Page 7 - AsiaElec Week 49 2022

AsiaElec COMMENTARY AsiaElec

Renewables finally achieve

turbocharged growth

GLOBAL Solar is set to overtake coal as the world’s leading technologies.
source of power supply by early 2025, the IEA Meanwhile, Birol also noted that China’s
said as it announced its “largest ever upward dominant grip of the global solar sector could be
revision” for its renewable energy forecasts. weakening.
The agency, which represents energy con- “The signs are emerging of diversification in
sumers and is now a leading advocate of green global solar PV supply chains, with the US and
energy, said that renewable energy growth was India set to boost investment in solar manufac-
now being turbocharged and would double over turing by up to $25bn in the next 5 years. China
the next five years as a direct result of govern- remains the dominant player, but its global share
ments seeking to strengthen energy security may decrease from 90% today to 75% by 2027.”
during the current energy crisis. Elsewhere in the green sector, global renew-
The world is now set to add 2,400 GW of able capacity dedicated to producing hydrogen
green capacity– an amount equal to the entire is expected to rise 100-fold in the next 5 years,
power capacity of China today – between 2022 becoming a new sizeable growth driver. Up to 50
and 2027, twice as much as it did in the previous GW of wind and solar capacity for hydrogen are
five years. set to be spread across China, Australia, Chile,
The key dynamic over the past year had been the US and other countries, the report said.
that governments had implemented existing Meanwhile, analysis by green think-tank
policies more quickly than had been previously Ember noted that decarbonising power by 2035
expected, as well as accelerating long-delayed would save Europe between €500bn and €1 tril-
regulatory and market reforms. This means that lion, and the the savings could be larger as fossil
the IEA has revised upwards by 76% its forecasts fuel prices stay high.
since its 2020 Renewables report and by 30%
since 2021. More to be done
Put simply, the war in Ukraine and the Yet despite the good news and the unexpectedly
wider gas price crisis has kick-started renewa- positive forecasts, Birol, as ever, warned that
bles expansion, and forced governments to put more needed to be done to meet net zero by 2050
greater focus on renewables. and to keep within the Paris Agreement global
“This is a clear example of how the current warming target of 1.5 degrees.
energy crisis can be a historic turning point The report urged countries worldwide to
towards a cleaner and more secure energy sys- address key constraints and blockages in driving
tem,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. forward the energy transition. Supporting eas-
ier investment and permitting has the capacity
Largest ever revision to drive renewable capacity grows by a further
“This year’s forecast has been revised upwards by 25% above the IEA’s currents forecast over the
almost 30% from last year mainly because coun- next five years.
tries are implementing existing policies, regula- However, different countries require different
tory and market reforms and new policies more policies to drive forward renewables, the report
quickly than expected to combat the energy cri- warned, with what works in rich countries not
sis,” added Birol. always suited to emerging economies.
By 2027, wind and solar will account for 20% In advanced economies, this faster growth
of global power supply, double their current would require various regulatory and permitting
share. challenges to be tackled and a more rapid pen-
Indeed, the IEA’s 2022 renewables report etration of renewable electricity in the heating
notes over the next five years, or by 2027, renew- and transport sectors.
ables will add 3,900 TWh of supply, saving 4bn In emerging and developing economies, it
tonnes of CO2 by replacing coal generation. would mean addressing policy and regulatory
Indeed, there is set to be more growth in the uncertainties, weak grid infrastructure and a
next five years than in the previous 20 years, the lack of access to affordable financing that are
report said, while also forecasting 76% more hampering new projects.
green growth than it did two years ago. This This accelerated growth would move the
marks the agency’s “largest ever upward revi- world closer to a path to reaching net zero by
sion” for the future of wind, solar and other 2050.

Week 49 06•December•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P7