Solar power could meet 14% global electricity demand by 2030
Source: Energy Efficiency News.com / 04 sept 2008
http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/power-generation/i/1223/
Photovoltaic (PV) technology could generate enough electricity to meet 14% of global demand and cut CO2 emissions by 1.6 billion tonnes – equivalent to 450 coal-fired power plants – by 2030, according a joint report from the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) and Greenpeace International. “Solar photovoltaic electricity has the potential to supply energy to over 4 billion people by 2030 if adequate policy measures are put in place today,” said EPIA President Ernesto Macias at the report launch in Spain.
The report, Solar Generation, now in its fifth edition, estimates that the solar energy sector , which is currently worth around €13 billion, continues to grow at a very rapid pace – more than 35% annually since 1998. By 2030, over 1800 GW of PV systems will have been installed globally. Solar power could be generating as much as 2600 TWh of electricity per year by 2030 – enough to provide power to 1.3 billion people in the developed world and over 3 billion in remote, rural areas who have never had access to mains electricity.
Continued growth in the solar power sector will be driven by falling costs. The report estimates that solar power will be cost-competitive with conventional energy sources by 2015 in southern Europe and across the whole region by 2020. However, the report’s predictions assume a serious commitment to energy efficiency and continuing – or increased – levels of support for renewables and solar power in particular.
The widespread take-up of PV technologies will rely on grant support, in particular feed-in tariffs of the sort that have proved so successful in Germany. The report also urges for the subsidies currently available to fossil and nuclear fuels to be scrapped.
The European Union renewable energy directive has the power to drive the adoption of PV technology across the region, say Greenpeace and EPIA. “The ball is now in the hands of European decision-makers who can take the opportunity this new Directive presents to show Europe’s leadership in the development of renewable energy sources,” said Macias.
For further information:
www.epia.org/fileadmin/EPIA_docs/documents/EPIA_SG_V_ENGLISH_FULL_Sept2008.pdf
www.greenpeace.org/international/