Solar may cover 75% of global electricity demand by 2050

A new study from the Lappeenranta University of Technology predicts solar may even achieve a 69% share for total primary energy supply by the end of the first half of the century. In terms of price, solar PV is expected to achieve a capex of €246/kW-installed (AU$385/kW-installed) for utility scale projects, and of €537/kW (AU$840/kW) for residential arrays by 2050. The levelised cost of energy (LCOE), however, is expected to remain constant over the next three decades, as the energy transition will also be implemented with storage technologies, increased flexibility and the production of synthetic fuels.

April 14, 2021 Emiliano Bellini

Researchers believe that the Chinese PV sector could reach grid parity by the end of the year.

Image: GCL SI

From pv magazine Global

Professor of solar economy Christian Breyer and his team, at the Lappeenranta University of Technology in Finland, have revised upwards their outlook on the share that solar PV will have in the global electricity mix by 2050, from 68% to 76%.

In the proposed scenario, in which the target to limit global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius is achieved, end-use sectors such as transport and heating are almost fully electrified. Despite the strong drop in prices for electricity provided by solar and other renewables, however, the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of the whole system is expected to remain constant at between 50€ and 57 €/MWh (AU$78 and AU$89/MWh) over the next three decades, as the energy transition will be also implemented with storage technologies, increased flexibility and the production of synthetic fuels. “We do not consider, any more, single-technology LCOE, but least-cost energy system solutions, which shifts the focus on[to] integrated solutions,” Professor Breyer told pv magazine.

In the study, however, the capex of all technologies required for system LCOE was indicated. “The PV capex is the most decisive,” Breyer added.

According to the group’s estimations, for example, the capex for a residential PV project is forecast to drop from €1,169/kW-installed (AU$1825/kW-installed) in 2020, to €826 (AU$1290) in 2030, €650 (AU$1016) in 2040, and €537 (AU$840) in 2050.

The cost for commercial PV is expected to reach €397/kW-installed (AU$620/kW-installed) by 2050, from €907 (AU$1420) in 2020; €623 (AU$974) in 2030; and €484 (AU$756) in 2040.

As for the industrial roofs, the capex is predicted to decrease from €682/kW-installed (AU$1066/kW-installed) in 2020, to €459 (AU$717) in 2030, €353 (AU$550) in 2040, and €289 (AU$450) in 2050.

Looking into the large scale business, the group provided prices for two PV plants: fixed structure and with single-axis trackers, and found the second category will experience a price drop from €638/kW-installed (AU$997/kW-installed) in 2020 to €429 (AU$670) in 2030, €330 (AU$515) in 2040, and €271 (AU$423) in 2050. As for the first category, it is predicted to achieve a capex of €246/kW-installed (AU$384/kW-installed), from €580 (AU$906) in 2020; €390 (AU$609) in 2030; and €300 (AU$470) in 2040.

The report also forecasts that renewables-powered desalination will be able to resolve the water scarcity issue, providing 3 billion cubic meters of clean water per day, and that power-to-x technology will be fully implemented.

“The results in our study describe a scenario that has been claimed as impossible according to IPCC reports,” Breyer said. “We are, however, able to show that with … comprehensive direct and indirect electrification of the energy system, and renewables-based electricity supply, the climate targets can be met without increasing the [cost] per unit of energy.”

Two recent studies, on the other hand, have separately shown that Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios assessing global decarbonisation pathways are still predicting too-low future PV capacity and too-high LCOEs for the solar technology. A study from Aarhus University, in Denmark, has shown how the 2050 integrated assessment modelling (IAM) scenarios from the IPCC have underestimated PV over the past 14 years, and previous research conducted by scientists at the University of Geneva, in Switzerland, found that European entities expect a sharply higher compound annual growth rate for solar PV than their Asian and North American counterparts. It also noted that the growth scenarios of the IPCC are more conservative than other predictions.

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