UNEZA to Increase Renewable Energy Capacity to 749 GW by 2030

The Utilities for Net Zero Alliance (UNEZA) has adopted the UNEZA Roadmap to 2030, which targets a total increase of renewable energy capacity within their portfolios to 749 GW by 2030, an increase of 2.5 times relative to 2023.

Alliance members’ joint renewables ambition was announced alongside a grid infrastructure action plan at the 14^th Assembly of the UAE-based International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

The plan addresses the pressing need to scale and modernise global grid infrastructure to support clean power development and the tripling of renewables by 2030. Around $720 billion per year of investment in power grids and flexibility is needed, to limit global warming to 1.5°C, according to IRENA.

In a joint statement on Friday, Alliance CEOs stressed the centrality of enabling grid infrastructure and urged the policy and regulatory community to engage industry to address bottlenecks and unlock capital flows. he UNEZA action plan focuses on three key critical areas such as de-risking supply chains, facilitating policy & regulatory support and mobilising capital.

On Fast Track

IRENA Director General Francesco La Camera said that the shift towards a renewables-based energy system is accelerating, and with the adoption of a global goal to triple renewable power capacity by 2030 at COP28, this trend is expected to intensify.

IRENA’s World Energy Transition Outlook (WETO) shows that this goal will be met only with the modernisation of infrastructure designed for the fossil fuel era to more interconnected and flexible systems that support renewables.

“The announcement of a grid infrastructure action plan by UNEZA is a significant step to addressing this urgent need, showcasing the central role that utilities can play in transforming our energy systems and realising net zero targets,” he added.

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion, said that utilities have a crucial role to play in delivering mitigation measures that align global development with a net-zero future and are central to a future energy system that is in harmony with nature and the environment. “Building on the momentum from COP28, we are advancing the design and implementation of our action plan and call on utilities around the world to join this initiative, showcasing their ongoing commitment to meaningful action,” he averred.

TAQA Group CEO and Managing Director Jasim Husain Thabet, who is Co-Chair of the Alliance, said that the global utilities community has taken bold, decisive steps towards the tripling of renewables by 2030, not just in terms of concrete investment plans but also to address energy transition bottlenecks – particularly for grids.

Martin Pibworth, Chief Commercial Officer at SSE plc, Co-Chair of UNEZA, expressed confidence that their combined plans for accelerating renewables deployment will go a long way towards achieving our 2030 goal, but utilities alone can’t do it alone.

“We also need to build resilient supply chains that can meet this surge in demand, and we need bold enabling policy and regulatory mechanisms to underpin investments and accelerate the speed at which we can build. That is why we are coming together today to demonstrate our intent to the global supply chain and offer practical, actionable recommendations to policy makers which we hope will help unlock real delivery on the ground and keep us on a pathway to trebling renewables this decade,” Pibworth added.