Russia-Ukraine war: Russian oil ban makes renewable energy top electricity source, says IEA

The International Energy Agency said that the ban on Russian oil due to the war in Ukraine has shifted the focus of the world to renewable sources of energy. The IEA predicted that governments in the world would make renewable energy the top source of electricity in the next three years.

The IEA said in its report issued on Tuesday that the war in Ukraine would shift the world governments’ focus from fossil fuels for energy toward more renewable sources of energy for electricity. The shift toward renewable energy sources will result in this becoming the top electricity source in the world over the next three years. The IEA argued that the war made the security and price stability of locally-produced renewable energy become more attractive.

The IEA also said that the world would build 2,400 gigawatts of new generating capacity, mostly from solar and wind energy, over the next five years. This would be equal to China’s current overall generating capacity. This would be a level of investment 30 percent higher than what was predicted in 2021.

By 2025, the IEA said the rate of increase will make renewable energy surpass coal as the top source of electricity. By 2027, renewable energy would make up 38 percent of the electricity mix, a 10 percent increase from the current rate of 28 percent.

Four-fifths of the renewable capacity would come from solar photovoltaics and wind turbines, according to the IEA’s report. The two sources would more than double all the currently installed capacity over the next five years. As renewable energy would take up 90 percent of new investment, all other energy sources for producing electricity will face a decline, including oil, coal, and natural gas.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has warned of more emergency blackouts to come, especially in the capital Kyiv, following the latest barrage of attacks by Russia on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. In a video address on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said four people have been killed so far in the latest strikes but that most of the estimated 70 Russian missiles were shot down by Ukrainian forces.