BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 26. Global investments in solar power in 2023 are expected at $1 billion per day, totaling $380 billion for the year as a whole, Trend reports.
Thus, investments in solar energy will surpass spending on upstream oil for the first time ever, the International Energy Agency says.
At the same time, over the past year, investments in renewable technologies amounted to $600 billion, which is a new record high. These investments were driven by solar power, and also wind.
"Given the reinforced push for renewables in a range of large markets and the gradual unwinding of supply chain problems, we are now expecting higher capacity additions for wind and especially solar PV than last year, with 2023 expected to see another 10 percent increase in renewables investment to more than $650 billion," the IEA said. However, it is evident that more than half of this will go for solar deployment.
In 2022, China alone introduced more than 100 GW of solar PV capacity, nearly 70 percent more than in 2021, and annual installations increased by 40 percent or more in Europe, India, and Brazil, despite inflation and supply chain problems. Investments in wind energy have increased, although less than in solar (as most large projects continue to experience delays), while hydropower costs have continued to fall.
"A rising share of solar and wind needs to be accompanied by spending on technologies that provide greater flexibility to power systems. Supply chain and skills bottlenecks could constrain growth. And, above all, the geographical imbalances in investment need addressing, with clean energy investment in many emerging and developing economies growing only slowly and the number of people without access to modern energy services remaining stubbornly high," the agency added.