(Credit: Pexels)Renewable energy expansion at US utilities is on track to eclipse prior years and is expected to continue to demonstrate strong commitment to infrastructure spending over the next several years, according to a new S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis. Projected renewable energy investments are forecast to reach $13.94 billion in 2021, then rise an estimated 5% in 2022 to $14.59 billion.
Societal acceptance of carbon-based energy in the US is dropping, causing corresponding shifts in the regulatory and legislative realms. State and federal regulatory jurisdictions in the US are increasingly providing supportive pathways to recover investment in renewable generation, whereas new fossil generation development appears to be an increasingly risky endeavor, according to the report.
In fact, 2021 represents one of the most active years to-date, with over 40 energy-related bills enacted through April 15 in over 18 states, compared with 65 measures signed by the end of 2020 in the prior legislative season.
Natural gas reserves and supplies are more abundant than ever, but gas infrastructure expansion plans have come under pressure nationwide, and some states and municipalities have introduced gas bans to further goals of decarbonization.
The increasingly unfavorable outlook for the expansion of natural gas transmission and generation assets going forward, alongside a more defined opportunity in low-carbon energy, has caused diversified enterprises to “firmly pivot into regulated utility investments including renewable generation,” S&P Global Market Intelligence says.
While utilities may have multiple options to align their infrastructure with the evolving path toward decarbonization, one of the most straightforward is construction and ownership of regulated renewable generation, the report states.
