In 2019, renewable energy generation reached nearly 22 percent of US capacity, surpassing coal-fired plants’ share for the first time, and the rush to deploy battery storage at grid-scale and behind-the-meter surged as battery costs fell sharply. And while natural gas dominated the US power generation mix at over 44 percent of generation capacity, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicted in January 2020 that generation from renewable sources will surpass natural gas by 2045. By all accounts, the nation had fast-tracked decarbonization efforts.

Then the pandemic hit, and the transition to clean energy took a back seat. From disrupted supply chains to paused procurement, halted production, and delayed projects, the double-digit increase of renewable energy production expected to take place in 2020 looks to have come to a halt. But it’s not all bad news. Renewable energy may have unexpectedly slowed in 2020, but it won’t be down for long. The demand for renewable energy is still up, and those clean energy goals are still in place.

Here is where things stand:

The first time I met Megan Nyquist was shortly after the Franklin Energy and AM Conservation Group merger about 3 years ago, when I’d travelled to Port Washington to meet the local marketing team. I remember talking with her about my team's digital marketing and how we were “super users” of CRM platform HubSpot. That was the first of many times she rolled her eyes at me, then she proceeded to school me on the finer elements of the digital transformation she was trying to make happen.

I thought she was fantastic and decided that day I wanted her on my team.

Several months later, that happened. I think everyone thought we’d claw each other’s eyes out, but we’ve instead become not just close teammates, but friends. She’s a bit like the little sister I never had. Megan knows her stuff. Plus, she has a tremendous work ethic and perhaps most importantly, a profound willingness to figure things out. Megan is routinely given challenging, nebulous projects no one else can figure out. They come back completed on time, completely sorted. And, it doesn’t hurt that she’s also fun to be around.