• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
The climate news that makes a difference.
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
  FEATURED
Renewables ‘Set to Soar’ with 440 GW of New Installations in 2023: IEA June 4, 2023
Greek Industrial Giant Announces 1.4-GW Alberta Solar Farm, Canada’s Biggest June 4, 2023
Shift to Remote Work Cuts Commutes, Frees Downtown Space for Affordable Housing June 4, 2023
2.7M Hectares Lost, Nova Scotia at Ground Zero in ‘Unprecedented’ Early Wildfire Season June 4, 2023
Is Equinor’s Bay du Nord ‘Delay’ a Cancellation in Slow Motion? June 1, 2023
Next
Prev

Electrification of Everything Set to Triple Global Grid Capacity by 2050

September 11, 2018
Reading time: 2 minutes

Kenuoene/pixabay

Kenuoene/pixabay

 

Global grid capacity is on track to triple by 2050 as power utilities scramble to accommodate a surge in electric vehicles and new renewable energy capacity, according to a new report by Oslo-based DNV GL.

The company’s latest Energy Transition Outlook sees electric vehicles accounting for half of all new car sales in Europe by 2027, and renewable energy supplying 80% of the world’s electricity by 2050.

  • Concise headlines. Original content. Timely news and views from a select group of opinion leaders. Special extras.
  • Everything you need, nothing you don’t.
  • The Weekender: The climate news you need.
Subscribe

“The quality assurance and risk management giant said the electrification of energy demand would double by 2050 as transportation, buildings, and manufacturing all increasingly go electric,” Greentech Media reports. “Installation rates for distribution system transformers will double,” and “from 2030 onward, the bulk of capital expenditures on energy will switch from fossil fuel projects to electricity grids and wind and solar plants.”

But even so, rapid electrification won’t be enough in itself to meet the decarbonization targets in the Paris Agreement: DNV GL doesn’t see the first emissions-free year occurring until 2090.

The report projects energy spending rising 30% by 2050, to US$6 trillion per year, with most of that money shifting from operating costs and fuel to capital investments—another sign of a shift to renewables. Overall, energy spending declines from 5.5 to 3.1% of global GDP.

As the transition takes hold, “a growing fraction of wind and solar power on the grid will force many countries to redesign the way electricity markets work, bringing in market-based pricing signals to encourage greater flexibility,” Greentech notes. For established utilities, that will mean learning how to compensate renewable energy generators that bring in enough supply to drive down wholesale electricity costs.

“To speed up the transition, regulators and politicians need to rethink electricity markets to provide additional flexibility including storage, demand-side response, and interconnection capacity,” the company said in a release. It added that “business model changes may cause significant shifts in demand for products, and therefore for energy, as some sectors of the economy move from ownership to service ‘pay-as-you-use’ models.”

As the shift to renewables drops fossils into the role of supplying peak power demand, DNV GL sees northern Europe, North America, and China having to deal with short-term and seasonal shifts in renewable energy production, possibly by producing hydrogen or other fuels during periods of surplus.

The analysis also suggests an uncomfortable transition in some parts of the existing electricity system. “The time scales involved in planning and constructing electricity networks may require network operators to make decisions amid considerable uncertainty,” the report states. “Regulators will need to make decisions about the optimum allocation of the risks and associated costs of stranded assets. Large thermal generators will face considerably increased uncertainty.”



in Auto & Alternative Vehicles, Batteries / Storage, Buildings, Canada, China, Clean Electricity Grid, Community Climate Finance, Demand & Efficiency, Ending Emissions, Energy / Carbon Pricing & Economics, General Renewables, International Agencies & Studies, Legal & Regulatory, Solar, UK & Europe, United States, Wind

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

sunrise windmill
International Agencies & Studies

Renewables ‘Set to Soar’ with 440 GW of New Installations in 2023: IEA

June 4, 2023
120
Pixabay
Solar

Greek Industrial Giant Announces 1.4-GW Alberta Solar Farm, Canada’s Biggest

June 4, 2023
106
Oregon Department of Transportation/flickr
Cities & Communities

Shift to Remote Work Cuts Commutes, Frees Downtown Space for Affordable Housing

June 4, 2023
73

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

/MaxPixels

‘Substantial Damage’, No Injuries as Freight Train Hits Wind Turbine Blade

May 25, 2022
14.6k
Natural Resources Canada

2.7M Hectares Lost, Nova Scotia at Ground Zero in ‘Unprecedented’ Early Wildfire Season

June 4, 2023
144
sunrise windmill

Renewables ‘Set to Soar’ with 440 GW of New Installations in 2023: IEA

June 4, 2023
120
Pixabay

Greek Industrial Giant Announces 1.4-GW Alberta Solar Farm, Canada’s Biggest

June 4, 2023
106
Inspiration 4 Photos/flickr

Cooling Upper Atmosphere Has Scientists ‘Very Worried’

May 23, 2023
498
Equinor

Is Equinor’s Bay du Nord ‘Delay’ a Cancellation in Slow Motion?

June 1, 2023
861

Recent Posts

Oregon Department of Transportation/flickr

Shift to Remote Work Cuts Commutes, Frees Downtown Space for Affordable Housing

June 4, 2023
73
Clairewych/Pixabay

Demand Surges for Giant Heat Pumps as Europe Turns to District Heating

June 4, 2023
81
nicolasdebraypointcom/pixabay

Factor Gender into Transportation Planning, IISD Analyst Urges Policy-Makers

June 4, 2023
33
moerschy / Pixabay

Federal Climate Plans Must Embrace Community-Driven Resilience

June 4, 2023
49
debannja/Pixabay

Austin, Texas Council Committee Backs Fossil Non-Proliferation Treaty

June 4, 2023
80
Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-op/Facebook

‘Hinge Moment’ for Humanity Demands ‘YIMBY’ Mentality: McKibben

June 1, 2023
75
Next Post
MonicaVolpin/Pixabay

Iceland Aims for Full Carbon Neutrality by 2040

The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

Copyright 2023 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_withtagline
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}