By Cliff Montgomery – July 12th, 2011
By 2050, renewable fuels such as solar or wind power will become significantly cheaper thanks to expectedtechnological advances, a draft United Nations study recently declared.
“An increase of production of renewable energies (excluding traditional bio-energy) anywhere from roughlythree-fold to 20-fold is necessary” by 2050, added the report.
In considering renewable fuels the study excluded bio-energy, which chiefly is firewood burned in poorernations for heating and cooking. The study also is “the most comprehensive U.N. overview of the sector todate,” according to a Reuters article published in May, when the wire service obtained the draft report.
“The levelized cost of energy for many renewable energy technologies is currently higher than market energyprices, though in other cases renewable energy is already economically competitive,” admitted the study.
But “the cost of most renewable energy technologies has declined, and significant additional technicaladvancements are expected,” stated the U.N. draft. On top of that, use of renewables has grown sharply inrecent years.
“Further cost reductions are expected, resulting in greater potential for climate change mitigation and reducingthe need for policy measures to ensure rapid deployment,” the study added.
The report considered 164 scenarios, and most indicated a “substantial increase in the deployment ofrenewable energy by 2030, 2050 and beyond.”
As late as 2008, renewable power production only constituted about 12.9 % of the world’s primary energysupply–and that mainly was bio-energy, which alone accounted for 10.2 percent. This was followed by hydropower, wind, geo-thermal energy, solar power, and lastly ocean energy.
This expected expansion probably will continue even if no further measures are taken to move countries awayfrom fossil fuel use, added the report.
It may prove an important matter. A 2009 U.N. summit held in Copenhagen was to produce a binding treatywhich would combat global warming – but the talks failed to produce any lasting result.
The U.N. points out that global warming chiefly is being created by emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.
The technical possibilities of these renewable energy forms – particularly solar power – is indeed higher eventhan the world’s projected energy demand, according to the U.N. report.
“The review of 164 scenarios showed that renewable energies could lead to cumulative carbon dioxide savingsof 220-560 billion tonnes from 2010 to 2050,” Reuters said about the study’s findings.
