US Democratic Party victories in this week’s run-off elections in the state of Georgia may have been overshadowed by the shocking siege scenes in Washington, DC – but by putting President-elect Joe Biden’s party in control of Congress, the US renewables sector hopes they could provide the political fuel needed to drive America’s energy transition faster and further.

Biden will take office 20 January and intends to set the US on course to achieve a carbon-free electric grid by 2035 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, both consistent with the Paris Agreement and a sharp reversal from outgoing President Donald Trump's dismissal of the global warming threat and policies favouring fossil fuels.