Picture of the Week: Speed of change around #energytransition is accelerating. Last year the @IEA projected that #renewableenergy installations would be 1800GW over the next five years. Now they are saying that it will be 2,400GW which is the installed capacity of #China.
Why is the #energytransition accelerating: 2. Opportunity - #EVs, #batteries, #heatpumps and #Solar are multi-billion dollar markets growing at circa 40% per annum and are attracting the best entrepreneurs and businesses across the world
Why is the #energytransition accelerating: 3. Innovation - the speed of #innovation be that technical or business model is unbelievable in all things #energy which in turn is driving down costs, improving performance and accelerating customer usage
Why is the #energytransition accelerating: 4. Regulations - governments such as the US are recognising the importance of the energy transition and are responding with support programmes such as the #inflationreductionact which will push adoption and production of #cleanenergy
There is a lot of talk about bringing back #solar production to #Europe and the #US. What is needed is an @Airbus type response with cross-border and industry co-operation a must otherwise all attempts will be a failure. Let me explain why?
1. It is the size of the #solar industry and the capital ($50bn) and resources needed to scale and be competitive. This year the #solar market will be around 300GW, up from 180GW last year. The #solar industry will use as much glass in the next 12 months as #Europe produces.
2. The scale of the Fab4: LONGi Solar, JA Solar, Jinko Solar Co., Ltd. and Trina Solar basically control the world market for #solar modules. By the of this year, the four of them will have production capabilities of circa 275GW with the plans to add 140GW next year.
There is a lot of #china bashers out there particularly with regards #energy. The bottom line though is that #China is not only the biggest producers of #solarpanels, #inverters#windturbines and #batteries in the world but also the biggest market for all these products.
This year #china will install circa 100GW of #solarpanels. If you add the 50GW from last year the country has installed over the last 18 months more than the total installed base of the #Unitedstates.
#china will install over 50GW of #wind in 2022 which is more than 50% of all global wind turbines installed this year.
I am firmly convinced that we are in the middle of a revolution in the #energy world. One of the crucial points is around #digitalisation which enables #energyefficiency but at that same time depends on #electricity.
This spiral of digitalisation leading to electrification is one of the primary reasons why we are electrifying our energy systems. I can do without coal but I cannot do anything in this modern #digital world without electricity.
I have never been as positive about our #energy#future as I am these days. Not alone do we have the #technologies and the knowhow to #decarbonise but we have massive retooling taking place in #China and the #US around key future energy technologies
What we do need to change is the negativity around #climatechange. It was thus great to read this article from @greendig criticising the god father of #energyhistory Vaclav Smil
With #European energy prices at extreme levels, there are huge risks that could destabilise the whole social, economic, and political fabric of #Europe. 6 Things we need do:
1. Help Customers Save Energy
We need to help change customer behaviour and run pan #European marketing campaigns to explain the #energy challenge. I call this a “Save Energy to Save Europe,” campaign.
#Financial incentives should be introduced to encourage energy efficiency noting that small incremental changes in demand could quickly bring prices down for everyone.