Wind and solar energy are set to surge to almost 50 per cent of world generation by 2050
New Delhi: India will generate 75 per cent of its overall electricity from renewable energy, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). Of this, 34 per cent would come from solar energy and 32 per cent from wind energy.
Wind and solar energy are set to surge to almost 50 per cent of world generation by 2050 — on the back of the precipitous reduction of cost, and the advent of cheaper batteries that would enable electricity to be stored and discharged to meet shift in demand and supply, stated Bloomberg New Energy Outlook 2018 report, released by BNEF on Friday
“We project that cheap renewable energy and batteries would reshape the entire electricity system. Looking ahead, we see new power generation assets growing, the cost of wind energy to come down significantly and renewable to supply 62 per cent electricity in China and 75 per net in India by 2050. Asia Pacific is recording almost as much investment in power plants as the rest of the world combined with China seeing 49 per cent and India 29 per cent of the total regional investment, ” said Shantanu Jaiswal, head of India research, BNEF
He further added that the arrival of cheap battery storage will mean that it become increasingly possible to finesse the delivery of electricity from wind and solar, so that these technologies can help meet demand even when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining. “The result will be renewables eating up more and more of the existing market for coal, gas and nuclear.”
The report projects $11.5 trillion being invested globally in new power generation capacity between 2018 and 2050, with $8.4 trillion of that going to wind, solar and a further $1.5 trillion to other zero-carbon technologies such as hydro and nuclear.
This investment would produce a 17-fold increase in solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity worldwide, and a six-fold increase in wind power capacity. The levelised cost of electricity from new PV plants was forecast to fall further 71 per cent by 2050, while that for onshore wind drops by a further 58 per cent. These two technologies have already seen levelised cost of electricity reductions of 77 per cent and 41 per cent, respectively, between 2009 and 2018.
Source: BNEF
