Obstacles to renewables growth can be addressed
Supply chain resilience, intermittency issues and ageing grids all stand in the way of decarbonising power supply
The amount of electricity generated by wind and solar will have to rise dramatically by 2050 in order to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, according to figures from consultancy Rystad Energy. The bulk of growth will come from solar, where annual installations will have to grow sixteenfold, to a peak of 2,200GW/yr in 2039. Meanwhile, wind will have to grow ninefold to reach 553GW/yr in the same year. “We can overcome these challenges” Frimann-Dahl, Rystad Energy Overall, solar and wind will each require $1tn/yr to grow to supply 88pc of electricity demand globally by 2050, up from 10pc currently. The main challenges in reaching this goal are: supply chain resilience, intermitten
Also in this section
1 May 2024
Abundant storage and low cost of capturing CO₂ from sharply rising gas production mean NOC’s ambitious CCUS targets look well within reach
29 April 2024
Decarbonisation push and shifting multilateral trade policy sharpens continent’s need for carbon trading
29 April 2024
Canada’s oil sands producers need policy certainty to make the multibillion-dollar investments needed to achieve net zero, Pathways Alliance president Kendall Dilling tells Carbon Economist
25 April 2024
Carbon capture rates forecast to rise steadily from end of decade, but policy tools to drive large-scale deployment have yet to take shape, according to DNV