Wallflowers of the Green Energy Boom

Wallflowers of the Green Energy Boom

Low-energy lightbulbs and rooftop solar panels can cut homeowners’ power bills. Investors can likewise benefit from the green retrofit of public and commercial buildings as governments and companies set ambitious decarbonization targets.

Properties use lots of energy. Keeping them illuminated and temperate consumes about 40% of energy and generates roughly 36% of energy-related greenhouse-gas emissions in Europe, for example. Renovations can be costly, but companies are growing increasingly accountable for greenhouse-gas emissions and decarbonization promises are piling up.

Politicians are also acting. President Biden’s American Jobs Plan includes a target of constructing or retrofitting two million homes and commercial buildings, while the European Union wants to overhaul 35 million inefficient buildings by 2030 as part of a “Renovation Wave.”