Last month The International Energy Agency (IEA) released its Renewables 2019 forecast and market analysis from 2019-2024. The report looks at global trends for renewable energy technologies dealing with electricity, heat, and transport.
This year’s analysis takes an extra hard look at distributed solar photovoltaics (PV) which they project will more than double within the next 5 years. Expected to take off are distributed solar PV systems for homes, industrial facilities, and commercial buildings. This will present opportunities for consumers who wish to generate their electricity.
Solar energy capacity is expected to account for 60% of that growth by 2024 at 500GW and possibly by 600GW at an accelerated rate. This is almost double the total electric capacity of Japan which would also bring down the price of solar. Onshore wind power will account for 25% growth and off-shore wind will likely triple. The overall combined renewable electricity is expected to grow by 1,200GW in the next 5 years, this would equal the total electric capacity of the US.
IEA’s executive director, Dr. Fatih Birol, comments on the findings:
This is a pivotal time for renewable energy. Technologies such as solar (PV) and wind are at the heart of transformations taking place across the global energy system. Their increasing deployment is crucial for efforts to tackle greenhouse gas emissions, reduce air pollution, and expand energy access. Renewables are already the world’s second largest source of electricity, but their deployment still needs to accelerate if we are to achieve long-term climate, air quality and energy access goals
China is expected to lead the way with new solar and wind energy projects, but it was the expected changes in the US and the European Union that made the forecast even more promising.
This is good news for those in the solar industry. The cost of solar is expected to decline by an average of around 25% by 2024 which should lead to even more growth from that point moving forward.
