Episode 53: Clean Energy Isn’t Expensive — It’s Misunderstood

In this episode of The Clean Energy Edge Podcast, Russ Bates breaks down the persistent misunderstandings surrounding clean energy — and why many of the most common talking points simply don’t hold up when you look at the data. The episode explains how utility-scale solar and onshore wind are now the cheapest sources of new electricity globally, even without subsidies, and why utilities continue to deploy clean energy at record levels based on cost alone. Russ also addresses the myth that clean energy only exists because of government incentives, contrasting temporary clean-energy credits with the century-long subsidies that continue to support the fossil fuel industry despite record oil and gas profits. The conversation then turns to China, where misinformation is especially common. Contrary to popular claims, China has more installed solar and wind capacity than any country in the world and deploys more clean energy each year than the rest of the globe combined. China is not just manufacturing clean energy technology — it is using it at massive scale as part of an industrial strategy focused on cost, competitiveness, and energy security. The takeaway is clear: clean energy economics are already driving the global energy transition. The question facing the United States is no longer whether the transition is real, but whether it chooses to lead — or explain later why it didn’t.