3 record breaking things that happened in 2021 with EVs, clean energy and battery storage

According to the “2022 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook” published today by BloombergNEF (BNEF) and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, 2021 was a record-breaking year for investment and deployment in clean energy, battery storage and EVs in the US. (BCSE).

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According to the study, growth was driven by strong consumer demand; unprecedented injection of new capital into companies, technologies and projects; And a wave of supportive new government policies.

Ethan Zindler, US head of BloombergNEF, said:

Last year was actually the first year. We saw record amounts of new capital deployed to support the transition to a low-carbon economy, record numbers of electric vehicles sold, and record contributions to the power grid from zero-carbon renewable sources of electricity. Still, there are plenty of open questions about future demand that clear signals from Washington could resolve.

Here are three extraordinary things that happened in 2021 for EVs, clean energy and battery storage:

US electric vehicle sales doubled in 2021, but the US still lags globally. Thanks to lower battery costs, increasing consumer acceptance and the rollout of new models, EV sales hit 657,000 units in the US in 2021, more than double the 325,000 cars sold in 2020.

Tesla continued to account for the largest share of EV sales in 2021 at 50%. While the overall market expanded by 34%, the non-Tesla electric cars market grew by 83%.

However, EVs made up just 4.4% of total US passenger vehicle sales in 2021. The US EV market is one-third the size of the European Union and one-fifth that of China. The US market just isn’t growing fast enough to either meet US climate ambitions, or establish the US as an industrial leader in the EV sector.

For America to meet its 2030 nationally determined contribution on emissions, EVs must make up at least 30% of vehicles on the road by that year. There is still a long way to go to achieve that goal.

Read more: Electric cars’ global market share to more than double in 2021 as the EV revolution gains steam

Private investment in clean energy is booming in the US. The $105 billion investment in new private capital in the U.S. energy transition in 2021 is an 11% year-over-year increase, and a 70% increase over the past five years. The total includes $47 billion (45%) in clean energy in 2021, $35 billion in electrified transportation (34%), and a doubling of hydrogen investment to $200 million in 2021.

Large corporations continue to drive demand for clean energy in the US, signing contracts to purchase a record 17 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy in 2021. 351 companies promised to procure 100% clean energy.

In addition, private sector investment will be leveraged by the US federal government’s unprecedented $80 billion pledge to support the energy transition with the enactment of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

And private investment in renewable energy is moving upward. For example, just today, New York-based clean energy company DSD Renewables announced that it has secured a $200 million preferred equity investment from alternative investment manager Ares Management Corporation.

Read more: A Hawaiian macadamia nut farm gets solar and storage, making 100% renewable energy

Clean energy and battery storage increased, but natural gas still leads the way in electricity generation. More than 45 GW of new power generation capacity was commissioned in 2021 – the largest capacity in nearly two decades. Clean energy dominated, adding 37 GW. Solar’s largest construction year to date was 24.2 GW of new capacity, and followed wind at 13 GW, its third-best year ever.

In addition, about 4.2 GW of battery capacity was added to the US grid in 2021, higher than in all previous years. This was due to the growing need for batteries manufactured in some markets, particularly California, from the development of clean energy, especially solar power.

Overall, natural gas is the largest source of 38% of US electricity generation. However, natural gas contributed 3.1% less than in 2020, mainly due to higher gas prices.

Clean energy provided 21%, with wind and solar representing 14%. Nuclear provided 19%, and coal provided 22%. Coal is about 40% less than a decade ago due to weak demand, retirement of coal plants and competition from clean sources. While coal use increased in 2021 for the first time since 2014, what is widely believed to be a temporary spurt.

Read more: Clean energy was the number 2 source of electricity in the US in 2020

The new 2021 study of BNEF/BCSE can be found here.

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