How can clean energy leaders keep their vision, strategy and goals on track amid the turbulence?
It’s hard not to feel the tumult that’s already come to bear in 2025. From immigration to tariffs to energy policy, we are in the midst of a political landscape that seems to shift dramatically on a daily basis. The Hopi term “Koyaanisqatsi,” which translates to “Life out of balance,” comes to mind in considering the times we’re experiencing.
How we respond to this environment of uncertainty can be the difference between reacting and leading. The former only adds to the chaos, while the latter provides a steady guidepost for moving forward regardless of the unpredictable conditions surrounding us.
Here are a few suggestions to keep your business — and your marketing team — on track:
Keep your perspective
While the headlines may seem daunting for renewables, the facts tell a different story. According to Deloitte’s 2025 Renewable Energy Industry Outlook, there remains a growing need for renewables, and that isn’t changing soon.
Let’s focus at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission data:
- Utility-scale solar and wind capacity additions were the largest across all primary generation sources, accounting for close to 90% of all new builds and expansions in the first nine months of 2024, versus 57% of capacity added for the same period in 2023
- Solar was the only primary source of generation that recorded capacity growth, which jumped 88% to 18.6 gigawatts (GW). As a result, in 2024, solar surpassed hydropower and nuclear as the fourth-largest source of installed capacity, after wind.
- Wind capacity additions fell by 14% to 2.6 GW amid continued supply chain, financing, and permitting challenges. Still, wind generation reached a new record as it exceeded coal-fired generation for two months in a row for the first time. Even with the Administration’s latest antics surrounding offshore wind leases, onshore wind has not yet been singled out and will continue to be crucial to meet regional energy demands.
- Battery storage accounted for the second-largest share of total generating capacity additions, rising by 64% to 7.4 GW. Excess wind and solar generation is the third-largest use case that utilities report for batteries, following arbitrage and frequency regulation.
Look for longer term opportunities — and beyond the US
Even if U.S. policy toward renewables seems fluid at the moment, other countries, specifically across Europe, continue to increase the development of renewable resources at a steady clip.
The UK-based global energy thinktank Ember states in its European Electricity Review 2025, “The transition of the EU electricity sector maintained momentum in 2024, despite challenging political and economic conditions. Solar power grew strongly and overtook coal power for the first time. Another year of coal and gas decline – the fifth year in a row for gas – cut EU power sector emissions to below half their 2007 peak and further reduced reliance on imported fossil fuels.”
The review also includes these three key takeaways:
- Solar overtakes coal
Solar was the fastest growing EU power source in 2024; capacity additions hit a record high and generation was 22% higher than in 2023. Solar (11%, 304 TWh) overtook coal (10%, 269 TWh) for the first time in 2024, meaning coal has fallen from being the third largest EU power source in 2019 to the sixth largest in 2024. - Gas declined five years in a row
Gas power generation declined for the fifth year in a row – despite a small rebound in electricity demand. Combined with another coal decline, this cut total power sector emissions in 2024 to below half of their 2007 peak. This sustained decline has played a key role in reducing total EU gas consumption by 20% in the past five years, with roughly a third of this decline occuring in the power sector. - Wind and solar avoided €59 billion in fossil fuel imports
In five years of the European Green Deal, a surge in wind and solar generation is the main reason for declining fossil generation. Without wind and solar capacity added since 2019, the EU would have imported 92 billion cubic meters more of fossil gas and 55 million tons more of hard coal, costing €59 billion.
Prepare rather than plan
While this concept is not new, it bears repeating during times of uncertainty: Preparation always beats planning.
Regardless of how detailed or preemptive your current strategy is, unexpected challenges can quickly decimate even the best laid plans.
Here’s why:
- Planning assumes order, whether it’s following the status quo, or the taking for fact future scenarios that the “experts” agree upon.
- Preparation isn’t about following a rigid plan. It’s about doing the hard work of expecting the unexpected and adapting strategies and tactics in times of chaos.
- Know that you might have to deal with circumstances where nothing goes to plan. The more you prepare for the unexpected, the more resilient you’ll be for any scenario.
Plan for order and you’ll be destroyed by chaos. Prepare for chaos and you’ll thrive in any condition.
Or to put it another way — in the words of a young Mike Tyson: “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.”
We are living and working in uncertain times, where change is occurring more quickly than many of us can follow. But that does not mean what’s happening today will still be happening tomorrow. Policies change. Politicians will respond to important constituents, including in places where thousands of people work in clean energy, regardless of whether their state is “red” or “blue.”
Is this environment nerve wracking? Absolutely. Is it a time to give up, or simply react to the current political chaos? Absolutely not.
What’s a smart clean energy marketing leader to do?
For those driving the acceleration of renewables through sound, strategic marketing, now is not the time to take the foot off the (electric-powered) gas pedal. Does it make sense to reassess marketing in a downturn? Absolutely. Marketing should be in a constant state of assessment, and downturns are no exception. This is preparation 101.
Will a company survive when its marketing is inconsistent, hit-or-miss, or even nonexistent? Probably not. Just as smart investors do not exit the market in a downturn but do redefine what they’re investing in, smart marketers stay the course – prioritizing marketing spend for immediate opportunities while at the same time building brand credibility with cogent content, compelling messaging and PR strategies that reassures your customers that you’re committed to the energy transition, regardless of who is in the White House.
Renewable energy has never been more important or substantial than it is today. The key is to stay prepared for uncertainty in the months ahead, while remaining focused on your key market opportunities both short and longer term. In dealing with a chaotic world, providing a positive example of steady leadership for those around you will help your organization be ready for the days, months, and years ahead.
