 to $13.32 in 2021.

As renewable energy sources grow globally, there’s a shift in the type of energy being generated in the United States. Coal-fired energy continues to decline, replaced by natural gas-combined alternatives. Generation of energy from renewable energy will increase from 17% in 2019 to 19% in 2020, rising to 22% in 2021.

Within renewable energy options, solar capacity is expected to grow, especially in the residential sector. This is especially true for California where, in 2020, all new homes built in California will have to have rooftop solar panels. Our CHERP-Locally Grown Power (CLGP) program sits at the forefront of this phenomenon.

According to Devon Hartman, our President and CEO, our program is creating, “replicable, non-profit, solar panel assembly factory...uniting physicists, economists, City Hall, local businesses, and hundreds of local volunteers, to bring back middle-class manufacturing jobs and cut green-house gasses on a massive scale.”

During our first five years, CLGP will produce enough solar panels to meet the needs of 36,000 residents of California. By keeping production and installation of solar panels local, CLGP provides goods and services that stimulate the local economy, create justice, and boost California’s environmental justice priorities. CLGP also promises to mitigate carbon emissions through effective, renewable energy options.