Social Benefits of Renewable Energy Investments
Considering the impressive technological innovation and cost reductions, renewable energy is increasingly being considered for its social and economic benefits. As a result of the growing public awareness of environmental issues, investors, corporations and the financial community are moving quickly to embrace the renewable energy sector.
Renewable energy provides ample benefits in terms of local value creations and opening up business models for many, including local communities.
Within the renewable energy sector, photovoltaic (PV) systems and wind power over the last years are opening up new economic, social and ecological opportunities. In the old energy world, which was primarily dominated by conventional power plants and based on fossil fuel sources or nuclear, is characterized by large-scale projects with substantial planning horizons. However, in the emerging new energy world, renewable energy production is characterized by distributed power generation and smaller scale projects. This provides a unique opportunity to improve the energy security and resiliency of the energy sector in those respective regions. Communities which in the past did not have electricity as a result of locality, can now find comfort in distributed power generation systems such as solar PV. This not only improves the quality of living standards of communities but also provides new business opportunities, which consequently results in job opportunities. Most immediately, there will be welfare gains as a result of reduced negative externalities such as less pressure on ecosystems (less mining and drilling for fossil fuels) and impact on human health (water pollutants and contaminated air stemming from fossil fuels).
Take for example a company called Distributed Energy. The company is an energy aggregator that provide renewable energy investment opportunities across several developing countries. Given the rapid technological innovation and substantial cost reductions, renewable energy can be packaged into attractive investment opportunities for investors looking to own assets that provide long-term, stable returns.
Renewable energy has emerged as a true multi-benefit system, combining ecologies necessities like climate change mitigation with society’s vision and economic opportunities. An increasing number of countries are showing awareness of these benefits and are amending their national energy policies to reflect social and environmental benefits by advocating for a renewable energy focused future.
