STRONGER CASE FOR RENEWABLES
At the same time, concerns over energy security are reinforcing the business case for renewable energy, especially in Asia, which remains heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels.
HSBC’s chief sustainability officer Julian Wentzel said current geopolitical tensions have “crystallised people’s thinking” around the need to shift energy systems.
Wentzel added that the demand for renewable energy to power data centres could also rise sharply in the coming years.
According to the report, more than 100 terawatt-hours of new electricity demand from data centres, electric vehicles and green industrial parks is expected by 2030.
Wentzel noted that renewable energy projects can often be deployed much faster than conventional large-scale power plants, which he said take “five to eight years to bring on stream”.
“Renewable energy, like for instance a photovoltaic solar farm or a wind farm, you can put that on stream in nine months, maybe 18 months at worst,” he added.
Continue reading...