With the advent of reliable cost-effective energy storage the transition from fossil fuels is feasible and100% sustainable, renewable, and reliable energy is now possible.   We can generate 100% renewable-based electricity  because we can store energy. So even, when the sun isn’t shining, and the wind isn’t blowing  power is available.  At IEP we know that solar power, wind power, hydropower, nuclear power, and geothermal power can supply 100% of our energy needs as long as the excess can be stored and dispatched. Our global addiction to coal, oil and natural gas can be cured and a more sustainable energy system is cost effective,  achievable and a responsibility given the realities of a changing climate. 

Recently, we have been shown the damage caused by a changing climate – Hurricane Ian caused 148 deaths and $112.9 billion in damages, Winter Storm Uri caused 246 deaths and is estimated to have cost USD $21 billion and wildfires across Canada led to 111 deaths, cost USD $750 million and led to air quality issues for much of the eastern US and Canada. Since 1980, the U.S. has sustained 341 weather and climate disasters with the overall damage costs reaching or exceeding $1 billion and the frequency is increasing. These and other events show the cataclysmic effect of Climate change on our planet and the deaths, injuries and property damage that it causes.1 

“Damages from the 2022 disasters totaled $165.1 billion. (All cost estimates are adjusted based on the Consumer Price Index, 2022). The costliest 2022 events were Hurricane Ian ($112.9 billion) and the Western and Central Drought / Heat Wave ($22.1 billion). Adding the 2022 events to the record that began in 1980, the U.S. has sustained 341 weather and climate disasters with the overall damage costs reaching or exceeding $1 billion. The cumulative cost for these 341 events exceeds $2.475 trillion. climate change is supercharging the increasing frequency and intensity of certain types of extreme weather that lead to billion-dollar disasters—most notably the rise in vulnerability to drought, lengthening wildfire seasons in the Western states, and the potential for extremely heavy rainfall becoming more common in the eastern states. Sea level rise is worsening hurricane storm surge flooding. Given these compounding risks there is an increased need to focus on where we build, how we build, and what we build. Smart investment in energy infrastructure and innovations will redesign our energy generation and transmission system for the  21st-century and beyond.

 IEP aims to develop renewable projects that contribute to the functioning of the larger grid but has also recognized the increasing need and advantage to the ability for decentralized gird developing projects that are capable of islanding and delivering reliable, cheap, green power directly to their communities. IEP has focused on Utility scale projects but is also contributing to the dynamic changes in the electrical grid and has expanded their expertise and skills to develop community scale projects and microgrids that can deliver larger returns and attract capital through aggregation as virtual power plants. (Read more about changes in climate and weather extremes in the U.S. National Climate Assessment.) Given all these compounding hazard risks, there is an increased need to focus on where we build, how we build, and investing in infrastructure updates that are designed for a 21st-century climate.