Earth Day Thoughts: The Clean Energy Transition Hits Warp Speed Amid Geopolitical Unrest

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Amid the ongoing war in Iran, Brent Crude is trading at nearly $100 per barrel.

The Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil supply flows — is back to being effectively shut down after opening briefly over the weekend.

And OPEC+ output has fallen by an estimated 7.9 million barrels per day.

The effects are being felt everywhere, often in unexpected ways:

• Thailand has encouraged workers to ditch business suits to curb air conditioning use
• Sri Lanka implemented a four-day workweek to limit fuel consumption
• The EU's energy chief urged residents to drive and fly less

This is what systemic fossil fuel dependence looks like when supply gets disrupted — and it's an argument that lands very differently when oil is priced near $100 per barrel rather than $55.

The link between gas prices and electric vehicle (EV) demand is now immediate and measurable. Used EV lots sales were up close to 30% in the first quarter of 2026 vs. the first quarter of 2025.

Customers are trading in gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs and moving quickly. Dealers who once struggled to sell electric vehicles to gas-car customers say that dynamic has largely reversed.

The buildout nobody is paying attention to

While the oil crisis dominates headlines, a quieter revolution is unfolding on the American grid. This spring has been a record season for renewable energy.

On March 14, Texas' grid hit an all-time high of 28.7 gigawatts of wind power, according to ERCOT. Solar records have fallen across virtually every major regional grid, and California's batteries set record after record for dispatching stored clean power throughout March.

These records were made possible by a rapid buildout. The U.S. added 26.5 gigawatts of utility-scale solar and 5.7 gigawatts of wind in 2025 alone — plus a massive 13 gigawatts of grid battery storage.

In March 2025, fossil fuels accounted for less than half of U.S. power production for a full month for the first time.

Globally, the trend is accelerating. According to Ember, solar and wind additions jumped 17% in 2025 over the prior year, with wind installations alone surging 47%.

Wind and solar now generate 15% of the world's electricity — up from nearly nothing a decade ago. Rising geopolitical tensions are only accelerating investments into domestic, renewable energy sources.

Made in America: The battery story Wall Street is missing

Here's the detail most investors haven't fully absorbed: The United States can now manufacture 100% of its domestic grid battery demand in American factories — a remarkable shift from just 18 months ago, when the country had virtually no capacity.

According to the U.S. Energy Storage Coalition, by the end of 2026, U.S. factories will have capacity for 145 gigawatt-hours of grid storage systems annually — more than double the roughly 60 gigawatt-hours the country is expected to install.

This pace of industrial expansion is rare in modern American history.

Battery storage now accounts for 28% of all new U.S. power plant capacity being built this year. The onshoring was accelerated in part by an unexpected twist: When the current administration's budget legislation maintained Biden-era manufacturing incentives for grid batteries while eliminating them for electric vehicle purchases, struggling EV battery makers pivoted to grid storage.

LG Energy Solution and GM are retooling a plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, to produce grid batteries — bringing 700 workers back to a facility that had seen layoffs. LG is also converting a plant in Lansing, Michigan, for the same purpose as part of a $4.3 billion deal with Tesla.

The strategic importance goes beyond bragging rights. As data centers race to secure power for AI infrastructure, domestic supply chains shorten the time it takes to add storage to the grid — a competitive advantage measured in months, not years.

And in an era when U.S. tariff policy and military activity in critical waterways can upend global trade overnight, a local supply chain protects against instability on all sides — including instability of Washington's own making.

What this means for your money

Here are three takeaways worth acting on right now:

1. The used EV market has never been stronger

Used electric vehicles are now near parity with used gas cars — and they tend to be newer and have fewer miles. New models priced at or below $45,000 are continuing to close the gap.

The average transaction price difference between EVs and gas vehicles hit a record low of just $5,800 in March, according to Kelley Blue Book.

With gas prices elevated by geopolitical risk that economists say won't resolve quickly, the total cost of ownership math has shifted decisively. It could be the right time to look into owning an EV the next time you're in the market for a new car.

2. Home electrification is increasingly driven by economics, not incentives

The 30% federal tax credit for rooftop solar and heat pumps expired at the end of 2025, and most homeowners will need to look elsewhere for incentives.

The good news: Rising electricity prices are doing much of the work instead. In high-rate states, solar payback periods have actually shortened despite the loss of the federal credit, with many homeowners breaking even in seven to nine years, and modern panels carry 25- to 30-year warranties.

State programs and utility rebates have also stepped in — roughly 23 states now offer rebates for heat pumps and home efficiency upgrades, some reaching $10,000 or more.

The DSIRE database is the fastest way to find what's available in your state.

One federal deadline still worth acting on: The home EV charger credit (30% of cost, up to $1,000) expires on June 30, 2026.

3. Infrastructure is a long-term investment opportunity

I live in Asheville, North Carolina, where Hurricane Helene devastated our community in September 2024. I experienced firsthand the failure of our utility, communication and transportation infrastructure. In a changed-climate world, our infrastructure needs to be both resilient and adaptive.

The 2025 GlobalX U.S. Infrastructure Report Card rated overall U.S. infrastructure a C, with many categories receiving a D, including energy, roads and stormwater.

In addition, the picks-and-shovels play in the energy transition are in grid infrastructure, domestic battery manufacturing and storage developers — companies whose customers now include AI data centers hungry for reliable power as well as utilities scrambling to modernize aging grids.

With oil stocks richly priced on current earnings but exposed to long-term demand uncertainty, and clean energy equities having pulled back from their highs, there is a contrarian opportunity for patient investors willing to look past the current price spike.

The bottom line

Wind and solar keep breaking their own records. American factories are building the batteries that store clean energy. Used EVs are selling faster than any other vehicle category in America. And every $100-per-barrel increase in oil prices makes the economics more obvious.

The energy transition has always made environmental sense. This Earth Day, with a global fossil fuel crisis playing out in real time, it makes financial sense for virtually everyone — from a retiree in suburban Philadelphia calculating his monthly fuel savings, to a portfolio manager looking for the next decade's infrastructure story.

The EV market, the battery industry and the broader energy grid are all moving in the same direction and faster than most people realize.

For a growing share of American households, choosing an electric vehicle or investing in home electrification is no longer an ideological statement. It's simply the most financially compelling choice available. The same could increasingly be said of clean energy investing itself.

This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.