A dynamically growing renewable energy market will compensate for the phasing out of nuclear energy and reduce the number of fossil fuel-fired power plants required for grid stabilisation. By 2050, 78% of the electricity produced in the OECD Pacific will come from renewable energy sources. ‘New’ renewables – mainly wind, solar thermal energy and PV – will contribute 68%.

The installed capacity of renewable energy technologies will grow from the current 62 GW to more than 600 GW in 2050, an increase by a factor of ten.

To achieve an economically attractive growth in renewable energy sources, a balanced and timely mobilisation of all technologies is of great importance. Figure 6.121 shows the comparative evolution of the different renewables over time. Up to 2020, hydro-power and wind will remain the main contributors. After 2020, the continuing growth of wind will be complemented by electricity from biomass, photovoltaic and solar thermal energy.