How clean energy could save us trillions in General Energy News 12/01/2026 In the rolling hills of southeast Queensland, Australia, farmer and businessman Brent Finlay stands beneath turbines so tall they rival skyscrapers. “There’s a lift inside that takes about 12 minutes to go from the bottom to the top,” he said, pointing skyward. Forty-five of the giant turbines that now dot his property are part of the massive MacIntyre Wind Farm which will soon generate enough electricity to power 700,000 homes. It’s a world away from the climate disaster Finlay endured five years ago when a devastating year-long drought turned his fertile land to powder, birds fell dead from the trees and thousands of native kangaroos perished from extreme temperature fluctuations. “Our ecosystem didn’t just decline, it collapsed,” he recalled. Despite experiencing firsthand the devastation climate change causes, Finlay’s choice to host the wind turbines is not an environmental statement. “It’s additional revenue… an investment for future generations on this farm,” he told DW, pointing out that intensifying weather extremes are making farming more precarious. Since then, he’s been using regenerative farming practices to restore the wool and beef farm that’s been in his family for more than 100 years. But he’s also one of a growing number of farmers now allowing renewable energy projects on their land. They can earn revenue through renting land to renewable energy developers, while generating power for nearby communities. A fast transition could save trillions Farmers with land to rent out aren’t the only ones expected to reap financial benefits from a clean energy system. As the price of renewables technology continues to plummet, experts predict savings across the board — from lower household power prices to fewer costly climate disasters. In fact, the quicker a transition happens, the cheaper it will be. Even without taking into account the savings to be made from avoiding costly climate disasters, aUniversity of Oxford study found a shift to renewables by 2050 could save the global economy at least $12 trillion (€10.2 trillion) in energy system costs. As compared to sticking with fossil fuels. And those savings would be made while producing more energy overall and expanding electricity access worldwide. The reason a rapid transition would provide more savings is because the more renewable energy technology is being made, the cheaper it’s getting. Economists describe this phenomenon as a “learning curve” called Wright’s Law, which shows the costs of certain technologies fall as cumulative production increases. The same pattern drove down the price of aircraft, cars, computers, and DNA sequencing over the past century. Prices for solar, wind, battery storage continue to fall In the last ten years, the cost of solar panels has dropped by around 90%, largely thanks to an explosion in Chinese manufacturing capacity. “Solar power is the cheapest form of energy in history,” economist Gernot Wagner from Columbia Business School told DW. “This stuff is so cheap that Germans are installing it as garden fencing. It keeps the dog in and the car charged.” Wind power has also dropped in price by about 70% since 2014. And battery storage — vital for storing wind and solar power — is also fast improving, with prices declining by 85% compared to the 2010s. “When you have small modular technologies, it’s much easier to reduce costs because essentially you have innovation takin