NOW FOR SOME GOOD NEWS TO START 2026

Astounding advances in renewable energy – ‘almost free’ electricity. Can this be possible?

Allan Maynard, MSc. – January 2026

“Science” the peer-reviewed academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science has named the advancement of renewable energy the science breakthrough of 2025.

After witnessing 2025, there is no doubt that we would welcome some good news. In terms of the climate, 2025 was one of the three hottest years on record despite the anticipated cooling from La Niña. It was also the first time that the three-year temperature average broke through the threshold set in the 2015 Paris Agreement of limiting the mean global warming to no more than 1.5 C since preindustrial times. It was another year when people around the world were slammed by the dangerous extremes brought on by a warming planet. Backwards policies in the USA and several “petro-states” will not alter these realities. Despite the enormous challenges, it is clearly imperative that the world accelerates the transition away from fossil fuels.

So yes – some good news is welcome. The renewables revolution is THE BRIGHT SPOT. This good news can be overlooked because it’s incremental, technical, economic, and dispersed. In my view, the major milestones don’t receive nearly the recognition they deserve.

RENEWABLE ENERGY IS MUCH MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT

It is now widely understood that fossil fuel is a wasteful, politically unstable and poisonous way to produce energy – whether that be to heat a home or power a vehicle. Fossil fuel energy must be extracted in some way, stored, transported (ships, trains, trucks, pipelines), refined, and finally the refined product shipped again. Overall (on average) only about 35% of the energy first mined becomes useable energy to generate heat, motion or electricity. Almost 70% is lost before it ever reaches a consumer. https://rmi.org/the-incredible-inefficiency-of-the-fossil-energy-system/

This is a definite negative factor for heavy oil from Alberta (and YES – from Venezuela) as the initial extraction process is highly energy intensive.

Another example – Electric Vehicles (EVs) are significantly more efficient at converting energy to motion than gasoline cars. Electric motors achieive 70-90% efficiency compared to the overall efficiency of internal combustion engines which lose 70-80%, of the energy as heat.  – https://eleport.com/ev-vs-ice-comparison/

THE SMART MONEY – RENEWABLES ARE BEATING OUT FOSSIL FUELS

Over the past 5 years about twice as much was invested in renewables, and electrification, compared to oil, natural gas and coal.  Since the year 2000, investments in renewables increased 10-fold –  IEA’s World Energy Investment report

When the Paris treaty was signed (2015), renewables were considerably more expensive than fossil fuels and were not widely implemented. However, the drop in cost and spread of solar and wind has outstripped virtually all predictions. Even though the world continues to dawdle politically in its response to the climate crisis,  clean energy is booming, responsible for almost all new energy capacity

Here are only a few (of many) notable examples that demonstrate the reality of the achievements in renewable energy systems.

• China is leading the race by far. China’s current rate of renewable installations puts it on a trajectory to transition to 100% across all energy sectors and eliminate all air pollution and carbon emissions from energy by 2051. The USA by comparison (at the current rate) won’t get there until 2130.
• Starting in 2026, many Australians will get at least three hours of free electricity every day through the new “Solar Sharer” government program, designed to use excess midday solar power, reduce bills, and stabilize the grid. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2503532-australia-is-getting-free-electricity-will-other-countries-follow/
• A BIG FIRST – Australia is actively planning to sell renewable energy to Singapore through a massive project, which involves building the world’s longest undersea cable to transmit solar power from a huge Australian solar farm. This project aims to supply a significant portion of Singapore’s energy needs, making Australia a major green energy exporter and helping Singapore meet its sustainability goals. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/21/australia-greenlights-19bn-solar-project-to-export-power-to-singapore
• Solar energy is not just for southern areas. For example, Switzerland is actively installing solar panels at high altitudes, particularly on alpine dams and mountainsides, to leverage stronger sunlight, colder temperatures, and snow reflection for increased winter power generation, a key part of their strategy to boost year-round renewable energy. https://noticiasambientales.com/energy/switzerland-covers-the-alps-with-energy-the-solar-push-aiming-to-redefine-europes-ecological-transition/
• In Europe – New EU rights are empowering communities and even individual households to generate, consume, and sell their own renewable energy (wind, solar), reducing reliance on external suppliers. This concept of community energy is likely to accelerate.
• The Chinese multinational corporation, Hauwei, has filed a patent for a new type of solid-state electric vehicle (EV) batterythat could significantly change the future of clean transportation. The technology promises a driving range of up to 3,000 kilometers on a single charge and the ability to fully recharge in just five minutes. https://carnewschina.com/2025/06/18/huaweis-3000km-solid-state-battery-patent-with-5-minute-charge-ignites-industry-race/

I wish it weren’t so, but Canada and the USA are somewhat behind in transitioning away from fossil fuels. The USA will especially fall behind due to the backwards politics of the day. Despite this, some states are making advances. Texas (wind), California (solar), and Washington (hydro) lead U.S. states in overall renewable energy generation. Canada (especially BC and Quebec) is blessed with abundant hydropower but has also undertaken some major wind and solar projects. – https://renewablesassociation.ca/news-release-canada-powers-ahead-clean-energy-transition-takes-centre-stage-at-electricity-transformation-canada-2025/

THE TRANSITION TO RENEWABLES IS INEVITABLE AND NECESSARY

As Rebecca Solnit (columnist from The Guardian has stated about this topic, ‘even cheap is a misnomer – wind and sun are free and inexhaustible.’   We need to invest in the technologies to harvest and distribute this energy, and many jurisdictions are on track to do just that. Challenges abound in achieving what needs to be done, but the advances of the past decade demonstrate how success can be greatly accelerated when properly supported through evidence led governance leading to effective private/public partnerships.

The obvious advantages need to be promoted more widely. Renewable energy is cleaner (in all ways), more affordable and more advantageous in terms of political stability by providing energy independence away from only a few fossil fuel rich countries and large corporations – some of which are predatory and untrustworthy.

Our warming world is an existential threat to humankind, so it is essential to phase out the use of polluting energy. It is good news to witness significant progress on this front. Let us hope that these advances accelerate even more, such that this good news will become even better news over the next decade.

OTHER REFERENCES

https://www.science.org/content/article/breakthrough-2025#:~:text=To%20many%2C%20the%20continued%20growth,2025%20Breakthrough%20of%20the%20Year.&text=That%20promise%20comes%20against%20a,Belém%2C%20Brazil%2C%20in%20November.

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/the-plummeting-cost-of-renewable-energy/

https://www.vox.com/climate/377072/data-energy-trends-renewables-transition-escape-velocity

https://www.startus-insights.com/innovators-guide/emerging-wind-energy-trends/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211467X25000732