Clean Energy Is Winning

Elon Musk was recently interviewed by Bloomberg News and was extremely excited and animated about the future of solar power, advances in battery technology, and the financial savings they will bring to global societies as compared to maintaining our current dependence solely on fossil fuels. And despite the current US administration push back on investing in new sources of clean energy and constant campaigning for fossil fuels interests, a review of recent news items reveals that clean, green energy production is winning the race.

Germany, the UK, Denmark, and other European countries are set to commit to boosting their offshore wind capacity dramatically, aiming for hundreds of gigawatts by 2050 despite some political pushback. And clean energy generation has already beaten fossil fuels in the EU, where in 2025, wind and solar together produced more electricity than fossil fuels for the first time. China, which is already leading the world in renewable energy, reportedly aims to have 80% of its energy mix come from non-fossil fuel sources by 2060.

Governor Healey in her recent state of the state address spoke glowingly of all the new hydropower electricity that will be flowing to New England from Hydro Quebec in Canada beginning in January. It’s enough clean energy to power about 1.2 million homes, nearly 20% of Massachusetts' total electricity needs.  In Texas, an ACES friend had been driving through Texas along Interstate 10 and remarked that there were wind turbines lining the tops of mesas ‘as far as the eye could see.”  

But even as US national polices emphasize fossil fuel energy and roll back incentives toward green energy, new US solar and storage combined projects are projected to supply over 80% of all net new generating capacity here in 2026.  And with all the power-hungry AI data centers under construction, Axios reports that the solar industry is planning to dramatically increase battery storage capacity in 2026 by 21.5 GW, a 53% increase from record-breaking 2025 levels.  

Locally, the legal wins against the administration’s anti-offshore wind efforts are going to be a big help to the north shore as coastal communities like Salem begin to benefit from construction and staging of wind turbines off our own coast. That facility in Salem harbor is the site of an old coal fired electrical generation plant. A happy and delicious irony for all environmentalists 

It’s a wonderful time to be green and all environmentalists should remain optimistic. The tide is running in the direction of clean energy and that will slowly clean the air and put a lid on global warming. As that happens less coal will be burned, less oil will be burned and the respiratory health of millions of people on the planet will be improved. That said, we should all keep working with our eyes on the prize of a cleaner, greener future. Let hope and positive expectation energize our efforts. How are you doing with clean energy? Have you considered or installed rooftop solar panels? Are you considering making your next car an EV? What about choosing an electric heat pump as a low pollution option, especially with Mass Save Initiatives. These incentives and rebates also include appliances, insulation, windows, heat pumps and more. Check it out.

Finally, for those of us who remember “Sesame Street” arguably the best kids TV show on PBS, the song that Kermit the Frog sang is still true. "It' Not Easy Bein' Green” but it’s not hopeless and we should all take heart from that. Give some thought to how you can make our world a little bit greener.

ACES invites you to read up on ideas to reduce plastics in your life at myplasticfreelife.com/plasticfreeguide and to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter on ACES’ website www.aces- alliance.org. Please consider joining our community of stewards committed to Make Every Day Earth Day by following our Instagram (@acesalliancenbpt) and Facebook (@ACESAlliance) pages to stay informed.

This educational column was originally published by the Daily News of Newburyport on Febuary 20, 2026.