‘An Unstoppable Force’: Wind and Solar to Produce More Than a Third of Global Power by 2030, Report Says

Solar and wind projects are on course to make up more than a third of global energy capacity by 2030, according to a report by U.S.-based clean energy nonprofit the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). The report said the growth demonstrates that the energy sector will be able to take the necessary steps to meet worldwide climate targets, reported Reuters.

Solar and wind currently generate around 12 percent of electricity worldwide, but that is expected to grow to a minimum of 33 percent, offering less expensive energy and pushing out fossil fuel-generated power, the report said.

“Exponential growth of clean energy is an unstoppable force that will put more spending power in the pockets of consumers,” said Kingsmill Bond, senior principal at RMI, in a Climate Action press release.

The research by RMI was conducted in cooperation with the $10 billion Bezos Earth Fund, started by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

According to research from Systems Change Lab, eight countries have built solar and wind generation capacity faster than what is necessary to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the press release said.

The RMI report pointed out that solar and wind are predicted to generate 12,000 to 14,000 terawatt hours of power by 2030, which is three to four times the capacity of 2022 levels. Europe and China are the current leaders in the adoption of clean energy technology.

At the same time, by 2030 fossil fuel electricity demand will drop rapidly to as low as 30 percent below its peak in 2022, the report said.

“Despite a 5% reduction in the cost of fossil fuel-fired projects over the last six months, onshore wind and PV remain the cheapest new-build technologies to produce electricity in countries covering 82% of global electricity generation,” a press release from Bloomberg New Energy Finance said.

The RMI report went on to say that, as economies of scale build and more solar projects get underway, solar energy — which is currently the least expensive electricity production option — will become even cheaper, falling from its current cost of $40 per megawatt hour (MWh) to as low as $20 per MWh, Reuters reported.

“The benefit of rapid renewable deployment is greater energy security and independence, plus long-term energy price deflation because this is a manufactured technology — the more you install the cheaper it gets,” Bond said, as reported by Reuters.