Take a Stand for Renewable Energy: Staying True to Your Mission Amidst Turbulent Times

While politics change, cleantech brands have an opportunity to stay authentic, rising above politics to champion their mission: sustainability, cost competitiveness, and grid reliability.

After years of record-breaking growth, the renewable energy industry is facing significant challenges, but the business case for cleantech is stronger than ever. 

The recent budget reconciliation bill reversed significant strides in climate protections and created new hurdles for today’s much needed energy transition. These policy changes are on top of the ongoing supply chain issues, grid capacity, permitting, and interest rates that slow our industry’s growth. Still, the bill does not reflect the reality of the cleantech opportunity. It may stall - but it won’t stop - the renewable energy transition. 

Even amidst challenges, renewable energy leaders and supporters have the unique opportunity to stay focused on sustainability benefits—in addition to other critical cost-effectiveness, reliability messages—fueling investment, bipartisan backing, and steady progress.

Case in point: Florida has become the number two state in both utility-scale and residential solar, despite opposition from local governments and industry-wide growing pains. The strength of the business case for renewable energy is too convincing to slow cleantech commitments. 

Turn Up the Volume on Cleantech Benefits 

What can renewable energy companies and advocates do to overcome near-term challenges? Let’s start with what not to do: going quiet will signal defeat and simply make the headwinds stronger. Instead, turning up the volume and ramping up communication on the value of renewable energy is critical. 

As a leading cleantech marketing agency, we see the tremendous work our clients are doing every day. The industry fosters job creation, manufacturing growth, and energy resilience for local communities, in addition to de-carbonizing the grid and mitigating the climate crisis. Here are some action steps cleantech brands can take in these evolving times to highlight the universal benefits of renewable industry growth. 

Share the Cold, Hard (and Compelling) Facts 

The case for ongoing investment in cleantech is backed by data. Across the country, individuals, communities, stakeholders, and financial investors are reaping measurable rewards from renewable energy expansion. 

Consider these facts on solar as an economic engine from SEIA:

• In 2023, more than 280,000 people in the U.S. worked in solar 

  
  

• In 2024, solar energy generated $70 billion in private investment 

  
  

• Solar utilization spans all 50 U.S. states – and close to 75% of solar installations in Q125 were in states that Donald Trump won in the 2024 election (this moves the conversation away from a red state / blue state storyline)

The picture is just as compelling in the broader clean power industry: 

• As of 2023, renewable energy jobs comprise over 40% of the approximately 8.35 million U.S. energy industry workers

  
  

• Private investment in renewables ($26B) in 2024 exceed investment in fossil-based generation ($15B)

  
  

Broadcasting the quantifiable metrics around renewables reinforces the fact that the energy transition is both an environmental and economic opportunity.

Case Studies That Highlight Irrefutable Cleantech Impact

Texas provides a clear example of how solar power combined with energy storage is addressing grid reliability challenges. 

Following the 2021 winter storm outages, Texas significantly expanded its battery storage capacity from around 225 MW in 2020 to nearly 10,000 MW by the end of 2024. This large-scale deployment of batteries, along with growing solar capacity, has allowed the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to maintain grid stability during extreme weather and peak demand periods, avoiding blackouts and keeping electricity prices stable. 

Recent data shows the risk of summer grid emergencies in Texas dropped from 15% in 2024 to just 3% in 2025, largely thanks to the fast-response capabilities of these solar-plus-storage systems, which also saved consumers hundreds of millions of dollars by smoothing price spikes. 

New York and other states with susceptible high-demand, weather-exposed grids are turning or will turn to PV+BESS to ensure reliability and affordability.

Open Up the Narrative 

While data and numbers are important, telling a story is equally important. Stories are remembered up to 22 times more than facts alone. 

Why it’s important

When there is a groundswell of bipartisan support for an issue, it becomes harder for elected officials and business leaders to ignore popular opinion. Consider: 

• 73% of Americans in a 2024 Pew Research poll, including respondents from both major political parties, say they are “sad about what’s happening to the Earth.” 

  
  

• In the same poll, Republicans were more likely to respond to cost/benefit analyses and the economics of clean energy rather than the impacts of climate change. While this may be frustrating in some respects, it provides a mutual starting point for collaboration.

How to do it

A study by NYU Stern’s Center for Business and Sustainability and Edelman found that consumers connect most with sustainability stories that focus on health, wealth, and everyday life. B2C brands that highlight relatable impacts—like protecting clean drinking water for families—boost interest across party lines and income groups.

B2B renewable companies that adopt this approach—communicating the financial, community, and energy-saving benefits of renewables while staying true to their core sustainability mission—will keep the clean energy imperative at the forefront.

It’s an important time to be pushing forward, not retreating. A strategic PR plan that brings data and brand narratives together into engaging and relevant communications is key to moving through these challenges. 

Navigate Turbulence with Expertise 

Anytime a plane hits turbulence, the passengers will hear a “this is your captain speaking” message, assuring them that the pilots are guiding the plane through the rough patch so they all reach their destination safely. Partnering with experts in the cleantech marketing space is one way to move safely and swiftly through industry turbulence. 

While solar and other renewables have been around for decades, there has been significant industry momentum in the past few years, and slowing the pace of advocacy and visibility now will erase some of these hard-fought gains. 

The clean power transition is happening one way or another. The more we collectively do now to advocate for renewables, even in the midst of policy reversals, the faster and easier the transition will continue for the benefit of all. 

Ready to partner with an agency that can support you in these turbulent times? Let’s talk about where to start.