Cédric Philibert Senior Analyst Renewable Energy Division International Energy Agency
9 rue de la Fédération 75015 Paris
France cedric.philibert@iea.org
www.iea.org
Wind Power in the Energy Transition
Cédric Philibert International Energy Agency Solar energy and wind energy are the two energy
re-sources that will grow the most in all climate-friendly sce-narios. Even in the łNew Policy Scenariož, that is not stringent enough to achieve the climate goals agreed in Paris (COP 21, 2015), wind power is set to become the first source of electricity in Europe by 2040 or before [1]. In the łSustainable Development Scenariož, wind power even becomes the first source of electricity in the world, though solar energy and hydropower will come in the same ballpark [1]. However, to achieve full decarbonisa-tion of the global economy, more will be needed. Res-idential heat, industrial heat, fuels and feedstock, and transports fuels, will need to be provided by near-zero carbon energy.
Through direct electrification and the production of hy-drogen from electrolysis of water, renewable energies, solar and wind in the first place, may again be at the core of this effort [2, 3].
Electricity generation by source in the European Union, 2010-2040. Here airborne wind energy, if it łtakes offž, can play var-ious roles. On shore (łabove landž?), it may help over-come the barriers of acceptability and reduce cost. Off shore, and even far off shore, it may provide large addi-tional amounts of cheap electricity to produce on floating platforms various fuels and chemicals, which could then be shipped to customers: hydrogen, ammonia, and, with carbon extracted from the air or waters, methanol and liq-uid hydrocarbons.
References:
[1] IEA: World Energy Outlook, 2018. [2] IEA: Renewable Energy for Industry, 2017. [3] IEA: The Future of Hydrogen, 2019.
