https://carbontracker.org/solar-and-wind-can-meet-world-energy-demand-100-times-over-renewables/ [ ] en * cn * pt * ja * fr * es * de * ar Login Close Carbon Tracker Initiative Login en * cn * pt * ja * fr * es * de * ar * About Important Documents [CTI-AR-201] Annual Review 2017-18 Download Annual Review [Cover_AR_C] Annual Review 2018-19 Download Annual Review [Screenshot] Annual Review 2019 Go to microsite + Mission + The Team + History + Our Funders + Work With Us * Research + Climate risk disclosure + Gas + Oil + Energy transition + Coal + Power + Carbon Markets Latest COGCC The mom and pop oil company 31 March 2021 As the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) weighs competing... share A Tale of Two Share Issues: How fossil fuel equity offerings are... 31 March 2021 The value of share offerings in fossil fuel producing and related companies... producers 99% of producers give the rest a bad name 30 March 2021 There's a quip about lawyers that goes 99% of attorneys give the rest a bad... Latest South Korea End in Sight: How South Korea can force coal offline by 2028 21 April 2021 A cost-optimized analysis for a renewables investment schedule for South Korea... Foot Off the Gas Foot Off the Gas: Why Italy should invest in clean energy 23 March 2021 A Clean Energy Portfolio (CEP) is already more competitive than new... [shaun-dakin-nY_RHD44e_o-unsplash-scale] Il rischio di andare a tutto gas: Perche l'Italia dovrebbe... 23 March 2021 Nel presente studio analizziamo l'attuabilita finanziaria di nuove centrali... Latest CCUS Oil companies should hedge their bets on CCUS and offsetting 06 April 2021 Shell and Eni's recent strategy updates have highlighted a key emerging point... producers 99% of producers give the rest a bad name 30 March 2021 There's a quip about lawyers that goes 99% of attorneys give the rest a bad... retirement Oil should fund its own retirement 22 March 2021 "Having looked to government for bread, on the first scarcity they will turn... Latest solar and wind The Sky's the Limit: Solar and wind energy potential is 100... 23 April 2021 Solar and wind potential is far higher than that of fossil fuels and can meet... viral Can a virus and viral ideas speed the world's journey beyond fossil... 23 February 2021 Smart investments and viral ideas in pandemic recovery and contagious new tools... Joe Biden Kingsmill USA Kingsmill Bond on BBC News talking Joe Biden's Presidency... 21 January 2021 Carbon Tracker's New Energy Strategist Kingsmill Bond argues the election of... Latest South Korea End in Sight: How South Korea can force coal offline by 2028 21 April 2021 A cost-optimized analysis for a renewables investment schedule for South Korea... [mat-reding-yfXhqAW5X0c-unsplash-1-280x] COP26: A chance to reset and eliminate obstacles - coal in sights 21 January 2021 2021 is a year of opportunity; one of resetting, reshaping and a chance to... [power-plant-2012377_1920-280x168] Measuring and managing energy transition risk in the Philippines 15 September 2020 As part of a UK government-funded project to support the Philippines power... Latest South Korea End in Sight: How South Korea can force coal offline by 2028 21 April 2021 A cost-optimized analysis for a renewables investment schedule for South Korea... Foot Off the Gas Foot Off the Gas: Why Italy should invest in clean energy 23 March 2021 A Clean Energy Portfolio (CEP) is already more competitive than new... [shaun-dakin-nY_RHD44e_o-unsplash-scale] Il rischio di andare a tutto gas: Perche l'Italia dovrebbe... 23 March 2021 Nel presente studio analizziamo l'attuabilita finanziaria di nuove centrali... Latest [Screenshot-2020-07-10-at-11] Annual Review 2019 29 July 2020 Click here to view Carbon Tracker's Annual Review 2019 In 2019 our objective... [1599px-NesjavellirPowerPlant_edit2-280] Carbon Countdown: Prices and Politics in the EU-ETS 21 August 2018 Market counts down to the MSR The EU carbon market has been the hottest... [Sudbury_sunset-280x168] Dispatch dogfight: will the EU ETS put gas in the money in 2018? 08 June 2018 Since the start of the year, EU carbon has doubled in value, raising the... * Company Profiles * News & Events + Events & Webinars + Blogs + Press Releases + In the Press Latest [tyler-casey-ficbiwfOPSo-unsplash-280x1] May 07 Catalysing Change Week | Divesting from Fossil Fuels: the role of... 23 April 2021 7 May | Online Under the guise of environmental responsibility there is much... [sparkler-839806_1920-280x168] May 11 The Return of the US at COP 21 April 2021 11 May | Online The election of President Joe Biden brought a seismic shift... Popular A Clean Energy Portfolio for the... 28 April | Online Foot Off The Gas - Why Italy should invest in clean energy is a... The Return of the US at COP 11 May | Online The election of President Joe Biden brought a seismic shift in U.S.... Dying embers: Why coal is burning... 21 April | Online Energy Policy Seminar featuring Carbon Tracker Initiative, Smart... Energy Transition Summit 25 & 27 May | Virtual The energy transition is the backbone of the green economy.... Latest CCUS Oil companies should hedge their bets on CCUS and offsetting 06 April 2021 Shell and Eni's recent strategy updates have highlighted a key emerging point... COGCC The mom and pop oil company 31 March 2021 As the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) weighs competing... Popular Carbon budgets: Where are we now? This blog updates our 2018 note Carbon Budgets Explained. Carbon budgets - the... Carbon Budgets Explained A PDF version of this paper is available here. An updated version of this note is... Oil companies should hedge their... Shell and Eni's recent strategy updates have highlighted a key emerging point in the... The mom and pop oil company As the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) weighs competing demands of... Latest [antonio-garcia-ndz_u1_tFZo-unsplash-28] Solar and wind can meet world energy demand 100 times over 23 April 2021 Renewables could power world by 2050 as prices collapse, replacing all... [thomas-millot-q5jKHtV4hWc-unsplash-280] Coal phase-out in S. Korea by 2028 most economical choice, study shows 21 April 2021 Amid deepening economic losses from coal plants, South Korea's prolonged... Popular Solar and wind can meet world... Renewables could power world by 2050 as prices collapse, replacing all... Coal phase-out in S. Korea by 2028... Amid deepening economic losses from coal plants, South Korea's prolonged reliance on... New Global Coalition of Tech,... Nine nonprofits, tech companies, and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore announce... Petrostates need to bridge $9... Nations must act now to diversify economies and support livelihoods LONDON/NEW YORK,... Latest [giorgio-trovato-_XTY6lD8jgM-unsplash-2] Ceres honors Carbon Tracker's Mark Campanale for his leadership in... 25 March 2021 Mark Campanale, founder and executive chair of the financial think tank Carbon... Campanale 'When I was a teenager I had these terrible nightmares that the... 10 December 2020 The inventors of 'unburnable carbon' discuss their journey so far, and what... Popular Norwegian government assess... Norwegian government assess exposure to stranded oil & gas assets The Norwegian... $1.6 Trillion Of Investments At... Forbes - Mike Scott Fossil fuel companies have already seen their future markets come... Ceres honors Carbon Tracker's... Mark Campanale, founder and executive chair of the financial think tank Carbon Tracker... Peabody Energy seeks Chapter 11... The Financial Times - James Wilson and Ed Crooks Coal mining company ground down by high... * Resources Popular tools & insights Infographics Paying with fire: most oil and gas executives are rewarded for chasing growth, but shareholders could get burned This infographic accompanies our report Paying With Fire: How oil and gas executives are rewarded... Download Resource Infographics Reaching the energy transition political tipping point This infographic accompanies our report The political tipping point: Why the politics of energy... Download Resource Infographics Powering down coal: navigating the economic and financial risks in the last years of coal This infographic accompanies our report Powering Down Coal, which is a global analysis of the... Download Resource + Key Terms + Videos + Infographics + Tools + FAQs * Contact Our social channels * * * * * Home * News & Events * Energy transition * Solar and wind can meet world energy demand 100 times over Energy transition Solar and wind can meet world energy demand 100 times over 23 April 2021 Show Related Resources Hide Related Resources Related Report solar and wind The Sky's the Limit: Solar and wind energy potential is 100 times as much as global energy demand Renewables could power world by 2050 as prices collapse, replacing all fossil LONDON/NEW YORK, 23 April -... Media Resources Looking for more information? Here's everything you should need. Key Quotes Kingsmill Bond, Carbon Tracker's energy strategist and report lead author, said: "We are entering a new epoch, comparable to the industrial revolution. Energy will tumble in price and become available to millions more, particularly in low-income countries. Geopolitics will be transformed as nations are freed from expensive imports of coal, oil and gas. Clean renewables will fight catastrophic climate change and free the planet from deadly pollution." Copy quote to clipboard Quote copied! Harry Benham, report co-author and chairman of thinktank Ember-Climate, said: "The world does not need to exploit its entire renewable resource -- just 1% is enough to replace all fossil fuel usage. Each year we are fuelling the climate crisis by burning three million years of fossilised sunshine in coal, oil and gas while we use just 0.01% of daily sunshine." Copy quote to clipboard Quote copied! Renewables could power world by 2050 as prices collapse, replacing all fossil LONDON/NEW YORK, 23 April - Huge falls in the cost of solar and wind power in the last few years have unlocked an energy reserve that can meet world demand 100 times over -- and most is already economic compared with fossil fuels, finds a report from the think tank Carbon Tracker published today. Solar and wind are inexhaustible sources of energy, unlike coal, oil and gas, and at current growth rates will push fossil fuels out of the electricity sector by the mid-2030s. By 2050 they could power the world, displacing fossil fuels entirely and producing cheap, clean energy to support new technologies such as electric vehicles and green hydrogen. Kingsmill Bond, Carbon Tracker's energy strategist and report lead author, said: "We are entering a new epoch, comparable to the industrial revolution. Energy will tumble in price and become available to millions more, particularly in low-income countries. Geopolitics will be transformed as nations are freed from expensive imports of coal, oil and gas. Clean renewables will fight catastrophic climate change and free the planet from deadly pollution." Global energy consumption in 2019 was 65 Petawatt hours (PWh). [1] However, with current technology the world has the potential to capture more than 5,800 PWh annually from solar PV alone [2] - as much power in a single year as could be generated by burning all known fossil fuel reserves. In addition, onshore and offshore wind could capture nearly 900 PWh a year. [3] The Sky's the Limit finds that around 60% of the world's solar resource and 15% of its wind resource is already economic compared with local fossil fuel generation. By 2030 all the solar and over half of the wind is likely to be economic. Harry Benham, report co-author and chairman of thinktank Ember-Climate, said: "The world does not need to exploit its entire renewable resource -- just 1% is enough to replace all fossil fuel usage. Each year we are fuelling the climate crisis by burning three million years of fossilised sunshine in coal, oil and gas while we use just 0.01% of daily sunshine." Building enough solar panels to meet global energy demand would take up just 0.3% of land, less than the area occupied by fossil fuels. The world's largest oilfield, Ghawar in Saudi Arabia, which occupies 8,400 square kilometres, produces the equivalent of 0.9 PWh each year. Building solar panels over the same area would generate 1.2 PWh a year on average globally and 1.6 PWh in Saudi Arabia which is sunnier than average. The study finds that the opportunity is greatest in emerging markets that have the highest solar and wind potential relative to their domestic demand. Many are still building out their energy systems, and cheap renewables offer a route to bring power to more people, create new industries, jobs and wealth. Africa has a massive 39% of global potential and could become a renewables superpower. The economic potential of solar has been unleashed by a huge fall in costs, down by an average 18% every year since 2010. It is growing faster than any previous energy technology at this size with an average annual increase of 39% in the last decade - nearly doubling capacity every two years. Wind is on a similar trajectory: over the last decade prices have fallen by an average 9% year while capacity has grown 17% a year. [4] This is driving efficiencies and advances such as better panels and higher turbines which reduce costs further. Financial markets are waking up to the opportunity: in 2020 for the first time clean energy companies raised more money than fossil fuel companies through public offerings. [5] The Sky's the Limit says the key barrier to change is now political, but growth is likely to continue as more countries recognise the potential of renewables, and the opportunity is huge: in 2019 solar generated just 0.7 PWh globally and wind 1.4 PWh. It identifies three key drivers of change. * Economics - History shows that cheap local energy sources are quickly exploited - the rapid growth of the US shale industry in the 2010s is just one example. * Climate change - Countries are acting to cut their use of fossil fuels in response to the climate emergency and public concern about pollution. * Energy independence - 80% of people live in countries that import fossil fuels, so renewables offer the chance to cut costs, create local jobs and reduce their energy dependency. The scale and falling costs of this vast cheap energy resource is likely to drive continued exponential growth in the deployment of solar and wind generation. [6] The report finds that a growth rate of 15% would see solar and wind generate all global electricity by the mid-2030s and provide all energy by 2050 as falling costs and technological advances overcome the challenges of powering sectors like steel and cement production. The report is the first to identify four key groups of countries based on their potential to harness solar and wind resources relative to their domestic consumption: * Superabundant, with potential at least 1,000 times greater than demand - mainly low-income countries with low energy use in sub-Saharan Africa. Renewables offer prospects of development fuelled by cheap energy. * Abundant, with potential at least 100 times greater than demand - countries like Australia, Chile and Morocco with well-developed infrastructure and governance. They can aspire to provide renewable power to the rest of the world. * Replete, with potential at least 10 times greater than demand - countries like China, India and the US which have enough renewable potential to satisfy their domestic needs. * Stretched, with potentially less than 10 times demand - countries like Japan, Korea and much of Europe face tough political choices about how to tap their renewable resources most effectively. Germany has pioneered solar and wind, provoking concerns about the cost of the energy transition and land usage, but the report says it is a special case. It is the third most "stretched" country in the world, with low potential for renewables to demand, and it subsidised them at a time when they were far more expensive. "The troubles faced by Germany are therefore highly unusual, and if they can solve them then so can everyone else," says the report. Countries like the UK and Korea with significant constraints on land availability are likely to make greater use of their offshore wind resources instead of pursuing solar. The report uses BNEF data on the levelised cost of solar energy around the world to calculate what solar production is economic today, taking the mid-price in each country and comparing it with the cheapest fossil fuel. With costs expected to continue falling at similar rates the entire landmass where solar can be placed will likely have economic potential by the end of the decade. Once the embargo lifts the report can be downloaded here: https:// carbontracker.org/reports/the-skys-the-limit/ To arrange interviews please contact: Stefano Ambrogi sambrogi@carbontracker.org +44 7557 916940 David Mason david.mason@greenhousepr.co.uk +44 7799 072320 Joel Benjamin Jbenjamin@carbontracker.org About Carbon Tracker - The Carbon Tracker Initiative is a not-for-profit financial think tank that seeks to promote a climate-secure global energy market by aligning capital markets with climate reality. Our research to date on the carbon bubble, unburnable carbon and stranded assets has begun a new debate on how to align the financial system with the energy transition to a low carbon future. https://carbontracker.org/ [1] According to BP global energy consumption in 2019 was 584 Exajoules which is 162 Petawatt hours (PWh) of primary energy or 65 PWh of electrical energy when adjusted for thermodynamic losses. One Petawatt equals a thousand Terrawatts. [2] Solar energy consultancy Solargis, calculates that without affecting cities, croplands, forests or conservation areas and taking average generation in the least sunny months, current technology can capture a minimum 5,800 PWh p.a.: Global photovoltaic power potential by country, Solargis for the World Bank, 2020. [3] An improved global wind resource model, NREL, 2016 [4] Wind and solar costs from BNEF LCOE calculations. Generation figures from BP Statistical Review 2020. [5] A Tale of Two Share Issues: How fossil fuel equity offerings are losing investors millions, Carbon Tracker, March 2021. [6] For a more detailed analysis of growth rates and learning curves, see a recent piece from the Smith School in Oxford: A new perspective on decarbonising the energy system. Never miss a word with updates directly to your inbox Keep up to date with the latest news and reports as they are released. Newsletter Keep up to date with the latest news, reports and jobs [ ] [Subscribe] Leave this field empty if you're human: [ ] Company overview Carbon Tracker Initiative Carbon Tracker Carbon Tracker is an independent financial think tank that carries out in-depth analysis on the impact of the energy transition on capital markets and the potential investment in high-cost, carbon-intensive fossil fuels. Related News View all News [thomas-millot-q5jKHtV4] Coal phase-out in S. Korea by 2028 most economical choice, study shows 21 April 2021 Amid deepening economic losses from coal plants, South Korea's prolonged reliance on... Read More CCUS Oil companies should hedge their bets on CCUS and offsetting 06 April 2021 Shell and Eni's recent strategy updates have highlighted a key emerging point in the... Read More COGCC The mom and pop oil company 31 March 2021 As the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) weighs competing demands of... Read More Related Events View all Events Renewables Apr 28 28 Apr - A Clean Energy Portfolio for the... 28 April | Online Foot Off The Gas - Why Italy should invest in... Event Details [tyler-casey-ficbiwfOPSo-unsplash-280x1] May 07 07 May - Catalysing Change Week | Divesting from... 7 May | Online Under the guise of environmental responsibility... Event Details [Picture-1-280x168] May 10 10 May - RI UK 2021 Conference 10-14 May | Online This free-to-air conference will bring together... Event Details [sparkler-839806_1920-280x168] May 11 11 May - The Return of the US at COP 11 May | Online The election of President Joe Biden brought a... Event Details [appolinary-kalashnikova-WYGhTLym344-un] May 25 25 May - Energy Transition Summit 25 & 27 May | Virtual The energy transition is the backbone of... Event Details Login [ ] Email address [ ] Password [ ] Remember me Forgot Password? Login Don't have an account? Create an Account Create an Account [ ] Name * [ ] Surname * [Please choose ] Firm Type * [ ] Firm Name * [ ] Role * [Please choose ] Country * [ ] Email * [ ] Password (minimum 6 characters) * [ ] Confirm password * Confirm password does not match the password. [ ] Signup to the Newsletter Create Account Already have an account? Login Why create a Carbon Tracker account? It only takes a couple of minutes to create your free account. Your account will let you: * Download our full reports * Get access to insights and financial analyses By signing up and creating an account you accept our terms of use and privacy and cookie policy. Forgotten Password If you've forgotten your password, simply enter your email address below and we'll send you a link to reset it. [ ] Email address [Reset Password] Go Back Carbon Tracker Initiative * The Team * Contact Us Awards we've won [businessgr] [White-back] [GSBA_Email] [SusBusAwar] [businessgr] * * * * * Signup to the Newsletter Keep up to date with the latest news, reports and jobs [ ] [Subscribe] Leave this field empty if you're human: [ ] This website is maintained by Carbon Tracker Initiative Limited (No. 06888857) set-up to share new thinking on climate risk and funded by a range of European and American foundations. Please refer to our terms of use and our privacy and cookie policy. (c) 2014 Carbon Tracker Initiative. Investor Watch 2010. All Rights Reserved.