CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Today’s New energy: Clean, Cheap, Safe, and Local

Windmill, Columbia River Gorge. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair.

As the petroleum-run global economy continues to implode from war, pollution, and oligarchic meddling, a localized new-energy infrastructure is being built with clean, cheap, and safe renewable energy – 85% of all installations last year – led by China’s world-leading manufacturing of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, wind turbines (WTs), and electric vehicles (EVs). The global electric grid capacity is almost 10 terawatts, more than 40% of which is now renewable (3 TW solar, 1.3 TW wind), a fourfold increase in two years.

Control of oil and gas reserves dictated the economic and political order of the twentieth century. Thanks to silicon, lithium, and the rare-earth elements (REEs), the twenty-first century is being reoriented by China as sales of PV solar panels, EVs, and lithium-ion batteries are all up (the “new three”). While the United States continues to cede power to maintain a failing, petroleum-fuelled global economy, the Asian century is already here: more than 80% solar panel manufacturing, 70% REE processing, and 60% of new car sales, while almost twice as many Chinese patents were granted in 2024 than in the US.

The US-Iran War could generate more than $1 trillion in extra revenue for the oil industry in 2026 – ($90-$60)/barrel x 36 billion barrels/year – but new paths to energy independence are being established. Amid debilitating global oil price shocks, old supply models are no longer beholden to the usual petroleum exporters: OPEC, the US, and Russia. Solar and wind excludes foreign control as the world turns to local power generation to survive and compete. That and reducing energy use wherever possible as wary customers turn from brown to green.

According to the International Energy Agency, the increase in low-emission power generation last year had already outstripped electricity supply growth, almost all of which was solar and wind as coal- and oil-fuelled power generation dropped. Even more energy dominoes have begun falling since the start of the US-Iran war, aided by rising gasoline prices, as much as 30% in the US and Europe. Reaching 20 million new car sales (roughly 25%) in 2025, increased EV adoption is also putting a dent in global petroleum sales.

Although Tesla’s Model Y is still the top-selling EV at 6% of sales, the world’s top three EV selling brands in 2025 were BYD (19%), Tesla (8%), and Geely (6%). Fewer burnt hydrocarbons means fewer greenhouse gas emissions and pollution on our streets that contributes to 7 million deaths per year. A 2026 Lancet Planetary Health study using California satellite data showed that even minimal EV adoption lowers air pollution, reducing tailpipe emissions (NO2 and PM10) – for every extra 200 EVs, NO2 emissions drop 1.1%. A 2008 National Library of Medicine study on London traffic showed that congestion pricing reduced emissions and raised life........

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