3 Renewable Energy Trends to Look for in 2018

In recent years, more and more people have begun to realize the importance of sustainable energy options. Continuing to use non-renewable energy sources is not only bad for the planet, but it's bad for the economy as well. It's because of this that each year there is an increase in innovations regarding sustainable energy sources. Big companies, and even entire countries, are taking action and doing their part in conserving energy by making the switch to green energy sources. Experts believe 2018 will be no exception. With that in mind, let's discuss a few renewable energy trends we can expect to see this year.


Decreasing renewable energy costs. While prices for nonrenewable energy sources continue to rise as supply continues to dwindle down, prices for sustainable energy options will continue to fall. Because more people are beginning to invest in renewable energy options, the technology needed to harvest these resources is adapting and becoming more efficient. Experts believe country-level auctions for renewable capacity will help prices for solar and wind energy decrease.


Popularization of wind plus storage. Solar plus storage has been popularized by big companies as well as homeowners due to the benefits it can offer. Now, experts believe utility-scale wind plus storage is beginning to follow the solar plus storage trend. Renewable energy developers around the world are starting projects that implement batteries with wind power projects. Operators of wind farms are continuing to look for ways to make their projects last longer and be more efficient in time and cost.


Efficient waste management. Worldwide, waste management continues to be a significant problem. Because of this, many governments are turning to waste-to-energy facilities to help control landfill expansion. However, there is still a lot of progress to be made when it comes to putting waste-to-energy policies in place. This is why 2018 is expected to see an increase in the number of new project announcements and integration of policies.


Over 150 years ago, 90% of the nation's energy needs were supplied by wood. While this is no longer the case, there is still a lot of progress to be made when it comes to utilizing sustainable energy options. Fortunately, many countries around the world are actively making changes to the resources they use, saving money, time, and the planet in the process.