by Dan Roscoe, President of Renewall
In some cases, those headwinds are stronger than ever. Yet wind, solar, and storage continue to scale. Not quietly, not tentatively, but visibly.
There’s a pattern emerging in the stories coming out of this past year. Where conditions are most challenging, the momentum behind clean energy often becomes easiest to see. That tells us something important about the phase of the transition we’re now in.
The defining feature of today’s clean-energy transition is resilience.
Renewables aren’t progressing because the conditions are perfect. They’re progressing because the forces driving the transition have become too strong, too economical, and too widely supported to be reversed. As long as people want reliable power, stable prices, and energy systems they can depend on, clean energy will keep advancing, even in tough environments.
If clean energy were as fragile as critics often suggest, the last few years should have slowed it down. Instead, the opposite has happened.
Renewables are moving ahead in jurisdictions with complex grids, contentious politics, and long histories tied to fossil fuels. That raises an obvious question. Why does clean energy often gain ground where the obstacles are greatest?
The answer has less to do with ideal policy design and more to do with resilience. At this stage, clean energy is no longer a fragile, niche solution dependent on perfect alignment. It has become the most adaptable part of the energy system.
For clean energy, resilience means continuing to grow under, and often in spite of, pressure.
For years, fossil-fuel advocates have argued that renewables are unreliable, overly subsidized, or easily derailed by market uncertainty. Yet the data keeps pointing in a different direction. Wind, solar, and energy storage continue to attract investment and move into construction, even when broader markets hesitate.
Resilience shows up in how quickly projects return after delays, how capital re-enters markets once restrictions lift, and how demand remains steady even when policy environments change. It’s a sign that clean energy is being pulled forward by fundamentals, not pushed by incentives alone.
New York offers a clear example.
This year, the state approved more than 5.5 gigawatts of new public-sector renewable energy projects. That happened despite years of well-documented grid congestion, lengthy interconnection timelines, and developer frustration. In some cases, projects were delayed or withdrawn altogether.
Yet the buildout continued. Not because the system was easy to work within, but because the demand for clean, reliable power remained strong enough to justify the effort. In a technically complex and politically noisy environment, renewables still moved forward.
That kind of persistence signals something deeper than a single policy choice. It reflects a market that expects clean energy to be part of its long-term future.
Alberta tells a very different story, but one that leads to the same conclusion.
After a province-wide pause on new renewable approvals, many expected investment to cool. Instead, once restrictions were lifted, renewable proposals surged back into the queue. Billions of dollars in wind and solar projects quickly re-emerged, despite Alberta’s strong fossil-fuel identity and vocal opposition from parts of the industry.
Few markets illustrate clean-energy resilience more clearly. When given even a narrow opening, projects returned almost immediately. Capital followed. Development resumed.
The response defied ideology. It was rational and economically-focused.
Fossil-fuel industries often frame renewables as unstable or temporary, suggesting that a policy change or market shift will slow them down. The experiences of New York and Alberta suggest otherwise.
In two very different energy systems and political environments, renewables proved durable. They absorbed setbacks, adjusted, and continued forward. That durability is becoming a moat for the industry.
At this stage of the transition, resilience matters more than any single incentive, regulation, or headline. It’s how you distinguish a passing trend from a structural shift.
Several underlying forces are reinforcing this resilience. Costs continue to fall. Technology continues to improve. Communities and businesses want local generation that offers price predictability and reduces exposure to global fuel markets. Climate impacts are placing increasing strain on fossil-dependent grids. Economic security now includes energy security.
These forces operate regardless of election cycles or short-term policy debates. They make clean energy increasingly anti-fragile. Pressure doesn’t weaken it. In many cases, it accelerates adoption.
For homes and businesses, this resilience sends an important signal.
Clean energy isn’t a risky experiment. It’s the most stable and adaptable part of today’s energy system. When renewables continue to grow in the most challenging environments, it points to long-term reliability and durability.
The momentum behind clean energy is structural, not symbolic. It’s built on fundamentals that matter to people who depend on electricity every day.
Every major energy shift faces resistance. That’s nothing new. What’s different now is how clearly resilience is showing itself. Clean energy is advancing because the case for it has become practical and economic. In market terms, they deliver better value, more stability, and fewer long-term risks than the systems they’re replacing.
At Renewall, we see this resilience as a reason for confidence. It’s a reminder that the clean-energy transition is no longer about whether it will happen, but how well we build it to serve the people who rely on it.
Dan Roscoe is the President of Renewall Energy, a renewable energy provider, and CEO of Roswall Development, a renewable energy developer, both based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His work is focused on building the infrastructure for a cleaner, smarter energy future across Canada and beyond.
