Renewable Energy Is Easier Than Ever to Build—and Harder to Talk About – Yale Insights

Report on Renewable Energy Development and its Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy & SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

Technological innovation has been a primary driver in advancing the accessibility and affordability of renewable energy, directly contributing to SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure). Key developments include:

• Wind Power: Since the early 1990s, significant advancements in wind turbine efficiency have drastically reduced the cost of wind-generated electricity. In most U.S. locations, wind power is now more cost-effective than legacy fossil fuel sources like coal.
• Solar Power: While photovoltaic technology has existed for decades, it only became economically viable for utility-scale projects within the last 15 years. Solar implementation is now outpacing wind in terms of growth.
• Energy Storage: Battery energy storage is following a similar cost-reduction trajectory. This technology is critical for overcoming the intermittency of renewables by allowing inexpensive energy from wind and solar to be stored and dispatched when needed, thereby increasing its value and grid stability.

The growth of the sector has also required the development of a comprehensive support infrastructure:

1. Ecosystem Development: A specialized ecosystem of lawyers, consultants, and government officials has emerged to support project development, a stark contrast to the early 1990s when expertise was scarce.
2. Utility Integration: Utilities have shifted from viewing renewables as risky to actively seeking them out as inexpensive power sources desired by their customers. Many utilities are now owners of renewable power plants, not just purchasers of their electricity.
3. Permitting and Development: The development process is complex, requiring extensive studies and permits from local, state, and federal bodies, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to address environmental, cultural, and logistical considerations.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth & SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Renewable energy projects serve as powerful engines for local economic development, aligning with SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

• Community Financial Benefits:
  • These capital-intensive projects represent a significant new source of property taxes for local communities.
  • In Benton County, Indiana, revenue from wind farms has funded schools and healthcare and enabled a 60% reduction in property tax rates.
• Job Creation:
  • Large-scale projects create hundreds of jobs during the construction phase.
  • Once operational, they provide dozens of long-term, high-skill, well-paying jobs for local residents.
• Landowner Income:
  • Lease payments provide a steady, diversified income stream for farmers and ranchers, supplementing volatile agricultural revenues and helping preserve land for future generations.
  • Wind turbines allow for continued agricultural use of the land, while solar projects can utilize less fertile acreage, allowing it to rest and recover.
• Stimulating Broader Economic Activity: The presence of renewable energy projects can signal to other industries that a community is “open for business,” attracting further investment.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals & SDG 13: Climate Action

The successful implementation of renewable energy projects, a cornerstone of SDG 13 (Climate Action), is fundamentally dependent on building strong, multi-stakeholder collaborations, reflecting the principles of SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

1. Stakeholder Engagement:
   • Developing projects requires extensive and transparent communication with landowners, local officials, and community members, often over several years.
   • Education on the development process, timelines, risks, and benefits is crucial for building trust and ensuring projects proceed smoothly.
2. Addressing Challenges:
   • A significant challenge that has emerged is the politicization of renewable energy, which can complicate decision-making processes that were previously less partisan.
   • The core objective remains to increase the supply of environmentally benign electricity to meet national needs, a goal that transcends political divisions.
3. Meeting Future Demand:
   • While electricity demand has been flat for decades, projected growth from data centers and AI could create significant new opportunities for renewable energy development.
   • This growth underscores the need for a streamlined, collaborative approach to permitting and building the clean energy infrastructure required to power the future economy sustainably.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

   • The entire article focuses on the development of renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. It highlights how technological advancements have made this energy more affordable, stating that “in most locations in the U.S., wind is now less expensive than legacy sources (e.g., coal) of power generation.” The discussion on battery storage further emphasizes the goal of making clean energy reliable and accessible.

2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

   • The article connects renewable energy projects to local economic growth. It mentions the creation of jobs, noting that a large project “will employ hundreds of people during construction” and create “long-term, good-paying, skilled jobs” for operations. It also describes how these projects provide a diversified and “steady income” for landowners, contributing to rural economic stability.

3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

   • Innovation is a central theme, detailing the evolution of wind turbines to become “much, much more efficient” and the emergence of utility-scale solar and battery storage. The article also discusses the development of critical infrastructure, such as wind farms and solar installations, and the challenges related to connecting them to the electrical grid.

4. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

   • The article provides a clear example of how renewable energy projects contribute to sustainable communities. In Benton County, Indiana, the tax revenue from wind farms has meant “having funding for schools and healthcare as well as allowing the county to drop property tax rates by 60%.” This shows a direct link between the projects and the improvement of public services and financial health in rural communities.

5. SDG 13: Climate Action

   • While the term “climate change” is not used, the article’s focus on replacing “legacy sources (e.g., coal)” with renewable energy is a core strategy for climate action. The goal of figuring out “how to make it environmentally benign as possible” directly addresses the need to mitigate the environmental impact of energy production, which is central to SDG 13.

6. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • The article emphasizes the necessity of collaboration among various stakeholders. It describes the “whole ecosystem of people” required for a project, including “lawyers; local, state, or federal officials; consultants for environmental impact studies; or even the utilities.” The process of sitting at “kitchen tables talking to landowners” exemplifies the partnership between developers and local communities.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

   • Target 7.2: By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. The article is entirely about the growth and development of wind and solar power, noting that “solar implementation is growing faster than wind” and that utilities are increasingly owning renewable power plants because they are a “source of inexpensive power.”
   • Target 7.a: By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology… and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology. The article discusses the technological evolution of wind, solar, and battery storage, and describes projects as “capital intensive,” highlighting the significant investment required for clean energy infrastructure.

2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

   • Target 8.2: Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation. The article mentions that leasing land for renewable projects is “a way to diversify the sources of income from agricultural land,” protecting farmers from the volatility of cattle or corn prices.
   • Target 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation. The article points to the creation of “long-term, good-paying, skilled jobs” for operating the facilities, in addition to hundreds of temporary construction jobs.

3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

   • Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure… to support economic development and human well-being. The development of wind farms and solar installations represents the creation of new, sustainable energy infrastructure. The discussion of battery storage addresses the reliability and resilience of this infrastructure.
   • Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable… The shift from coal-fired power plants to wind and solar farms is a direct example of retrofitting the energy industry to be more sustainable and “environmentally benign.”

4. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

   • Target 11.a: Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning. The article describes how projects in rural areas (on “leased agricultural land”) generate significant property tax revenue, which then funds essential community services like schools and healthcare, strengthening the economic and social fabric of those rural communities.

5. SDG 13: Climate Action

   • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning. The development and permitting processes described for wind and solar projects are practical implementations of climate mitigation strategies at the local, state, and federal levels.

6. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships. The article’s description of the “ecosystem” involving developers (private), landowners (civil society), and local, state, and federal officials (public) is a clear illustration of a multi-stakeholder partnership in action.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. For SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy)

   • Indicator: Share of renewable energy in the energy mix. The article provides a specific example: “Today Benton County has over a thousand megawatts of wind power.” This quantifies the installed capacity of clean energy.
   • Indicator: Cost of energy. The article explicitly states that “wind is now less expensive than legacy sources (e.g., coal),” which is a direct measure of affordability.

2. For SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth)

   • Indicator: Number of jobs created. The article specifies that a project “will employ hundreds of people during construction” and “small tens of people” for long-term operations, providing a quantitative measure of job creation.
   • Indicator: Stability of income. The article describes the income for landowners from renewable projects as “steady income,” contrasting it with the fluctuating prices of agricultural commodities.

3. For SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure)

   • Indicator: Investment in sustainable infrastructure. The article implies this by stating that projects are “capital intensive” and require significant spending to “put steel in the ground.”

4. For SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities)

   • Indicator: Local government revenue and tax rates. A concrete indicator is provided: the projects allowed Benton County to “drop property tax rates by 60%.”
   • Indicator: Funding for public services. The article mentions that the new tax revenue provided “funding for schools and healthcare.”

5. For SDG 13 (Climate Action)

   • Indicator: Installed capacity of renewable energy. The mention of “a thousand megawatts of wind power” in one county serves as a direct indicator of progress in shifting away from fossil fuels.

6. For SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)

   • Indicator: Number and type of stakeholders involved in projects. The article lists the various partners: “landowners,” “local, state, or federal officials,” “consultants,” and “utilities,” which indicates the formation of multi-stakeholder partnerships.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: insights.som.yale.edu