How the 2008 Financial Meltdown Shaped Clean Energy

Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com

by Stephen Lacey
October 26, 2018

Ten years ago this week, stock markets around the world cratered as fears grew that the global economy was headed into a deep, dark recession. Alan Greenspan called it “a once-in-a-century credit tsunami.”

The drama was high in energy. Oil prices collapsed. Carbon prices cratered. Capital dried up. The burgeoning renewables sector looked like it was about to get crushed before it really got started. But then governments stepped in — creating an opportunity for renewables and shale gas.

In this episode of The Energy Gang, we’ll be discussing the impact of the 2008 market meltdown a decade on. Would renewables and gas have grown so quickly without the unprecedented government support after the crisis?

Then, we’ll turn to biomass. Biomass is one of the world’s top renewable resources for heat and electricity, but it’s facing some serious challenges, particularly here in the U.S. We’ll detail some of those problems.

Finally, Canada is putting a national carbon tax in place. How will it work? And can Prime Minister Trudeau rally Canadians in conservative-leaning provinces behind it?

The Energy Gang is brought to you by GE's Reservoir, a modular lithium-ion energy storage system that can slash construction costs by 50 percent. Find out more about what Reservoir can do for your electric grid, solar plant, wind farm, microgrid or thermal power plant.