A report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) showed that global renewable energy capacity surged by a record high 50 percent to 510 gigawatts in 2023, with solar power accounting for 75 percent of new capacities worldwide. This acceleration makes it possible for renewable energy in the world to expand to 7,300 GW by 2029, it said.
Solar PV and wind are projected to account for 95 percent of the expansion, allowing RE to finally surpass coal in terms of power generation.
Globally, the share of coal in total global generation was at least 36 percent in 2023, while RE stood at 30.2 percent, according to the IEA.
“Onshore wind and solar PV are cheaper today than new fossil fuel plants almost everywhere, and cheaper than existing fossil fuel plants in most countries,” said Faith Birol, IEA executive director.
In the Philippines, IEA’s projection shows that the share of RE in the energy mix will reach 27 percent by 2028 from the current 22 percent. The government goal is to reach 35 percent renewable share by 2030.
Renewable energy is likewise expected to expand by 9 GW over the 2023 to 2028 period, with the Department of Energy’s Green Energy Auction Program seen as the main growth driver.
However, the IEA pointed out that RE could further expand if the country addressed grid connection delays, the high cost of financing, lengthy permitting procedures, and inadequate transmission infrastructure.
Following the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in November last year, countries committed to tripling the current global RE capacity by 2030. Birol said that such a goal could only be attained through policy changes aimed at fast tracking RE development.
2023 has proven that we can accelerate the critically necessary shift to renewable energy if we want to. All we have to do now is sustain that momentum for a few more years, at least until we can do the planet and humanity a favor by catching up with coal in terms of energy capacity.*