Wind, solar power to dominate global power supply, IEA says

On September 14, 2022, people ride their motorcycles past a windmill farm in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The International Energy Agency said on Feb 8, 2023 that a rise in wind and solar production, together with more nuclear electricity, will dominate global power supply over the next three years and will curb the emissions impact of greater energy use. The International Energy Agency said on Wednesday that a rise in wind and solar production, combined with more nuclear electricity, will dominate growth in global power supply over the next three years, curbing the emissions impact of greater energy use.

The news is that renewables and nuclear power are growing quickly enough to meet almost all of the additional appetite, suggesting that we are close to a tipping point for power sector emissions, IEA director Faith Birol said.

Wind and solar share in the power generation mix is projected to rise to 35 percent in 2025 from 29 percent in 2022.

Growth in global electricity demand is expected to increase by a percentage point from 2022 to an average of 3 percent over the next three years to 29,281 terawatt-hours TWh or double the current consumption of Japan, according to the report.

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The Asia Pacific region, with an average growth rate of 11.6 percent, is expected to see the largest gains in renewable power, followed by Europe with a 9.4 percent growth rate and the Americas with a 5 percent growth rate average per year.

Nuclear supply increased by 3.6 percent on average to 2025, with the largest annual growth rate in the Middle East at 24.5 percent, from 26 to 50 TWh, followed by Asia Pacific and Europe, up 6.6 percent and 4.2 percent on average per year.

Production from gas-fired power plants in Europe is expected to fall, but growth in gas-fired production in the Middle East is likely to limit the decrease, the report said.

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The IEA believes European gas-fired production will fall from 822 TWh in 2022 to 581 TWh, down 29 percent in three years, with emissions falling 1,023 million tons Mt CO 2 to 763 Mt CO2, down about 10 percent per year.

In the Middle East, gas-production is expected to rise from 973 TWh in 2022 to 1,094 TWh in 2025, down 12.4 percent, though emissions are expected to fall by 14 Mt CO 2 over the same period, down 1.9 percent, as coal power's share is expected to drop to just 4 TWh.