At the top worldwide from 2025: Renewable energies overtake coal power

In the endeavor to achieve regulated global warming, the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energies plays a central role. From 2025, the generation of electricity from wind and solar power plants is expected to exceed that of coal power. The World Energy Agency predicts that.

Renewable energy sources such as wind and sun will have replaced coal as the world's most important electricity producer by 2025. In the year of the corona pandemic, the amount of green electricity will increase at a "record rate", predicts the World Energy Agency (IEA) in its published annual report. IEA chief Fatih Birol called on governments to continue promoting renewables.

According to the IEA report, the capacities of wind, solar and hydropower plants will reach a new record of 200 gigawatts this year, mainly due to the strong expansion in the USA and China. This development will accelerate in 2021 – also because projects that have been put on hold due to the Corona crisis will then be realized. The energy agency expects the capacity to increase by ten percent; the boom will show itself particularly in the EU and India.

In 2023, more electricity will be generated from sun and wind than from natural gas, predicts the IEA. In 2024, renewables will overtake coal. "In 2025, renewables will be the most important energy source in the world and end five decades in which coal has been at the top," said Birol. "They will then supply a third of the world's electricity."

Because of the rapidly falling costs, the IEA sees a strong increase in the number of offshore wind turbines. According to the annual report, one fifth of wind power will be generated by offshore plants in 2025. Birol warned against reducing or even ending funding for renewables. "Renewables are resisting the corona crisis, but not political uncertainty." If the subsidies are retained, however, capacities could even increase by 25 percent in 2022.

. (tagsToTranslate) Economy (t) Renewable energies (t) Subsidies (t) Green electricity (t) Offshore wind power (t) Wind energy (t) Solar energy (t) Hydropower