2018 showed that clean energy is becoming more the norm and the world is moving forward on clean energy. From India to the Caribbean to businesses and cities in the United States, 2018 was a great year for energy efficiency, electric vehicles, solar and wind energy, and more.
Here are the top 10 clean energy developments of 2018:
1. Carbon-free electricity – Xcel Energy committed to supplying its 3.6 million customers with carbon-free electricity by 2050. California, the fifth-biggest economy in the world, is targeting 100 percent renewable electricity by 2045.
2. Cities commit to net-zero carbon buildings – Mayors from 22 cities around the world committed to having all their buildings be net-zero carbon by 2050.
3. More oil and gas companies pledge to reduce methane emissions
4. Corporations purchase record number of renewables – Corporate renewable energy procurement set a single-year record for new capacity of announced wind and solar deals in 2018, reaching 6.43 gigawatts.
5. India moves ahead on clean mobility – India, with some of the most polluted cities in the world, is getting serious about transforming its mobility sector.
6. Zero-energy homes become cost-effective
7. China’s electric vehicle market booms – In 2018, electric vehicle sales in China topped 1 million. Shenzhen is the first city to electrify 100 percent (more than 16,000) of its buses.
8. Grid-integrated buildings
9. We learned we can even abate hard-to-abate sectors
10. Islands are getting serious about energy resiliency
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