Webinar Highlights: Renewable Energy - Opportunities for the Next Decade

The second webinar of our 2020 Navigate Webinar Series was brought to you in partnership with NYSERDA, which works to advance energy innovation, technology, and investment in New York State, and CleanCapital, an industry-leading clean energy investment platform. Moderated by Jon Powers, Co-Founder and President of CleanCapital, this webinar highlighted stakeholder perspectives, featuring panelists Doran Hole from Ameresco, Jason Kaplan from PowerMarket, Zoe Berkery from CleanCapital, and Noah C. Shaw from Hodgson Russ LLP.

Couldn't make it to the webinar? Read on for a detailed recap and watch the recording! With a theme of opportunities in the clean energy space for the upcoming decade, our panelists went in deep on the current scenario and forecasting for the years ahead.

What was the role of the policy in the last 10 years?

New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act set a goal of an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and 100% clean energy by 2040. It received many concerns about achieving those goals, but the role is to set these marks down. Unpredictability should be welcome in this segment.

In the last decade, we saw technologies like long-duration storage, microgrids, floating offshore wind, and others mature to become commercially viable. According to Noah C. Shaw, these technologies can unlock an incredible market opportunity and be fundamental to meet the targets. Also, Zoe Berkery stated the importance of implementing technology on current projects in their modernization process.  

What changes do we need to make in policy for the next 10 years?

Doran Hole defended that state legislatures need to lead the way to green their economies with the necessary incentives. Moreover, companies need consistency in policy among regions and zones. At the federal level, it requires a standalone storage tax credit and policies that support offshore wind. Offshore wind alone has a vast potential to create thousands and thousands of jobs paying salaries above six figures.

What is the role of community solar?

Community solar programs did not exist 10 years ago, and today, they democratize all segments of the population in the clean energy sector. Jason from PowerMarket explained that instead of the customer installing a renewable energy project on their property, they subscribe to a part of a large shared renewable energy project built in their utility company area. It costs nothing to the customer to join, and they have the upside of a lower energy rate.  

In Conclusion, as Noah C. Shaw said, clean energy is a train on a track that people cannot even phantom the potential of. To learn more about other questions discussed in this webinar, check out our recording on YouTube. And please, let us know how we can improve through this survey.

To listen to the previous webinars, please visit NECEC on YouTube. Thank you!