Profitable Renewable Energy: Abundant & Scalable – CleanTechnica

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Countries around the world have significantly increased their renewable energy capacity. The application of artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) has boosted renewable energy viability and is sparking significant growth. No longer strictly reliant on government incentives, profitable renewable energy is becoming the norm.

In fact, the global renewable energy market size is estimated to grow from $1.26 trillion in 2025 to $4.60 trillion by 2035, at compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.48% through to 2035.

The fiscal reality across the globe is that a full scale transformation of energy systems will move from being currently cost-competitive to taking the fiscal leadership place in global power markets. IRENA related in a July report that renewables maintained their price advantage over fossil fuels in 2024, with cost declines driven by technological innovation, competitive supply chains, and economies of scale. Renewables have gained ground on legacy fossil fuel power for a confluence of reasons: declining total cost of investment (COI), lesser dependence on international fuel markets, protection against political volatility, and improved energy security.

Oh, yeah, and renewables combat climate change.

The business case for renewables is now stronger than ever.

Renewable Energy Profitability Persists against Federal Winds

Continued renewable energy price drops are proving concurrent with maturing technologies mature and strengthening supply chains. Then again, challenges certainly persist today. Think: trade tariffs, gaps in raw material acquisition, transitions in manufacturing, permitting delays, limited grid capacity, and higher balance-of-system expenses.

“Clean energy exports is hardware, which once a country has bought it, will generate electricity for a decade or two to come,” Greg Jackson, chief executive officer of Octopus Energy, the UK’s largest energy retailer, explains. “Whereas with gas, the day you buy it, you use it, it’s gone forever.”

Clean power is climbing faster than fossil fuels ever did during their introduction to everyday life. Electrification fights against greenhouse gas emissions while being economically viable and efficient. It’s important to note that, while data indicates that fossil fuels dominate the energy landscape right now, 40-70% never reaches the consumer — it is lost as heat. That just doesn’t happen with renewable electricity.

The IEA’s annual World Energy Outlook states that renewable energy is still expanding faster than fossil fuels around the world. That analysis emerged even with the Trump administration’s opposition to renewables. In fact, the IEA says that oil demand could possibly peak “around 2030.” “The pace varies, but renewables grow faster than any other major energy source in all scenarios, led by solar photovoltaics,” the agency said in a 518-page report.

“Clean energy is smart economics – and the world is following the money,” insists UN Secretary General António Guterres.

Many countries, small and large, are looking to solar as well as other small scale renewables as a way to gain independence from an unreliable grid, power outages, or even to have access to electricity where none existed before.

The first-ever utility scale wind farm in Arkansas is a breakthrough moment for renewable energy, as CleanTechnica’s Tina Casey outlined recently. On November 18, the Canadian renewable energy developer Cordelio Power announced the start of commercial operations for its Crossover Wind project, a 135-megawatt wind farm in Cross County, Arkansas. The rationale for the project is not altruistic: landowners stand to accruemore than $50 million in lease payments over the lifespan of the project. Local taxpayers will also benefit. The project will pump about $950,000 per year into the coffers of Cross County for the life of the project.

This potentially signals a fresh wave of growth shortly after — if not before — the lame duck Trump administration leaves office, Casey suggests.

Trump Administration: Refusal to Embrace Renewables

The International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling in July 2025 affirmed that a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a foundational human right, acknowledging that it is necessary for the enjoyment of all other human rights. That position contradicts many petrochemical companies and states, and COP30 is more fractious than ever as it ends. Enhanced regulatory incentives may not be enough to pressure companies and financiers to avoid liability for the omissions or inaction.

Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD), along with the Observatory for Information Integrity, issued a report that describes a 267% increase in COP-related disinformation between July and September, with keywords related to the global conference appearing 14,000 times alongside words like “disaster,” “joke,” “catastrophe” and “failure.” The report “exposes big carbon and big tech’s grand illusion that makes us underestimate public support for climate action, making us feel like the battle is over, despite the fact that not only is it still happening,” states CAAD communications co-chair Philip Newell. “But we may just be winning, because of progress that is being made all over the world,” he added.

The US Department of Energy on Thursday announced a new look to its mission and structure as it switches to prioritize oil and nuclear resources over offices that had been dedicated to renewables and efficiency.

Have you ever wondered what an organizational chart of the US Department of Energy looks like? Click here — and please note that this chart is very different from previous iterations. That’s because the Trump administration is reorganizing, renaming, and reconfiguring several offices that were essential to clean energy innovation during the Biden-Harris era. Chris Wright, the energy secretary, has stated that climate change is not one of the nation’s most pressing problems. As the November 20 New York Times reports, several offices have vanished:

• Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations
• Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains
• Grid Deployment Office
• Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

The DOE also provided a brief statement, saying the changes were aligned with President Donald Trump’s energy dominance agenda.

Not to be made irrelevant, on Friday US Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Representative Sharice Davids (D-KN) led 88 lawmakers in pushing Senate Environment and Public Works and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leadership to protect electric vehicle (EV) investments while reauthorizing bipartisan surface transportation legislation.

According to a Padilla press release, the lawmakers reaffirmed their commitment to supporting a similar bipartisan surface transportation process to the historic passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, but they stressed that the reauthorization cannot truly be bipartisan if it furthers the Administration’s attacks on electric vehicles. Since taking office, the Trump Administration has sought to dismantle federal EV programs, including freezing the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program and rolling back other Congressionally authorized initiatives.