Over a third of all energy may be generated by wind and solar by 2030

14 Jul 2023 , 11:50 AM

According to a report released on Thursday by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), wind and solar projects are on track to supply more than a third of the world’s electricity by 2030, demonstrating that the energy sector can make the necessary changes to reach the objectives set for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The next UN climate summit’s president, Sultan al-Jaber, called for a tripling of renewable energy production by 2030 earlier this year in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and advance the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement’s objectives.

According to the RMI analysis, wind and solar projects are expected to provide at least 33% of the world’s electricity, up from about 12% today, due to exponential sector expansion. This will result in a decrease in the production of electricity from fossil fuels and lower electricity prices.

The Bezos Earth Fund, a $10 billion fund established by Amazon owner Jeff Bezos to help fund solutions to climate change, and The RMI, a U.S.-based non-profit organization focused on sustainable energy, collaborated to conduct the research.

As additional projects are implemented and economies of scale increase, the price of solar energy, which is presently the least expensive method of producing electricity, may decrease to as low as $20 per megawatt hour (MWh), from about $40 MWh at present, according to the paper.

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