A group representing utility companies around the world has pledged to more than double their total renewable energy capacity by the end of the decade.
Utilities for Net Zero Alliance (UNEZA) members plan to upscale their green power capacity by a multiple of 2.5 to reach 749GW by 2030.
UNEZA was formed at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai last year. The group is led by the UAE’s grid operator TAQA, and has France’s EDF, Italy’s Enel and the UK’s National Grid among dozens of alliance members.
It aims to provide utilities with a joint platform to address supply chain bottlenecks, support the flow of capital and engage with policymakers.
The plan, unveiled on Friday at the 14th Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), addresses the pressing need to scale and modernise global grid infrastructure in order to support clean power development and the tripling of renewables by 2030, said UNEZA.
According to IRENA, around $720bn of investment is needed annually in power grids and flexibility to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
The UNEZA action plan focuses on three key critical areas: de-risking supply chains, facilitating policy and regulatory support, and mobilising capital.
“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,” said IRENA director general Francesco La Camera.
This goal will he said only be met by modernising infrastructure “designed for the fossil fuel era to more interconnected and flexible systems that support renewables.”
The UNEZA plan is a “significant step to addressing this urgent need,” he said, showing the "central role that utilities can play in transforming our energy systems and realising net zero targets.”
TAQA CEO and UNEZA co-chair Jasim Husain Thabet said utilities are “taking bold, decisive steps towards the tripling of renewables by 2030, not just in terms of our concrete investment plans but also in our drive to address energy transition bottlenecks – particularly for grids.”
