Excerpt from downtoearth.org.in
IEA predicts 95% new RE installed capacity by 2026. Over time, global energy transitions can fundamentally alter mineral and energy resource flows.
The cost of raw materials used to manufacture renewable energy (RE)-based technologies has been on the rise. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has, however, forecast a significant shift in worldwide power generation to RE-based technologies.
The price of polysilicon, a key component in solar photovoltaic (PV), has quadrupled since the beginning of 2020. Steel costs have increased by 50 per cent, aluminium by 80 per cent and copper by 60 per cent. Freight rates have gone up six-fold.
IEA has predicted that 290 gigawatt of new RE capacity will be installed by 2021. By 2026, RE will account for 95 per cent of all new capacity added to the world’s power generation.
China and the European Union share the largest volume of the forecast capacity. The Indian growth story, however, is leading amomg all.