Clean Energy Finance Forum

Vastly higher clean energy targets are essential to empower the international community to make the leap to a sustainable future, according to Richard Heinberg, coauthor of “Our Renewable Future: Laying the Path for One Hundred Percent Clean Energy.” In this interview, he delves into the practical challenges involved in the global transition to renewable power sources.

Across the nation, new elected officials have been sworn in this January. They can alter the trajectory of clean energy projects in the years to come. Incoming governors may preside over expanding clean energy markets.

The versatile online State Energy Analysis Tool produces visuals and data analyses on energy and climate at the state level as well as the national level in the United States. This information allows states to explore their potential for renewable energy and carbon markets. It provides powerful data visualization for users to access information on clean energy, carbon emissions, and industry regulations.

Because energy storage can help the power industry with many problems ranging from intermittency issues hamstringing renewables to energy crises threatening entire population centers, it is being acclaimed by many as the linchpin of tomorrow’s clean energy future.

With so much happening at a state level in solar power and energy efficiency, it is difficult to keep up with the variety of approaches and perspectives. So the Yale Center for Business and the Environment is here to help by launching “States of Clean Energy Innovation,” an online news hub with customized clean energy data and stories about the United States and Puerto Rico. Each state is different. Each state has thoughtful leaders working on our transition to clean energy. And each state deserves its own dashboard.

Connecticut has adapted creatively to the call to develop clean energy markets, combining energy efficiency and solar power as it brings in private financing. There is extensive work in progress to strengthen its programs. In this interview, Bryan Garcia, president and CEO of the Connecticut Green Bank, outlines the current business environment.

The only way to achieve climate targets in the Northeast is to start electrifying transportation and heating to a high level. According to the report “Action Plan to Accelerate Strategic Electrification in the Northeast,” a committee of over 30 stakeholders is laying the groundwork for a massive revamp of the region’s electric power consumption to meet climate goals.

The road to electrifying heating and transportation in the United States is being mapped out by Electric Power Research Institute and The Brattle Group. Their forecasts show that different paths may yield a range of environmental, business and health benefits. Electrification could also stoke the fire of utility profits, which has dimmed in recent years.

As decision makers gathered at COP23 this November in Bonn, Germany, they considered strategies that could empower them to reach the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Financing sustainable infrastructure is one of the keys to putting these goals in motion. According to Laura Canas da Costa, senior advisor in sustainable infrastructure financing at WWF Switzerland, developing nations will be building extensive amounts of infrastructure as they pursue the SDGs. Traditionally, up to 70 percent of infrastructure financing comes from the public sector.

In the face of United States federal inertia regarding the Paris Agreement, a cluster of initiatives driven by corporations and NGOs has sprung up to help maintain forward momentum. These initiatives are drawing together large collaborative networks to set higher goals.