The American South’s Refusal to Adopt Renewable Energy Isn’t a Failure it Can Afford
Like in many areas of development, the American South is lagging behind in the energy revolution. In fact, the region has the lowest percentage of clean energy in the nation.
According to numbers from 2017, not one Southern state made it into the top 25 renewable energy-producing states, a ranking measured by the percentage of a state’s electricity sourced by renewable generation. Tennessee was ranked 26th, with 10.7%. No other state in the region reached that 10% mark.
So far, Virginia is the first government in the South to outline a significant renewable energy goal. Governor Ralph Northam issued Executive Order 43, a plan to reach 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050. A study by the Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), a trade association founded by billionaire Tom Steyer, found that the bill would actually lower rates for the state’s residents. Advocates have been quick to point out that Virginia is one of few Southern states with a controlling Democratic Party, citing this as the sole reason for the shift to green energy. However, this assumption does not hold true.
Other states are leading the way in global renewable energy production, regardless of political leanings. In Idaho, a state that hasn’t voted Democrat in a presidential election since Lyndon Johnson, has a staggering 78.65% of its power generated by renewable sources. A vast majority of it from hydroelectric power. Alaska, another steady Republican stronghold and large oil-producer, receives 32.56% of its electricity from renewables.
An often-cited reason for this lag is that Southern states lack the natural resources to utilize renewable energy on a large scale. It’s true that the region doesn’t have deserts like Arizona or windy plains like west Texas. However, looking at other less endowed states as case studies, clearly, these traits are not necessary.
New York is a national leader in solar energy, ranking 7th in the nation by percentage, despite having little sunlight in comparison to somewhere like Georgia. New York’s success can largely be attributed to the governments of New York City and the capital, Albany — and their willpower to see the industry succeed, instituting numerous incentives for consumers and corporations to go solar. Both the state and New York City have announced ambitious renewable energy goals as well.
Of course, a significant shift to green energy is no simple task and takes considerable financial resources. Nonetheless, other regions in the world have shown it is by no means implausible. A conglomeration of Latin American countries has pledged to reach 70% renewable energy use by 2030. That is more than double of what the European Union has announced, whose target is 32%.
This block of Latin American countries includes Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Colombia, all of whom hold no financial advantage over Southern states.
Although wealthier than its Latin American neighbors, the American South is noticeably poorer than other regions in the US. It currently holds an embarrassing 13.4% poverty rate (compared to a nationwide rate of 12.3%), giving more reason for a shift. Renewable energy has proven it can alleviate a region’s financial struggles, rather than exacerbate them. As previously mentioned, 78% of Idaho’s power is from renewables, and its residents have the sixth-lowest electricity rates in the country. South Dakota’s 70.26% also yields utility prices considerably lower than the national average.
This effectively occurred from an influx of investment and technological developments that have reduced the cost of renewable energy technologies in recent years. Studies now show it is often cheaper to invest in renewable energy sources than fossil fuels.
Another factor is the reoccurring inputs that fossil fuels require. For coal or gas-powered plants, the expenses of producing electricity do not end with the initial investment of the facilities. The continued necessity of mining or drilling for these resources is another consistent, high cost.
For renewable energies, once the initial investment of a photovoltaic or wind farm is made, the only additional capital needed is for maintenance. No regular inputs are necessary, which then reduces the costs. This is all excluding the notoriously damaging extraction processes of mining, such as mountaintop removal.
Because of these production advantages, companies like Common Energy, an organization that connects individual houses with electricity produced by solar farms, reduces an average customer’s bill by at least 10%.
In Appalachia and its southern states, coal has been a pertinent part of the history and economy, likely contributing to the region’s slow acceptance of renewables. However, despite the current administration’s efforts, the coal industry’s full deterioration is seemingly inevitable.
Coal’s largest company, Murray Energy, recently filed for bankruptcy protection at the end of 2019. Murray’s downfall comes as no surprise. Coal’s share of the nation’s electricity fell from 48% in 2008 to 27% in 2018, according to the Department of Energy. The South and Appalachia have famously taken the brunt of this decline.
With blighted towns and abandoned factories scattered throughout the region, it’s now all but required that Southern governors work to bring more renewable jobs into their states. Solar energy employs 250,000 people nationwide, wind employs 100,000. Combined, that is seven times the number that coal employs, and solar and wind only account for about 10% of the nation’s power. That employment number will only balloon as the production portion increases.
Bringing these jobs could be the lifeline many communities need, and a speedy change is more than possible. Kansas’s portion of renewable energy grew from less than 1% of electricity production to 36% in a little over a decade.
Whether the South likes it or not, this is the trajectory of energy. New data shows that solar and wind now provide more than one-third of the world’s power. Fossil fueled power plants are declining in both the United States and Europe. More fossil-fueled plants were decommissioned than built in 2019 and a Gallup Poll found that most Americans now support reducing fossil fuel use.
If the South wants to put more money in the pockets of its people and even bring jobs back to crumbling coal towns, it will need to join the rest of the nation, and the world, in the energy revolution.
