Fossil fuels have long been at the fore front of electricity production, but recent reports and studies have concluded or shifted their recommendations towards renewable energy as the future of electricity generation.

Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar have been growing in popularity and affordability at astonishingly rapid rates.

The fact that fossil fuel emissions are about 10% lower today than a decade or more ago in North America doesn’t mean we should still believe it will aid in the fight against climate change. With perspective, renewable energy sources like solar energy are now more economically affordable and are better options to help ensure a sustainable environment.
— Derick Ajumni, Founder and Editorial Manager of PVBuzz

A recent Bloomberg article discusses how the race for renewable energy has passed a turning point. Adding that renewable energy capacity is now increasing year after year at a faster rate even the coal, natural gas, and oil industries have trouble keeping up.

A report released at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance annual summit in New York on April 7th 2015, places further emphasis on the fact that a ‘tipping point’ has already been reached. Drawing from 2013 data when 143 GW of renewable electricity capacity was added that year over 141 GW in new plants that burn fossil fuels. Not only that, this growth is projected to continuously increase through 2030.

Power generation capacity additions (GW) BNEFPower generation capacity additions (GW). Credit: Bloomberg New Energy Finance

The International Energy Agency in a recent publication stated that although Solar energy only makes up less than 1% of the electricity market today, it is headed to become the world’s biggest single source of electricity production by 2050.

Thomas_Edison_on_solar_energy

With remarkable reports like these, renewable energy enthusiasts can rest assured that the world will indeed be a better place–well as long as the fossil fuel industry keeps losing.

To top it all, another report from a recent panel of climate scientists concluded that by 2020 around 1 million new green energy jobs would be created if the US, European Union, and China all adhere to their climate goals.

“This statistic is predicated on these countries managing to switch from producing conventional fossil fuel energy to green energy sources.” Michael Mcdonald wrote in his article The Inconvenient Truth About A Green Revolution on OilPrice(dot)com.

He also added that by 2050 around 3 million new green energy jobs would be created if all conventional fossil fuels are phased out by that point and replaced with renewable energy sources.

Derick Lila
Derick is a Clark University graduate—and Fulbright alumni with a Master's Degree in Environmental Science, and Policy. He has over a decade of solar industry research, marketing, and content strategy experience.

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