Renewables to dominate global capacity additions to 2050
January 17 (Renewables Now)

In the next five to 10 years installing renewable power capacity will become more economic than getting electricity from existing power stations running on gas or coal in most markets, says McKinsey Energy Insights (MEI).

Such a development would result in further declines in the utilsation rates of fossil-fueled power plants, while solar and wind capacity will be growing five to 10 times faster than gas.

According to MEI’s 2018 Reference Case of its Global Energy Perspective (GEP) on long-term energy demand, renewables will account for 80% of net power capacity additions globally to 2050, with China and India contributing more than 50%. McKinsey’s specialist analytics unit also projects that sales of electric vehicles (EVs) will grow from 3% in 2020 to 20% by 2030.

Even with the rise of renewables and EVs, energy-related emissions will remain flat between 2030 and 2050. MEI explains that this is due to the significant use of coal in developing countries. Demand from non-OECD is expected to suck up the efficiency gains made by OECD countries.