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Peak Fossil Fuel Demand for Electricity

Peak Fossil Fuel Demand for Electricity

Full Title: Peak Fossil Fuel Demand for Electricity: It’s All Over Except the Shouting
Author(s): Kingsmill Bond, Sam Butler-Sloss, Genevieve Lillis, and Matt Sugihara
Publisher(s): Rocky Mountain Institute
Publication Date: January 1, 2023
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):

The latest installment of The Peaking Series shows demand for fossil fuels has peaked in the electricity sector. It will plateau for a few years and be in clear decline by the second half of the decade.

The key driver of change is the rapid growth of solar and wind electricity generation on typical S-curves, driven by low costs, a shift of global capital, and the rising ceiling of what is possible.

In 2022, solar and wind will produce 600–700 TWh of new electricity. Added to the 100–200 TWh from other clean sources makes it enough to meet projected global electricity demand growth of around 700 TWh.

The story just gets better and better as solar and wind advance further up the S-curve. Solar and wind generation will increase at least threefold by the end of the decade, pushing fossil fuel electricity into terminal decline.

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