He was speaking at the at the ONS (Offshore Northern Seas), the prestigious biennial conference and trade exhibition held in Stavanger, the oil capital of Norway that attracts thousands of participants, including ministers, officials, businessmen, academics and technologists from around the world. The event showcases products from Power, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation industry.
Photovoltaic solar energy has the potential to meet as much as 30% of the global power demand by 2030-35, Mr. Osmundsen said, quoting figures and analysis from IRENA (The International Renewable Energy Agency) and Bloomberg. The potential for growth is exponential, given that currently solar energy accounts for only 1.5 % of the global energy mix, he pointed out. The PV industry is also a job creator, currently employing 2.8 million people, with potential to employ millions more in the future.
Continuous improvements and cost reductions in solar cell, modules trackers, cleaning technologies and batteries enable solar energy to be both price competitive and have storage capacity in the imminent future, he said.
In addition to technological advances, new instruments and financial innovations are also bringing down the financing costs of solar PV. For instance, the green bond market has grown significantly in the last five years to more than USD 40 billion, he said.
Public desire for clean electricity along with the rising demand for electric cars will also propel the solar energy growth, he said. In China alone, the sale of new energy vehicles is expected to triple to one million by 2020.
Around the world, competitive solar energy will drive clean electrification needed for transportation, heating, cooling, desalination, off-grid applications, CO2 capture as well as mining and petroleum extraction, he pointed out.
By 2030, solar PV will exceed 2000 GW installed capacity and save 2 -3 gigaton of CO2.
Solar PV will bring about disruptive changes in the global energy system that will have far reaching impact on politics, business and society, said Mr. Osmundsen.