The Energy Transition: Momentum Builds Daily

The change is happening across America, in business sectors and society.

It’s an undeniable fact. The energy transition—away from fossil fuels and toward wind, solar, electrified transport, and efficient buildings and industry—is well under way.

From our vantage point, it’s easy to see. But unless you are a part of the industry helping create the future of clean energy, or one of a fast-growing number of leaders already advocating for change, the details and pace of the transition are likely opaque.

Sure, utilities are marketing their intentions to lower carbon emissions, more leading corporations are committing to using 100% renewable energy, and governors in some of our most populous states are doing the same. All around us, there are more electric vehicles on the road and more solar panels on rooftops.

Yet the wave of change is still forming, and how that wave is gaining momentum is, on the surface, incredibly complex. It’s like three-dimensional chess.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the transition is behavioral—the choices we make from the highest levels of government, to our local communities, and finally in our everyday lives at home and at work.

First, the transition is based on energy generation—the crux of our work at Apex. Every time a wind farm successfully goes into operation, it is the result of years of work and hundreds of millions of dollars of investment. In other words, what’s making progress possible today was the commitment and risk undertaken by visionaries often more than a decade ago.

Second, the transition is based on energy utilization—specifically, technologies that are helping us pivot from combustion to electrification. This is where the most visible forms of disruption are beginning to occur, especially in transportation. Lowering the carbon impact of shipping goods is a top priority—with every major logistics company racing to develop the charging infrastructure needed to shift their fleets to electric propulsion.

But perhaps the most important aspect of the transition is behavioral—the choices we make from the highest levels of government, to our local communities, and finally in our everyday lives at home and at work. We see this in the growing number of people who can visualize their own role and their own opportunity to benefit personally—in addition to helping society—through participation in the energy transition.

Whether it’s communities partnering on the ground to help bring utility-scale renewables onto the grid, or local businesses actively measuring their emissions and committing to chart a lower-carbon path, the change is happening across America. For the renewable sector, the priority is no longer simply producing the cheapest form of energy. It’s about enabling a functioning market and infrastructure to continue to accelerate the transition.

Accelerate was created to help illuminate the energy transition in ways that are both tangible and accessible to broad audiences. As you’ll see, we’re doing more than building momentum. We’re actively improving the future for generations to come.

Authors

Mark Goodwin

President and Chief Executive Officer

Mark leads the Apex team and the execution of corporate strategy. Since Apex’s founding, Mark has built a team of professionals focused on creating customized clean energy solutions for businesses, government, utilities, and others.