2023 may prove to be a banner year for the renewable power sector as governments across the globe scramble to take advantage of recent advancements in the field of solar power generation.
According to a recent report issued by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has driven up the prices of fossil fuels and has raised concerns regarding energy security across the globe. This resulted in the construction and operation of a greater number of both solar and wind energy facilities to make up for the shortfall.
Experts also note that the total power generated by such facilities is expected to hit around 440 gigawatts by the end of this year. This is about a third above last year’s total, which would bring the whole globally-installed capacity to around 4,500 gigawatts. This is roughly the equivalent of the combined total power output of China and the United States.
Depending on the Sun and Wind
The remaining two-thirds of the increased capacity of renewables will be contributed by photovoltaic (PV) generation as there has been a significant increase in the number of large-scale solar facilities and rooftop installations for individual consumers. Consequently, this led to an increase in terms of production capacity for PV component manufacturers.
At the same time, it is possible that there could be an increase in the number of new wind farms being built. This may, however, run into supply chain issues as industries that supply the production of wind turbines have yet to catch up with the increasing demand.
Reducing Emissions is a Priority One
The IEA report also pointed out how it has become imperative that the global economy veers away from the use of fossil fuels if the world is to effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions and alleviate global warming.
Experts who authored the report added that, in order to meet the recent Paris climate agreement’s target of limiting the rise in global temperature, the world’s total emissions need to drop to half by 2030 and be absolute zero come 2050.
