Nearly 500 million miles of electricity cables needed by 2040 to meet climate targets
Countries across the world need to add or upgrade approximately 500 million miles of power cable by 2040 to achieve climate and energy targets.
That’s according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) who have released a report confirming the urgent need to expand and enhance electricity grids to meet climate goals and ensure that the grid is capable of coping with the increased supply and demand pressures as we all move away from gas as the primary source for power generation.
The report highlighted that significant changes to grid operations and regulations are imperative. Estimating that annual investments are currently relatively stagnant, they must double to over £493bn by 2030.
The IEA also identified issues, including a growing queue of renewable energy projects awaiting grid connection approval. Approximately 1,500GW of such projects, at advanced development stages, await connection, according to the study.
It is estimated that these grid delay’s would result in nearly 60 billion additional tonnes of cumulative carbon dioxide emissions between 2030 and 2050, exceeding the Paris Agreement target of 1.5°C.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said: “The recent clean energy progress we have seen in many countries is unprecedented and cause for optimism, but it could be put in jeopardy if governments and businesses do not come together to ensure the world’s electricity grids are ready for the new global energy economy that is rapidly emerging.”
Volatility on the wholesale market this past week highlights the importance to move away from gas and oil supply pressures born from global conflicts, strikes and outages.
As prices remain extremely volatile, it’s really important to keep a track on the latest wholesale market trends. We produce a market update every Monday morning. Click here to see all previous editions.
If your electricity or gas contract is up for renewal in the next 6 months, we would encourage you to compare prices now as the market remains extremely volatile.
Compare prices online for your meter by clicking here or contact your Energy Advice Line account manager now for the latest information.