The World’s Huge New Energy Need

The Future Of Wind Power Depends On Deployment

Felicia Jackson, June 15, 2021 (Forbes)

“Fossil fuel’s share in the energy mix is as high today as ten years ago, despite the falling costs of renewables. [With less than a decade to embed low carbon transition in the energy markets, politicians and policy makers must] stop talking and start acting…The coming decade is critical, as infrastructure built over the next few years will lock in path dependency for years to come…[The world needs to be installing wind power at around 3-4 times the level of 2020, which saw a record 93GW installed. In these scenarios, wind and solar PV make up 70% of electricity generation by 2050…

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Despite a growing acceptance that the world is facing a climate emergency, and increasing country and corporate commitments to net zero, fossil fossils have continued to dominate growing energy demand…[T]he share of fossil fuels in the global energy mix was 80.2% in 2019, compared to 80.3% in 2009, while renewables such as wind and solar made up 11.2% of the energy mix in 2019, up from 8.7% in 2009…It is increasingly clear that commitments alone are not enough.

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…Many existing planning frameworks, subsidy regimes and market designs are woefully out of date…The scale of renewable energy deployment is no longer about cost…The economic argument has been won, and there is no lack of appetite from investors…What is necessary is a change in culture around planning, permitting, priority access to the grid and subsidy regimes. One question as to whether or not the industry can scale up at such a rapid pace…[T]here are certain barriers to entry, for example the cost of infrastructure can be high…[But the] opportunities are as high as the potential investment…” click here for more

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