The Future of Renewable Energy

According to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance, in the next 15 years the renewable energy sector is expected to increase by 230 percent in annual investments and will reach $630 billion by 2030. The growth is due in part to improvements in the cost-competiveness of wind and solar technologies as well as increased implementations of clean energy sources, including hydro, biomass and geothermal. More organizations are expected to turn to renewable energy sources; however, many have already adopted it for their businesses.

Companies are helping to set the precedent for renewable energy, announcing plans to aggressively increase efforts to use renewable energy. Microsoft recently began implementing renewable energy with the use of fuel cells. Other companies, including Pepperidge Farm, Adobe and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company have also used fuel cells for its green benefits as well as its ability to lower the chance of power outages. 

Verizon recently committed itself to sustainability by investing more than $100 million in green energy with the goal of lowering its carbon intensity by 50 percent by 2020. Solar panels and fuel cells are being installed at 19 Verizon buildings, including corporate offices, call and data centers, and central offices, in seven states. Through the initiative, more than 70 million kilowatts of green energy will be generated to help to eliminate 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide.

One source of renewable energy that is growing increasingly popular for homes and businesses in Europe are solar batteries. Once installed, solar batteries are connected to a solar panel outside and are able to collect and store energy during the day to be released in the evening. The European Union (EU) believes solar batteries will help consumers cut back on their dependency on energy, and its ultimate goal is to get 20 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020.