IEA Believes Solar Can Supply 20 to 25% of World Energy by 2050

The latest in a series of global Roadmaps by the International Energy Agency (IEA) argues that solar electricity could represent up to 20%–25% of total global electricity production by 2050.

This conclusion emerges from two new analyses from the agency: the Solar Photovoltaic (PV) and Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) Roadmaps, which are designed to enable governments, industry and financial partners to implement measures to accelerate required technology development and uptake.

Highlighting the fact that the technologies will deploy in different yet complementary ways – PV mostly for on-grid distributed generation and helping to provide energy off-grid in rural areas and CSP largely providing despatchable electricity at utility-scale from regions with the brightest sun and clearest skies – collectively, PV and CSP could generate some 9000 TWh in 2050, the IEA believes.

According to the analysis, with effective policies in place, PV on residential and commercial buildings will achieve grid parity by 2020 in many regions. PV will become competitive at utility-scale in the sunniest regions by 2030 and provide 5% of global electricity by then. As PV matures into a mainstream technology, grid integration and management and energy storage are set to become key issues, the IEA says, adding that the PV industry, grid operators and utilities will need to develop new technologies and strategies to integrate large amounts of PV into flexible, efficient and smart grids. Nonetheless, by 2050, PV could provide more than 11% of global electricity, the Roadmap concludes, despite delivering just 0.1% of total global electricity generation currently.

Achieving this level of PV electricity supply – and the associated, environmental, economic and societal benefits – will require more concerted policy support, the agency says. Sustained, effective and adaptive incentive schemes are needed to help bridge the gap to PV competitiveness, along with a long-term focus on technology development that advances all types of PV technologies, including both commercially available and emerging and novel technologies.

Source:  Renewable Energy World    To read the full article   click here