5 Seismic Shifts Shaking Up World’s Energy Use, According to Bloomberg’s NEO
EcoWatch, June 25, 2015. Image credit: epSos .de
Renewable energy is set to blow past fossil fuels in the next 25 years, attracting nearly two-thirds of the spending on new power plants, according to a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). With rapidly decreasing costs, solar will be the top choice for consumers, particularly in developing nations, the report New Energy Outlook 2015 (NEO) projects. Worldwide, it expects solar to draw $3.7 trillion of the $8 trillion invested in clean energy, with only $4.1 billion spent on coal, natural gas and nuclear.
The report outlined what it referred to as “5 seismic shifts” that will transform electricity generation in the next quarter century.
It found:
1. Solar, solar everywhere. The continuing decline in the cost of photovoltaic technology will fuel that $3.7 billion investment surge in both large- and small-scale solar. That growth will be pushed by a 47 percent decrease in the cost of solar thanks to conversion efficiencies, new materials and streamlined production.
2. Power to the people. Of that amount, $2.2 billion will be invested in rooftop solar and other small-scale solar systems, allowing businesses and other users to generate and store their own electricity and giving parts of the developing world access to electricity for the first time.