Mirrored panels at a solar thermal plant. Pexels
Renewable power is on pace to produce close to half of the electricity used globally by the end of this decade, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency, which finds that in nearly every country large wind and solar plants are the cheapest forms of new power.
Between now and 2030, the world will add more than 5,500 gigawatts of renewable capacity — what amounts to the total current capacity of China, India, the U.S., and the EU combined, according to the report. Solar will account for most of the growth.
“This report shows that the growth of renewables, especially solar, will transform electricity systems across the globe this decade,” said IEA chief Fatih Birol.
Solar continues to outperform the projections of industry experts and is set to boom in the years ahead as manufacturing ramps up. India and the U.S. are both expected to triple their solar manufacturing capacity by the end of this decade, and manufacturing is already outstripping demand. By the end of this year solar manufacturing capacity, largely based in China, will be double the global demand.
China continues to lead the way on renewable power installations, as it makes an aggressive push to erect massive new solar and wind projects. By decade’s end, China will account for nearly half of all renewable capacity globally, up from a third in 2010.
If trends continue, the world will fall just shy of an international goal to triple renewable power by 2030. Analysts say that governments can speed the shift to clean energy and reach this goal by cutting red tape and by making it cheaper for poorer countries to finance wind and solar projects.
Analysts say that governments must also build out power lines to carry renewable electricity from where it is generated to where it is needed. The new report finds that a rising share of renewable energy is going unused.
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