Renewables will further increase as demand for coal continues to dwindle, a new report from the International Energy Agency said.
Here’s possibly good news for the planet Earth. For the next ten years, renewable energy could dominate electricity generation, with solar power in the lead, a recent report from the International Energy Agency said. According to the Paris-based organization, harnessing solar energy is now cheaper for most countries. On the other hand, coal may continue to depress in demand.
Changes in Energy
The IEA mentioned in their latest report, published last week, that today, it is cheaper to produce energy from solar photovoltaic cells today more than ever. It’s because the technology has matured, on top of government policies that encourage renewable energy.
Solar PV is becoming the new 👑 of electricity.
It's set to add more new capacity than any other technology every year for decades. In our Sustainable Development Scenario, solar generates 13 times as much electricity in 2040 as it did last year ➡️ https://t.co/tyPeoKcgiN pic.twitter.com/Kadl0A14Vm
— International Energy Agency (@IEA) October 13, 2020
With this, the IEA noted that cleaner energy sources can easily dominate the market for electricity generation in the next decade. Moreover, the IEA also mentioned that the pandemic will further contribute to that change.
The agency stated: “The COVID-19 pandemic has caused more disruption than any other event in recent history, leaving scars that will last for years to come.”
In the Spotlight: Solar
The agency also said that the installation costs for large-scale photovoltaics had dropped significantly. In 2010, it cost about 38 cents per kilowatt-hour. But last year, that price went down to an average of 6.8 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Meanwhile, IEA executive director Faith Birol said: “I see solar becoming the new king of the world’s electricity markets.”
Birol added that if governments and investors boost their green initiatives, “the growth of both solar and wind would even be more spectacular, and hugely encouraging for overcoming the world’s climate change.”
The Burning of Coal Industry?
As renewable energy sources continue to gain traction, the Paris-based organization predicts a tumble in the demand for coal. The group mentioned that coal may not see pre-pandemic demand levels.
For decades, the world has largely depended on coal for energy generation. The IEA forecasted that the share of coal in the energy market can slide to 28 percent in 2030, compared to its 37 percent from last year. Ten more years later, the IEA said, coal could even dwindle below 20 percent. That’s not accounting for speeding up decarbonization efforts.
