Wind capacity will have to grow ninefold
Obstacles to renewables growth can be addressed
Supply chain resilience, intermittency issues and ageing grids all stand in the way of decarbonising power supply
The amount of electricity generated by wind and solar will have to rise dramatically by 2050 in order to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, according to figures from consultancy Rystad Energy. The bulk of growth will come from solar, where annual installations will have to grow sixteenfold, to a peak of 2,200GW/yr in 2039. Meanwhile, wind will have to grow ninefold to reach 553GW/yr in the same year. “We can overcome these challenges” Frimann-Dahl, Rystad Energy Overall, solar and wind will each require $1tn/yr to grow to supply 88pc of electricity demand globally by 2050, up from 10pc currently. The main challenges in reaching this goal are: supply chain resilience, intermitten
Also in this section
12 March 2026
Role of world’s largest carbon cap-and-trade market under scrutiny as war in Iran threatens to drive EU energy costs to unsustainable levels
10 March 2026
Europe urgently needs to bring more projects to FID, as CCS investors warn they might divert capital to faster-growing regions
9 January 2026
A shift in perspective is needed on the carbon challenge, the success of which will determine the speed and extent of emissions cuts and how industries adapt to the new environment
2 January 2026
This year may be a defining one for carbon capture, utilisation and storage in the US, despite the institutional uncertainty
