Wind and solar to dominate electricity growth over next decade

Wind and solar will dominate electricity growth worldwide over the next decade, according to a report.

BP’s latest annual Energy Outlook said an increasing share of the global energy system is shifting from the ‘energy addition’ phase of the energy transition, in which more of both low carbon energy and fossil fuels are used, to the ‘energy substitution’ phase, in which the rapid growth of low carbon energy crowds out the consumption of unabated fossil fuels.

“Renewables are likely to be the fastest-growing source of energy over the next 20 years; penetrating the global energy system more quickly than any fuel ever seen in history,” said Spencer Dale, BP’s chief economist.

The report also noted that global energy demand has continued to grow, averaging around 1% between 2019 and 2024, however the pace of improvement in energy efficiency continues to lag, averaging just 1.5% per annum between 2019 and 2024, down from almost 2% in the previous 10 years.

The report said this weakness has underpinned the continued steady growth of fossil fuels despite rapid increases in low carbon energy.