Huge uptake in renewable energy projected in the next 5 years
There could be over a trillion watts of renewable power over the next 5 years, the International Energy Agency’s latest annual report shows.
The findings on renewables forecasts about an extra 1.3 terawatts of clean energy will be installed by 2023, upping the total capacity to more than the entire current generation capacity of the European Union.,
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The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest annual report on renewables forecasts as much as an extra 1.3 terawatts of clean energy will be installed by 2023 under one scenario. Even in its more conservative central forecast, the agency predicts that global renewable energy capacity will grow by 1 terawatt, driven by a boom in solar installations and more accommodating government policy.
Globally, the commissioning for more gigawatts of clean energy overtook that of fossil fuels in 2015. The positive outlook for clean energy encourages governments to support and ensure critical market design so that renewables continue to be invested in and built.
Solar, wind, and hydro energy will continue to outpace natural gas and coal over the next five years, the IEA said. Generation from natural gas will be eclipsed by cheap coal and more competitive solar and wind technologies.
Despite renewable energy expanding its share of global electricity output to 30% by 2023, a growing coal generation in Asia means that the fossil fuel will remain the largest source of power in the world.
Hydropower is expected to increase 12% over the next five years and will still be the largest renewable electricity generation source by 2023. Wind output foresees a share increase by two-thirds to 7%. Solar power can expect tripling, overtaking bioenergy to become the third-largest source of renewable energy.
China will be responsible for 41% of global renewable growth, adding 438 gigawatts of clean energy to become the largest consumer of green energy in the world, overtaking the EU, the IEA said. Almost half of Brazil’s total power consumption will come from renewables by 2023, in large part down to hydro and bioenergy.
The IEA focused on “modern bioenergy,” saying it is the “blind spot” of the renewables world even though it accounted for half of all clean energy consumed in 2017. Most modern bioenergy – liquid fuels produced from plants, gas from anaerobic digestion and wood pellets – is used to heat buildings in industry. It excludes traditional bioenergy, which comes from biomass such as wood and animal waste.
“Modern bioenergy is the overlooked giant of the renewable energy field,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director. “We expect modern bioenergy will continue to lead the field, and has huge prospects for further growth.”
The IEA affirms that only bioenergy that reduces life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions while avoiding social, environmental, and economic impacts should have a future role in a clean energy system.
Global carbon dioxide emissions from energy use climbed 1.6% in 2017 after three years of little change.Coal is currently 27% of the world’s energy demand, and likely to drop to about 22% in 2040 as governments move toward cleaner energy policy, according to the IEA’s World Energy Outlook in 2017.