Renewable energy demand is set to soar in 2021 and beyond
The demand for renewable energy is gaining rapid momentum as companies are seeking alternative energy sources to fuel their production. The last year has seen many pledges and announcements countries as well as organizations made for the use of clean energy to support the green infrastructure. According to a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), renewable energy is expected to share 30 percent of the world’s electricity by 2024, from the current contribution of 26 percent. The development of renewable sources is also happening at a rapid pace, from rooftop solar panels to the grid and giant offshore wind farms.
In 2021, experts predict that the demand for green tech and clean energy will soar exponentially. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), electricity consumption will likely fall by 3.9 percent year over year in 2020 and upsurge 1.3 percent in 2021.
Trends Shaping Renewable Energy in 2021
Heightened Solar Installations
Solar and wind projects that continue to be rolled out at a startling pace will increasingly drive the renewable energy market. According to data from the International Renewable Energy Alliance (IRENA), the U.S. is the world’s third-largest solar energy user next to China and Japan. Currently, the U.S. is home to over 2 million solar PV installations, which will reach 4 million by 2023, according to Wood Mackenzie. The fall in price is the major driver for the heightened solar installations. The price of solar power is anticipated to decline by 15 percent to 35 percent by 2024.
Surged Use of Clean Energy
The renewables-based electrification will enable industries around the world to reduce their carbon emissions and achieve the decarbonization goal. Using clean energy, companies can become 100 percent renewable every hour of every day, the new goal defined by Google. The search engine giant seeks to abolish the need for fossil fuels altogether by matching the time of renewable energy generation to the time the energy is consumed. To do so, the company has built a new technology that shifts the electricity demands of its largest data centers to match the clean energy supply.
Decline in Oil Production
The oil industry has been experiencing tough times for a long time and the outbreak of COVID-19 has introduced a new set of challenges to the industry. The COVID-19 led lockdowns and disruption in the supply chain have been mostly impacted the industry. The major impact was the oil price shock. However, the situation still not seems better for oil production companies, as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts oil production to continue slowly declining through March 2021, with production bottoming out at 10.7 million b/d. It expects that production may rise modestly through the end of 2021 as crude oil prices rise.
Battery Storage Capacity Set to Double in the U.S.
According to Wood Mackenzie and the US Energy Storage Association, the new battery-storage capacity in the U.S. will be doubled compared with the Q3 2020. The rapid decline in solar and battery costs and surging renewable energy capacity have triggered the growth of U.S. PV plus storage projects.
Comprehensively, renewable energy is the world’s second-largest source of electricity and power. As industries will continue to pivot towards a sustainable and green future, there will be a significant rise in demand for renewables, edging out fossil fuels and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.
