According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the amount of energy generated by solar panels will grow sixfold by 2030. The reason for this is the low cost of energy produced, compared to natural gas and coal-fired power plants.
A report released on Wednesday said 8 to 13 percent of global electricity production will come from solar panels using photovoltaic technology in 2030. And that's up from 1.2 percent of global electricity production at the end of last year, the organization said. The average cost of electricity generated by photovoltaic technology is projected to decline by as much as 59 percent by 2025. In most cases, solar power will be the cheapest form of energy production, the organization said.
In Europe and the United States, renewables are gradually replacing nuclear energy and curbing the production of electricity from gas and coal, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. California corporation PG&E Corp. proposes to close two nuclear reactors as the cost of wind and solar energy declines. Even if prices for coal and gas fall due to surplus reserves of coal and gas, in the 2030s solar and wind technologies for generating energy will still be the cheapest in most regions of the world, New Energy Finance said in its report.
“The transition to renewable energy is progressing rapidly and solar energy is playing a key role,” said Adnan Amin, CEO of IRENA in a statement. "The cost savings, coupled with other factors, could significantly increase the use of solar energy around the world."
Bloomberg New Energy Finance also predicts an increase in the use of solar panels. Solar panels will account for 15 percent of total electricity generation by 2040, according to Jenny Chase, a solar technology expert in Zurich. “IRENA's assumptions make sense,” she said. "In any scenario, solar power is cheap."
By 2020, Brazil, Chile, Israel, Jordan, Mexico, the Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Turkey will be the “most attractive” markets for solar panels, IRENA said.
Smart grids or energy grids capable of processing and distributing electricity from different sources, as well as the development of new types of storage technology - will stimulate the further use of solar energy, - stressed the organization IRENA.