TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – In this week’s landmark climate report, the United Nations warns of the need for a deep and immediate reduction in emissions to prevent a climate disaster. However, the report also says that we now have solutions because renewable energy has become or even more suitable as traditional energy sources.
In this chart below, you can see how fast the cost of utility-scale wind and solar energy has fallen – up to 85% in the last 10-15 years.
Source: Lazard
Compare this with other types of energy, and solar and wind are now cheaper in many cases.
Source: Lazard
Although Florida does not produce any wind energy, we are a leader in solar energy. Sunshine State is the third largest producer of solar energy in the country.
Source: Climate Central
And the Tampa Gulf Area weighs heavily because Hillsborough is the state’s number one solar-producing district.
Source: Climate Central
But if we hope to keep climate change below critical levels, experts estimate that by 2050, humanity will need to increase its renewable generation tenfold. At current rates of growth, the growth rate in renewable sources is almost not fast enough to keep it below the goals of the Paris Agreement.
However, nationwide employment benefits from renewable industries. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says wind turbine maintenance and solar installation is one of the top five fastest-growing occupations in the country.