My life has always been powered by fossil fuels, from most of the vehicles I’ve ridden in, to the buildings I’ve sat and slept in, to the devices I’ve worked and played with.
Were you born in the past 100 years? Then it’s likely the same for you.
One of the many problems with a life on fossil fuels is the volatility of energy prices. We never know how much it’s going to cost to fill a tank of gas, ship a package, take a trip, or heat our homes.
That reality begs the question, who controls how much it costs to power our lives?
While there are millions of people who impact how we get our energy and the price of a barrel of oil costs, the majority of the world’s fossil fuel resources are controlled by a handful of people…and most of them aren’t fans of free will and democratic choice.
Russia is the largest exporter of fossil fuels, so today, Vladimir Putin has more control over global energy prices than anyone on Earth. In 2022, he decided to invade Ukraine to overthrow the democratically elected government, as well as maintain control over electricity in Ukraine. As a result, the price of living went up for all of us.
We can throw our hands up, keep riding with Vladimir, and hope he has a change of heart. Or we can choose a new path forward – energy independence, by producing our own clean electricity. Because today, renewable energy technologies enable us to produce clean electricity for ourselves, and that electricity has lower and more predictable energy prices than the dirty stuff we get from burning fossil fuels.
With new accessibility and affordability to solar panels, heat pumps, electric vehicles, and renewable microgrids, you can cut the chord with fossil-fueled dictators and put more ching-ching in your pocket.
Energy prices are up
Since we got past the initial shock of COVID-19’s emergence, the cost of almost everything has been inflating. What’s on your mind recently when you bought groceries, planned a trip, or filled your gas tank? For me, it’s usually, “Well, that cost more than I was expecting!”
Gas in Oakland, CA, is down from its recent high of $7/gallon, but it still costs much more than it did before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. I thank Science for my Prius’s gas mileage. But I wish my car was fully fueled by cheap, clean electricity.
One man’s decision to wage war drove up gas prices by over 60% in the US and caused them to soar in countries across the globe.
How?
Well, many countries sanctioned Russia for Vladimir’s actions, limiting their access to fossil fuels. But the demand for energy in those countries didn’t magically drop when the supply became inaccessible. So it’s a pretty simple formula: less fuel + steady energy demand = increased energy prices.
And it’s mounting pressure on families across the globe.
Understandably, people and governments are scrambling to stabilize energy prices and develop domestic energy production.
So, what are the options?
How we lower energy prices
There is only 1 option for a country to ensure energy prices stabilize at home.
Produce more energy domestically.
That can be done in 1 of 2 ways.
Produce more fossil fuels domestically or produce more clean energy domestically.
Increase the supply of gas, coal, and oil
The depth of our dependence on fossil fuels means that the only way to quickly lower global energy prices is to rapidly increase their supply.
That’s the reality of life on fossil fuels…and it’s why we’re seeing resurging efforts to dig up more fossilized carbon and convince authoritarians to release their oil and gas stockpiles.
And gas prices have been coming down from their recent highs…
Although it’s unclear how much the decrease is attributable to the world’s exporters increasing global supply. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has been unwilling to significantly increase production. They’re benefiting from the price increases, and many of its members are authoritarians with no interest in hurting Vladimir, a fellow authoritarian, in support of democratic countries and a democratic cause.
Even if OPEC has a change of heart and gas prices fall to pre-invasion levels, or countries are able to ramp up domestic fossil fuel production to stabilize their energy prices for their citizens, it’s critical to recognize that ramping up fossil fuel production is only a stopgap solution. Ultimately, the costs of burning fossil fuels are too high for it to work for long. The taxes on our independence, health, and savings from a life on fossil fuels are damaging and unacceptable.
The costs of life on fossil fuels
Burning fossil fuels tax our pocketbooks
Burning fossil fuels is frequently more expensive than producing clean electricity with renewable energy technologies.
Why?
Well, do you know what it takes for fossil fuels to become the electricity that’s cooling drinks in your refrigerator?
- Dig deep into the Earth or cut off the top of a mountain to collect as much coal, gas, and oil as possible.
- Carry those fossil fuels 100s or 1000s of miles to a power plant.
- Burn the fossil fuels in the power plant to create steam.
- Use the steam to turn a turbine that produces electricity.
- Send the electricity from the power plant through 100s of miles of high-power transmission lines to a local substation.
- Transfer the electricity from the substation through lower transmission wires to your home.
And guess what? At each step of the way, energy is lost to the atmosphere. Burning fossil fuels to produce electricity is one of the most inefficient and energy-intensive processes you could dream up.
What does it take for renewable energy technologies to create electricity?
- Collect energy from the natural surroundings.
- Convert it directly into electricity.
That’s it.
Sometimes the electricity from renewable energy technologies is sent to a substation and then to you, but distributed energy technologies, like solar microgrids, produce the electricity where it will be used.
Burning fossil fuels taxes our health
Burning fossil fuels creates air pollution from all the particulates in the smog that are released into the air.
Exposure to high levels of this pollution causes many health problems, like heart attacks, cancer, asthma, and organ damage.
In 2018 alone, fossil fuel air pollution killed 8 million of us. That’s more people than have died from COVID-19 in all the years combined!
Burning fossil fuels taxes our safety
The impacts of the Climate Crisis are affecting people differently, but two phenomena are global:
- The warmer the climate gets, the more extreme weather becomes.
- The more we burn fossil fuels, the warmer the climate gets.
At our current rate of fossil fuel burning, Manhattan will regularly flood in less than 30 years, and much of NYC and New Jersey will frequently be underwater in less than 70 years.
In Tanzania, the toll of the climate crisis is already clear. It’s estimated that over 70% of the country’s current natural disasters are caused by climate warming from burning fossil fuels. It’s why the government is looking to expand Tanzanian energy independence by investing in the deployment of clean energy technologies.
Burning fossil fuel taxes our freedom
As we discussed, most of the people who control the majority of the world’s fossil fuel reserves are authoritarians – that fact alone is telling about the corrupting power of fossil fuel fortunes.
Buying fossil fuels lines their pockets. Empowering them to further their ability to control their own citizens and people around the world while subverting democratic values across the globe.
Just take a look at OPEC’s members.
Half the countries are controlled by authoritarians:
- Venezuela – Nicholas Maduro
- Gabon – Ali Bongo Ondimba
- Iran – Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
- Kuwait – Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah
- Qatar – Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani
- United Arab Emirates – Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan
- Saudi Arabia – Mohammed bin Salman
Buying fossil fuels lines their pockets. Further enabling their control over citizens of their countries and people around the world. These authoritarians use that control to subvert democratic values across the globe, such as free speech, political dissent, freedom of expression, and equal rights for women, minorities, and LGBTQ+ communities.
They do it by investing in sports teams, advertising campaigns, tourism promotion, and event hosting, as well as lobbying politicians, military personnel, business leaders, and educators to whitewash their reputations. This whitewashing enables political leaders of the countries who buy their fossil fuels to have the reputational cover needed to continue returning to these fossil fuel dealers.
Controlling the world’s fossil fuels while distracting from your megalomania is a potent combination.
Germany recently caved on sanctions against Russian coal imports over concerns about energy prices.
President Joe Biden just did the same with sanctions on a gas pipeline between Russia and Germany.
He followed it up by flying to Saudi Arabia and fist-bumped Muhammad Bin Salman, the man who controls the country’s oil reserves, and chopped up US resident and Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
Burning fossil fuels taxes our stability
Life in societies built on fossil fuels is as unpredictable as global fossil fuel prices and the whims of authoritarians.
During the current price surge that started since Vladimir’s invasion, OPEC has consistently vote against the increasing of oil production, which would support the countries sanctioning Russia and lower global energy prices. Even after the sanctioning countries leaders have plead and brushed aside their stated values to please the petroleum controlling authoritarians.
If it wasn’t clear before, these past few years have proven that it’s a terrible idea to double down on fossil fuel dependence and reliance on the people controlling them.
It’s time for a new path forward that can lower energy prices and protect democratic values. Luckily there is one. Generate electricity from domestic clean energy resources. It provides affordability, reliability, and independence.
“Clean energy independence is the only real solution to protect national security, lower our energy prices, and create hundreds of thousands of jobs for veterans, front line communities, and fossil fuel workers.” @MarkRuffalo to @KatyTurNBC on clean energy technology development. pic.twitter.com/6troz6qUTA
— Katy Tur Reports (@KatyOnMSNBC) April 26, 2022
Produce clean electricity domestically
Producing electricity with clean energy technologies that use domestically abundant renewable resources, like wind and sunlight, secures energy independence, fixed costs, and prices. Clean energy technologies produce electricity for free and are managed locally.
So, if generating clean electrcity is free and burning fossil fuels is not, then the vital question is: how does the price of purchasing clean energy technologies compare to the cost of buying energy produced from burning fossil fuels?
As we saw in the chart above, in most cases the total cost of producing electricity wind, geothermal, and solar electricity is cheaper than from burning gas and coal.
Now consider that solar panels, batteries, windmills, hydro turbines, fuel cells, and heat pumps keep becoming cheaper to manufacture and more efficient at generating electricity. So, each year it’s cheaper to buy these technologies that produce free electricity, while the law of scarcity says fossil fuels only get more expensive the more we use them (up).
Seems like an easy choice for countries, producing clean electricity domestically is superior to a life fossil fuels with its associated taxes.
Investing in domestic clean electricity generation
It seems that some politicians have seen the light. They’ve recognized that the energy predicament we find ourselves in today requires new solutions. They’re taking action to combat today’s high energy prices by investing in clean energy at an unprecedented scale. Working to unshackle their country from energy dependence, authoritarian control and uncontrollable energy prices.
One example is the United States congress and President Biden passing the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS), which bolster the domestic manufacturing of clean energy technologies and provide the wolrd’s largest ever investment in clean energy production via tax and incentives for communities, businesses, organizations and citizens who power themselves with clean electricity.
Clean electricity offers predictably low energy prices
You can protect yourself from inflating energy prices by powering everything with clean, renewable electricity. You produce free electricity with your own solar panels, heat pumps, wind turbines, fuel cells, or watermills. If your home, business, tools, and vehicles are electric, you’re untethered from most fossil fuels and their costs.
Producing your own clean electricity also means that the cost of powering your home or business can stay the same each month. That’s true even if you use a lease or loan to obtain the clean energy technologies. And because the electricity is free, some people eliminate their monthly lighting and heating bills.
Whether you purchase an electric vehicle (EV), solar system, or renewable microgrid, it’s a fixed cost. So, your energy bill savings magnify when fossil fuel prices spike. Individuals and businesses have already demonstrated how impactful the savings can be.
During the 2021 winter storm Uri in Texas, people with renewable microgrids continued producing clean electricity, saving them from power outages and outrageous energy prices. Meanwhile the vast majority of Texans lost power and heat for up to a week while their towns were buried in snow. Many homeowners “lucky” enough to keep getting gas and electrcity from the grid then received exorbanant bills – some were charged $10K for a week’s worth of energy.
Saving money on energy bills is why Macy’s, an international retailer, powers stores in California with solar microgrids. Using the power produced by solar panels and stored in batteries allows the company to avoid frequent and expensive spikes in the grid’s energy prices.
What a clean energy life looks like
Most of us have lived on fossil fuels…so what does choosing to power our lives with clean energy look like?
Well, besides having a bigger bankroll and more independence, people who power their lives with clean energy…
- Stopped buying gas
- Collect clean energy at home
- Store backup power in batteries
It’s unrealistic for many of us to electrify everything overnight and power it with clean energy. But delayed action does come at a high cost.
The impact and value of your clean energy investments compound with time. Meaning the best time to invest in them was last year, and the second best time is today.
Here are 3 common ways that people protect themselves from climbing energy prices, break their dependence on fossil fuels, and start powering life with clean energy…
Don’t buy gas. Get an electric vehicle (EV)
Having a hybrid saves me a ton of money. In the spring, I drove from Oakland to Tahoe, CA, and spent $50 on gas. I went to Tahoe again a week later, but this time in a friend’s 2022 Bronco. It costs us $120.
Electric vehicles (EVs) cost even less to drive and have even more advantages than their hybrid and combustion engine cousins. Primarily because they transfer energy more efficiently.
An equal amount of energy drives an EV 3x farther than a gas-powered vehicle of the same weight…and you can charge at home instead of going to a gas station to fill up at the pump.
Typically, the price of gas increases by 4% each year. Right now, it’s up over 30% year over year. Electricity costs more in 2022, but it’s only gone up 6%. So even if you’re buying electricity from the grid instead of producing your own clean electricity, charging a car is still much cheaper than buying gas.
As a result, in California, where gas prices are exceptionally high, EV sales have never been in greater demand. In Q1 of 2022, EV sales are up 29% over Q4 of 2022 – the most recent quarters where we have precise data.
EVs also…
- Have fewer moving parts = less maintenance
- Have more torque and, therefore, fantastic acceleration
- Are silent
- Don’t pollute
- Can power your home
You can now power your home with Ford’s EV F-150 Lightening. Providing new opportunities to arbitrage fluctuating energy prices.
EV adoption proliferates as models are released with powerful batteries, and governments have agreed to support the evolution of driving. The IRA provides a $7500 tax credit to EV buyers and a massive expansion of charging infrastructure.
Don’t buy energy. Collect it.
We all can generate clean electricity for ourselves. It’s one of the technological miracles of this century, or more realistically, necessity once again being the mother of invention.
Today, solar panels are the most common tool people use to generate their own electricity and lower energy bills. More panels cover roofs and open spaces each year because the word is getting out about how much money you can save.
With solar, it doesn’t matter how much electricity you use or what’s happening with gas prices; you know exactly how much you’ll pay each month for the equipment and energy. You’ve essentially locked in the price of today’s electricity for the life of the solar system…and quality systems last 20+ years.
On average, the cost of electricity from your utility goes up 2% per year. So when you have solar, the energy bill savings compound each year. In 2022, a solar system’s return on investment (ROI) grew massively because inflation raised the utilities’ prices by over 6% compared to last year.
Net Metering
Many utility companies offer net metering programs, which allow you to make money selling them electricity. Net metering works by adding the extra electricity we produce and adding it to the grid’s supply, then crediting us for what we supplied against what we used over a month.
These programs are especially valuable for homes with solar panels because they collect the most energy during the middle day, but we typically consume the most in the evening. At the end of the month, if we’ve added more electricity to the grid than we’ve used, the utility company pays us for the extra.
Clean energy technologies for your home
Solar panels are the most common way to produce your own electricity at home, but heat pumps, windmills, and hydro turbines can be great options.
The key is finding the clean energy technology that provides the greatest value where you live.
Be energy-independent. Collect and store clean energy.
A renewable microgrid allows you to collect AND store clean energy and then use it to generate electricity on demand. Creating your own electric island.
Renewable microgrids use software to combine a clean energy generator, like solar panels, with a battery. Giving you free electricity, protection from the downside of energy spikes, the ability to make money from the energy they produce, and independence from fossil fuels.
‘Interested in saving money on energy bills? Check out solar microgrids.‘ explains how to calculate the right microgrid size for you and if it will lower your energy bills.
Benefit from changing energy prices with a renewable microgrid
Like a solar system, renewable microgrids have a fixed cost and produce free electricity. All high-quality home renewable microgrids have a warranty of at least 10 years. So, once you have the microgrid, you know exactly how much you are paying for the next 10 years.
Renewable microgrids’ free electricity protects you from the downside of energy spikes, and their money-making potential grows as fossil fuels get more expensive.
Grid-connected homes with renewable microgrids can arbitrage electricity rates. The microgrid can be programmed to power your home with the grid’s electricity when those prices are lowest and then switch to using and selling the microgrid’s energy when prices rise.
Virtual Power Plants
If you have a home battery, renewable microgrid, or electric vehicle, you can get paid for sharing extra electricity and battery storage with your local virtual power plant (VPP).
After joining a VPP, your battery’s available energy storage and renewable microgrid’s extra electricity can be used by VPP members or sold to utility companies.
Virtual power plants (VPPs) enable you to make money from your microgrid through…
- More powerful rate arbitrage. A coordinated network of microgrids’ economies of scale can sell electricity at more advantageous rates than an individual microgrid.
- Payment from utility companies to access your excess energy storage.
SunPower, a leading solar and battery provider, estimates that its residential customers with solar microgrids make $100-$1000 annually by participating in its VPPs.
What to consider when picking a renewable microgrid
For many of us, this option is the most significant shift from the status quo and provides complete energy independence. But with renewable microgrids, you choose how self-reliant you want to be by either staying interconnected with the grid and deciding when to island (disconnect) or cutting the cord with the utility by going off-grid.
Both options provide free electricity and protection from the downside of energy spikes. Still, staying connected to the grid may make you more money from net metering, rate arbitrage, and VPPs.
When choosing the type and size of renewable microgrid, it’s key to account for…
- How much energy do you use today? and will the amount change in the future?
- Your electricity usage will increase if you…
- Get an EV, hot tub, or other large electronic
- Upgrade to a fully electric home
- Grow your family
- Your electricity usage will increase if you…
- Electricity generation from renewable sources is often intermittent.
- The wind doesn’t always blow. The amount of sunlight you receive varies day-to-day. Hydropower depends on water levels. These fluctuations won’t affect your quality of life if you have enough energy stored in batteries. Still, it’s why many people keep their grid connection even after getting a renewable microgrid. Interconnection with the grid provides backup power and more choice in energy sources.
Start your clean energy life
Protecting yourself from unpredictable energy prices by switching from a life on fossil fuels to becoming powered by clean energy takes a little work, research, and effort. But like most things in life, the riches go to those who work for them.
In my opinion, more money in your pocket, increased independence, and the ability to sleep at night are worth a bit of initial effort. These resources can make the transition to a clean energy life simpler:
Rewiring America has an amazing free guide that shows how to electrify your home and the impact it has.
Energy Sage allows homeowners in North America to request designs and quotes from multiple local providers. Allowing you to quickly learn about your available clean energy technologies and their prices.
And, of course, join the Electric Islands mailing list to receive more tips and resources for your clean energy journey.