The rise of solar energy is ushering the planet into the ‘electric age’, the energy agency says

Renewable energy production is expanding at an unprecedented pace, led by the rapid rise of solar energy, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency.

At the same time, the world’s insatiable demand for more energy has contributed to an increase in fossil fuel production, sending energy-related carbon emissions to a new record, the report found.

Overall, the IEA’s annual report shows that released todayThe research shows that the world is still on track for a peak in demand for all coal, oil and natural gas before 2030, driven in part by the growth of electric vehicles.

“In the history of energy, we have witnessed the age of coal and the age of oil,” said Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA.

“We are now rapidly entering the age of electricity, which will define the future global energy system and will be increasingly based on clean electricity sources.”

Birol said growth in energy production overall could help lower prices, “which would provide some relief to consumers hit hard by price spikes.” It could also lead to an “abundance” of natural gas supplies from countries like Canada, he said.

Solar energy a driving force

Solar energy, wind energy and nuclear energy will all increase in the coming years, but the forecasts for solar energy stand out.

Over the past five years, the annual increase in solar capacity has quadrupled to 425 gigawatts, and solar energy is expected to become an increasingly important part of the global energy mix.

Parallel developments in battery storage should help with this transition. According to the report, battery storage is “poised to provide the lion’s share of energy storage expansion to support the goal of tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030.”

Dave Jones, director of energy think tank Ember which reviewed the report, said solar and batteries “steal the show”.

Still, given the increased demand for energy, the rapid growth of renewable energy sources does not translate into a rapid decline in CO2 emissions, Jones said.

“Renewable growth provides an abundance of energy, but this will only translate into a substantial decrease in CO2 emissions if there is at the same time a strong focus on using energy as waste-free as possible.”

China leads the way (in all directions)

The report calls China a leader in renewable energy production while also driving the continued production of fossil fuels, including coal.

The country leads the world in clean technology, including solar, wind, hydropower and nuclear energy, but has also seen electricity production from coal increase by more than 20 percent and natural gas by 40 percent over the past five years, the report said.

“Whether it’s investment, fossil fuel demand, electricity consumption, deployment of renewables, the electric vehicle market or clean technology production, we now find ourselves in a world where almost every energy story is essentially a China story is,” says Birol.

Overall, the report sees China as rapidly moving towards reducing emissions and further increasing its renewable energy capacity.

According to the report, China is already responsible for half of the world’s electric cars on the road, and by 2030 it is expected that 70 percent of new car sales in China will be electric.

Birol said that by the early 2030s – less than a decade from now – China’s solar power generation could exceed the total electricity demand of today’s United States.

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Emissions are not falling fast enough

Under current policies, global emissions are expected to peak soon, but not soon enough to meet climate targets.

According to the report, the planet is on track to increase global average temperatures by 2.4 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, well above the Paris Climate Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

According to the report, countries including Canada will need to increase investments in the clean energy transition and move away from fossil fuel subsidies.

Birol said that “government policies and consumer choices will have enormous implications for the future of the energy sector and for tackling climate change.”