While non-renewable energy resources are depleting, the good news is solar energy is showing a promising future. The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) World Energy Outlook 2020 report says that there will be a 23% increase in solar energy use and an 11% increase in the wind by 2040. This projected increase is due to the analysis that solar is 20-50% cheaper.
However, IEA warned that this does not mean that global oil use will have a significant decline unless more aggressive action is pushed towards climate action. Along with the 43% rise in solar use, demand for gas could also rise-up by 30%, except if some global warming policies take a greater stance. One of these policies is the promotion of more sustainable use of energy.
The EIA cost estimation of solar electricity generation technology for developers is assumed at 7-8% cost of capital depending on each country’s stage of development (source, resilience.org). For offshore wind, the cost of capital (in Europe) is set at 4%, enough to cut its Levelized cost of electricity from $140 per megawatt-hour to $100/mgh (source, carbonbrief.org).
