Half the World’s Power Will Come from Renewable Energy by 2050

Almost half of the world’s electricity will be sourced from clean energy sources such as wind and solar thanks to the decreasing costs of clean energy storage. This is a positive as it means emissions from the global power sector will remain in accordance with the Paris Climate Accords until 2030 as onshore wind and solar photovoltaics, paired with batter storage will remain the cheapest option for energy storage according to a new report from BloombergNEF.

However, beyond this time the report concludes that the renewable energy sources will have used up their cost advantage. "[T]hese three technologies will undercut electricity generated by existing coal and gas plants almost everywhere," said Matthias Kimmel, the firm's lead analyst on the report. But he also cautions that “To get emissions where we want them to be, we need something else.”

By 2050, almost 50 percent of the world’s electricity will come from solar and/or wind power, with hydro, nuclear and other renewable energy sources providing an additional 21 percent. Coal powered energy will take the biggest hit, decreasing from its current 37 percent to providing just 12 percent of the world’s energy by 2050.

The report lauds Europe as being the leader in emissions reduction, reducing almost 95 percent of its emissions from the power sector. This is close to double the reductions that China and the U.S. are predicted to achieve.

To view the report in full, click here: https://about.bnef.com/new-energy-outlook/