China Is Showing the World What Renewable Energy Dominance Looks Like, Says New IEA Report | DeSmogBlog
Quote:
Put simply: the world is now building more solar than coal generation, a trend that looks to continue, regardless of any uncertainty in current American energy policy. Most new demand for electricity is being supplied by renewable resources, with solar providing the most.
“The star is really becoming solar PV, which becomes the leader in renewable growth,” said Frankl.
The report forecasts out the next five years of renewable energy growth, a short time-frame that is easier to project than some forecasts—like, say, the Energy Information Agency—that are routinely criticized. Over the next five years, the IEA anticipates renewables growing by roughly 1,000 gigawatts. “That is half of the total capacity of coal fired power plants worldwide,” said Frankl, “and it has taken 80 years to build all of those.”
Did you get that? Over the next half decade, the world will install half as much renewable energy as the current entire global capacity of coal power.
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It's pretty much inevitable at this point. Renewables are economically more viable. Cheaper than nuclear. Cheaper than coal. Cheaper than gas, in places. As gas runs out it will become cheaper than gas everywhere.
Oh but you need batteries! There are so many competing storage schemes already reasonably fleshed out, concept and tech wise, it's just a matter of cost/benefit as to which form(s) will get utilized when the time comes.