homehome Home chatchat Notifications


It's the end of big oil as we know it, report concludes

The golden age of black oil is ending says a new report

Mihai Andrei
June 16, 2016 @ 8:37 pm

share Share

The golden age of black oil is ending says a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance

At this point, the oil industry almost looks like a raid boss – a huge black dragon, attacked from all sides by smaller opponents. It’s still the biggest thing around, no one can really go against it directly, but they’re just slowly advancing into its territory more and more, taking more of its share. The opponents in this metaphor are renewables. The Bloomberg report predicts that wind and solar will be cheaper than coal and gas generators in about ten years (2027), and electric vehicles could take a quarter of the car market by 2040.

The peak for oil and coal seems to be 2025 – and it’s all downhill from there.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance

“You can’t fight the future,” says lead researcher, Seb Henbest. “The economics are increasingly locked in.”

Henbest projected that US$11.4 trillion will be invested in new energy sources over the next 25 years, with two thirds going in to wind and solar. Humanity’s electricity demand is still rising and investments in fossil fuels will add up to $2.1 trillion through 2040. But that will be dwarfed by $7.8 trillion invested in renewables, including $3.4 trillion for solar, $3.1 trillion for wind, and $911 billion for hydro power, they write.

“Some US$7.8 trillion will be invested globally in renewables between 2016 and 2040, two-thirds of the investment in all power generating capacity, but it would require trillions more to bring world emissions onto a track compatible with the United Nations 2 degrees Celsius climate target,” says Henbest.

Coal and gas will also get cheaper, but that won’t derail the renewable advance. It’s just that prices for wind and solar are dropping much faster than those for coal. Home batteries will also become more efficient, fueling the expansion even further and ushering in a golden age for electric cars.

They also make another interesting point: India, not China, will drive most of the world’s increase in emissions in the future. China has imposed itself as the biggest polluter, but their evolving economic is expected to make a quick shift towards renewables and away from the coal energy which powered its growth. That leaves India as the biggest emerging threat when it comes to emissions. India’s electricity demand is expected to quadruple by 2040, and the country will need all the electricity it can get to power this growth. Sure, India is investing heavily into solar energy at the moment, but that’s just a part of it.

Fossil fuels won’t go away anytime soon, but they’re cornered, and it seems like their days are numbered.

You can access the report online here.

share Share

What happens in your brain when your mind goes completely blank — neuroscientists say it's a distinct mental state

Mind blanking isn’t daydreaming. It's something more akin to meditation — but not quite the same.

The World's Oldest Known Ant Is A 113-Million-Year-Old Hell Ant with Scythe Jaws

A remarkable find for ant history was made, not in the field but in a drawer.

Your Cells Can Hear You — And It Could Be Important for Fat Cells

Researchers explore the curious relationship between sound and gene expression in cell cultures.

16,000-Year-Old Dog-Like Skeleton Found in France Raises Haunting Questions

Cared for like a companion, or killed like prey?

Japanese Scientists Just Summoned Lightning with a Drone. Here’s Why

The drone is essentially a mobile, customizable, lightning rod.

Tiny Chinese Satellite Sent Hack-Proof Quantum Messages 12,900 Kilometers Through Space. Is a Quantum Internet Around the Corner?

The US and Europe are now racing to catch up to China.

Cats Came Bearing Gods: Religion and Trade Shaped the Rise of the Domestic Cat in Europe

Two groundbreaking studies challenge the old narrative that cats followed early farmers into Europe.

The People of Carthage Weren’t Who We Thought They Were

The Punic people had almost no genetic ties to Phoenicians, even though the latter founded the great city of Carthage.

RFK Jr loves raw milk. Now, he's suspending milk quality tests due to Trump cuts

Imagine pouring a glass of milk for your child and wondering if it’s safe.

A Roman gladiator died fighting a lion in England and his 1,800-year-old skeleton proves it

It's the first-ever evidence of man-lion combat found in the Roman period.