According to the 2023 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook published today by BloombergNEF (BNEF) and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE), investment in clean energy generation and technologies shattered records in 2022, even as supply chain disruptions, an international energy crisis, and rising interest rates elevated prices for key energy commodities,

“In a year dominated by tumult and upheaval in global energy markets, a broad portfolio of technologies helped ensure that the clean energy transition continued to advance”, said BCSE President Lisa Jacobson. “The question now is how fast we can move. Efficient implementation of recent climate and infrastructure legislation, as well as common sense federal permitting and siting reform, will be necessary to capitalize on the sustainable energy growth of 2022.”

The Factbook reveals that 2022 represented a record-breaking year for energy transition investment, with global financing for technologies to decarbonize the world’s economy exceeding $1 trillion. In the United States, energy transition investment rose 11% year-on-year to $141 billion.

Source: BCSE

Renewables’ contributions to the power grid also broke records in 2022. Driven by surges in output from wind and solar, as well as growth in hydropower production, renewable generation rose at the fastest pace among major sectors with a 13% year-on-year rise to its highest level ever. Despite high natural gas prices, coal-fired output fell sharply, with renewables generation ultimately outpacing coal. Renewables and natural gas have grown from a combined 43% of total U.S. power generation to 62% in just a decade. Zero-carbon power (renewables and nuclear power) comprised 41% of generation.

Source: BCSE

BNEF says that the clean energy economy was also driven by investment in innovative decarbonization technologies. Sales of electric and fuel cell vehicles hit nearly 982,000 in 2022, up 50% from 2021. The United States set a new record for energy storage build with 4.8 gigawatts (GW) added, an increase from 3.7 GW in 2021. Post-Inflation Reduction Act commitments to the North American battery supply chain reached almost $17 billion by the end of 2022.

The document reveals that this growth in clean energy generation and investment came even as the industry grappled with higher prices, rising interest rates, and supply chain issues. Prices for key commodities that underpin the clean power sector were stubbornly high through much of 2022 but eased somewhat by year end. For the second year in a row, U.S. natural gas prices increased due to rising demand for natural gas at home and abroad, in part due to the conflict in Ukraine. The growth of the clean energy sector amid these difficulties suggests that the clean energy transition has become cemented within the U.S. economy.

Urgent acceleration is needed

BNEF confirm that the clean energy transition must accelerate more rapidly for the United States to avoid the worst climate impacts. 2022 was the third most costly climate disaster year on record, as the country experienced 18 climate-related disasters causing at least $1 billion in damage apiece over the 12 months.

U.S. emissions inched up 1% in 2022, following a bigger jump in 2021 when the U.S. economy first began rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic. “Rising total emissions are obviously not good, but there were silver linings in the data,” said Ethan Zindler, Head of Americas for BloombergNEF. “The long-term trend suggests that power sector emissions will keep sliding as more renewables come online. Transport-related emissions finished 2022 below pre-pandemic levels and appear to have turned a corner. In 2023, we will see the annualized effect of the approximately 1 million new electric vehicles that hit the road in 2022.”

“There’s no turning back. Despite the many challenges of the past year, the U.S. economy is primed for clean, sustainable growth that will reduce emissions and increase employment opportunities while ensuring that we have the sustainable energy we need to continue growing the economy. The lesson of 2022 is that we have to continue to make the policy and regulatory choices necessary to keep the momentum going”, declared BCSE President Lisa Jacobson.