Tripling renewable energy capacity is “within reach,” says report

Nearly 200 countries have pledged to triple global renewable energy capacity by the end of the decade – a goal that is “within reach” if governments act quickly, according to a new report.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) today published its roadmap for how countries can do this. It’s still a steep climb ahead, because a hell of a lot of new infrastructure is needed. But falling costs and supportive policies can help them get there.

“To ensure the world does not miss this enormous opportunity, we must rapidly focus on its implementation,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a press release.

The international commitment to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 came out of the UN climate summit in Dubai last December. Representatives from every government meet annually to work together on climate change, aiming to meet the goals set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement to prevent global warming from making it much harder for countries to adapt. To do this, countries are expected to move away from fossil fuels so that global greenhouse gas emissions reach net zero by 2050.

Tripling renewables worldwide would also require significantly more storage, as wind and solar generation fluctuates. Saving excess energy for times when the sun doesn’t shine and the winds are weaker will be key. Power grids would need to add 1,500 gigawatts of storage, most of it in the form of batteries, according to the report. That’s a nearly 15-fold increase from today.

Still, delays in getting permits and connecting new buildings to the existing grid have been major bottlenecks. Given current policies and technology trends, countries are on track to secure more than three-quarters of the increase needed to triple renewable capacity this decade, the IEA says.

Today’s report comes as world leaders gather for the UN General Assembly in New York and prepare for this year’s UN climate summit in November. They are under pressure from activists and business leaders to accelerate action ahead of a looming deadline next year to update national climate plans under the Paris Agreement.