Renewables set to overtake coal as the world's top power source
Analysts forecast that clean energy would surpass coal in global electricity generation within a few years.
Renewable energy is on track to overtake coal as the world's largest source of electricity generation within a few years, analysts forecast, a milestone that would mark a historic shift in the global power system and a turning point in the energy transition.
The projection reflected the breathtaking pace at which solar and wind power are being deployed around the world, driven by plummeting costs, supportive policies and growing concerns over energy security and climate change. Solar in particular has been added to grids at a record-shattering rate.
Coal has been the backbone of global electricity for generations, and its displacement from the top spot would be a landmark in the effort to decarbonise the power sector, one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. The crossover point, long anticipated, has arrived faster than many forecasters once predicted.
The shift is uneven across regions. Some countries have all but eliminated coal from their power mix, while others, particularly in Asia, continue to rely heavily on it and even build new plants, even as they simultaneously install record amounts of renewables.
Significant challenges remain in managing a grid increasingly powered by variable sources, requiring investment in storage, transmission and flexibility. But the trajectory is unmistakable. The anticipated overtaking of coal by renewables would be a powerful symbol of how rapidly the economics and reality of energy are changing, and a sign that the transformation of the world's power system, long discussed, is well and truly under way.