From the April - June 2022 Jersey Sierran
According to the Chinese zodiac, this is the Year of the Tiger, and climate activists would do well to embrace the characteristics of the tiger: bravery, assertiveness, and dominance. Clearly, the escalating impacts of carbon pollution—extreme weather events, massive wildfires, and retreat of ice sheets in Antarctic and Greenland—demand that activists embrace these qualities. “Given our delays in addressing climate change, we must now commit to completely transforming our energy supply and demand—end game decarbonization,” said Saul Griffith in his “playbook” for a clean energy future. Just as the tiger will take on animals much larger than itself, we need to grapple with the massive fossil fuel industry.
Recent projections indicate renewable energy sources are gaining the advantage. In 2019, US consumption of renewable energy surpassed that of “King Coal” power generation for the first time. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s latest Energy Infrastructure Update report reveals that renewable energy sources accounted for 87.61% (16,665 MW) of new capacity added during the first nine months of 2021. Also, the projected costs of building geothermal, solar, and onshore wind resources for service starting in 2026 are cheaper than for natural gas. Operating costs for onshore wind and solar are cheaper than for combustion technology, but operating and maintenance expenses for solar with battery storage are more expensive than for gas, although prices continue to fall. The clean energy tiger is strong!
In 1980, the oil and gas sector accounted for 29% of the Standard and Poor’s 500 value. Today, despite recent oil and share price increases, these fossil fuel companies account for just 2.7% of the S&P. In 2020, Exxon‘s declining value caused it to be dropped from the Dow Jones Industrial Average (30 stocks) after 92 years of continuous presence, to be replaced by Salesforce, a tech company. Meanwhile, wholesale natural gas prices have risen; in November 2021, New Jersey Natural Gas petitioned the NJ Board of Public Utilities for a 5% rate increase for residential and certain small commercial customers. Higher gas costs strengthen the case for renewable energy. The fossil fuel elephant is weak!
Greta Thunberg implored, “I want you to act as if your house is on fire!” Indeed, in New Jersey it’s true. About 75% of New Jersey households rely on methane as their primary heating fuel, and about 10% depend on petroleum products. Space heating, water heating, appliances, and industrial use account for 28% of New Jersey’s greenhouse gas emissions, including 15.2 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent in the residential sector. Fossil fuel combustion poisons our homes with particulate matter, nitrous oxides, sulfur, volatile organic compounds, ammonia, carbon monoxide, and water vapor, which leads to mold. Heat pumps with programmable thermostats, electric water heaters, electric stoves, and other appliances are readily available and constitute economical substitutes. These clean energy products are eligible for state rebates and federal incentives. Be the tiger: Replace your household methane and oil burners now!
Resources
Incentives for home energy improvements
Snapshot of NJ energy consumption
Renewable energy progress