The Global Renewables Industry in 2050

The REN21 Global Future Report found that about 40-50 percent of electricity is likely to be powered by renewables by 2030.

What's the future look like for global renewable energy? The REN21 Renewable Global Future Report is a yearly assessment of the global market for renewable energy.

The recently released report is a compilation of scenarios of what the global renewables industry would look like in 2050. Currently, renewables make up 17 percent of total energy. About 9 percent of that is from traditional biomass, and another 8 percent is from modern renewables such as wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels.

As of 2011, renewables accounted for 20 percent of global electricity production. The REN21 report concludes that "a 40 percent to 50 percent electricity share is likely by 2030 if national policies stay aggressive."

For more detail on the range of growth scenarios and charts, visit the Green Tech Media article.

By Gaylen Davenport