Since solar power became a viable solution for creating electricity, many people wondered why we don’t immediately close coal plants. And, they would be right – solar power is much, much cleaner. Actually, it doesn’t harm the environment in any way, while coal is one of the main culprits behind global warming. However, in its defense, coal is very cheap and easy to source.
Well, according to new reports, coal has just lost its last straw. And honestly, it was just about time. Coal surely made industrialization possible, but that was over two centuries ago. Today, we need sustainable energy sources that won’t hurt our environment, just like solar power.
According to the World Energy Outlook 2020 (WEO) from IEA, solar power is now cheaper than coal in most countries globally. Moreover, thanks to recent advancements, it could capture 80% of the sustainable energy market by 2030. Currently, hydropower is the most significant green energy source. However, thanks to reduced costs for manufacturing PV panels, that will change soon.
Interestingly, solar power took center stage in all four future WEO scenarios. In other words, it’s almost inevitable that it’ll become the biggest energy source on Earth.
“If governments and investors step up their clean energy efforts in line with our Sustainable Development Scenario, the growth of both solar and wind would be even more spectacular — and hugely encouraging for overcoming the world’s climate challenge.”. Dr. Fatih finished by demanding governments to take decisive actions for the acceleration of green technologies.
Furthermore, in its Sustainable Development Scenario, IEA states that every country in the world should be carbon-neutral by 2050. However, the agency also gave more pessimistic scenarios. For instance, the Delayed Recovery Scenario assumes that the coronavirus pandemic will continue past 2021. But let’s hope that this won’t happen.
Image by Michael Schwarzenberger from Pixabay
