Global technology company Wärtsilä has released a report that shows potential for G20 stimulus packages to accelerate energy transition towards renewable energy systems and economic recovery.
The report titled ‘Aligning Stimulus with Energy Transformation’ presents the modelling of scenarios where the US and the UK focus their existing packages for energy on measures that accelerate the transition.
Additionally, it revealed Wärtsilä experts’ viewpoints in other G20 countries, including Germany, Australia and Brazil.
More than 100GW of new renewables capacity is expected to be delivered by 2035 in the US if all of the current stimuli pledged to support legacy fossil fuel sectors ($72bn) was allocated to improve renewable energy.
Due to this, more than 500,000 new jobs could be created in renewable energy.
Wärtsilä Energy Business president Sushil Purohit: “Across the G20 countries, the stimulus ‘scales’ are strongly weighted to support legacy inflexible power systems, despite the agenda for rapid decarbonisation that’s underway worldwide.
“In our modelling of two world-leading energy markets, the US and the UK, it’s clear that both countries stand at the brink of a clean energy revolution, that could provide a blueprint for other economies to follow.”
Wärtsilä has also modelled a scenario for a carbon-neutral electricity sector for the US by 2035, which demonstrates that a cost-optimal carbon-neutral power system could be achieved with 1,700GW of new wind and solar.
This would be supported by battery energy storage and flexible gas-fired power capacity operating on renewable bio- or synthetic fuels.
The power system is expected to result in the creation of 8.7 million jobs in renewable energy alone, with an anticipated investment cost of $1.7 trillion.
Furthermore, the report revealed the requirement for 400GW of battery energy storage capacity and over 100GW of flexible gas power capacity to ensure the reliability of a renewable-powered electricity system.
In order to produce synthetic fuels, more than 150GW of electrolyser capacity for Power-to-X processes is planned to be installed.
The report further noted that the UK could achieve a 60% renewable energy system, up from 37% last year if the country invested all the energy stimulus in renewable power over the next five years.
The UK can also achieve 58% lower emissions compared to the same investment in fossil fuels.
This is expected to create 123,750 jobs, which is 175% more than the same investment in fossil fuels.
