A report by the International Energy Agency argues that, as I have been saying for some time now, a renewable energy revolution is in the making, and that the world will witness a huge boom in wind and solar over the next five years as costs fall and nations step up their measures to deal with the climate emergency.
The renewable generation capacity added during 2021 around the world has again broken an all-time record, 290GW, equivalent to having built three hundred nuclear reactors. This increase, moreover, has taken place at an extremely difficult time, with supply problems due to the supply chain crisis coupled with COVID restrictions. Forecasts for 2026 also point to a 60% increase over last year’s levels, equivalent to some 4,800GW, the same as that currently generated by all the world’s fossil fuel and nuclear power plants combined. In that period, 95% of all the increase in installed capacity worldwide have come from renewables.
The combination of hydro, solar, wind and, marginally, geothermal accounts for the entire increase in electricity generation over the past year, as the contribution from non-renewable sources (coal, gas, diesel and nuclear) declined considerably.
This growth will be reflected in all types of installations: we will see more and more solar farms (which also, according to all observers, are increasingly compatible with other land uses), as well as a huge growth in domestic installations on private rooftops, with ever lower prices and ever higher efficiencies. In wind power, we will continue to see onshore wind farms, as well as the rise of offshore wind.
The solar power generation atlas shows China’s great leap to 254,355MW, and which has now committed to becoming emissions neutral by 2060, followed far behind by the United States at 75,572MW and Japan with 67,000. In Europe, Germany leads with 53,783MW, king, followed by Italy’s 21,600MW and Spain’s 14,089MW. The growth potential is huge.
Governments now need to make a firm commitment to renewables, leaving aside stupid political connotations. The new IEA report is recommended reading and leaves no room for doubt. We will see if our leaders are capable of abandoning outdated ideas and meeting the challenge required by the circumstances.
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This post was previously published on Enrique Dans’ blog.
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