Wind Power has the Potential to meet the Worlds Demand for Electricity

The agency reported that due to falling costs of wind power the renewable energy would soon become competitive against fossil energy. It is predicted that the average global cost of energy generated via wind would drop to 40% by 2030.

The executive director of the International Energy Agency Faith Birol commented:

It has the potential to be a major game-changer

Adding,

Looking at the future of offshore wind . . . it has the potential to join the ranks of shale [gas] and solar photovoltaics in terms of steep cost reductions

The report comes at a time when many countries including France and the UK are working to reduce greenhouse emissions with the goals of zero by 2050. Recently UK universities have turned to green energy in an unprecedented deal with wind farms.

Currently, offshore wind power accounts for only 0.3% of the world’s supply of energy, however, the IEA predicts that by 2040 wind power could be the biggest source of power generation in Europe. The report also found that according to existing government policies investment in offshore wine will amount to 840bn over the next two decades.

Alongside this investment in power, grids will also be required for the growth of offshore wind. The IEA report warned,

Without appropriate grid reinforcements and expansion, there is a risk of large amounts of offshore wind power going unused.

However, with the right infrastructure and investment offshore wind power has the potential to meet the world’s demand for electricity eleven times over.