The new energy environment is taking hold faster than expected. E.ON drew this conclusion from the new World Energy Outlook, a study of global developments in the production and consumption of energy through 2040. Fatih Birol, the director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) – an independent body based in Paris supported by 40 countries – today presented the study in Berlin at the request of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy.
The report foresees renewable energy sources forming the backbone of the new energy environment. By 2040, new plants producing renewable energy will dominate power generation and no longer require subsidies. Europe will reach this objective up to ten years earlier. The IEA also expects energy use to be more and more efficient, allowing business and industry to help reduce CO2 emissions, as indicated by the growing demand on the global market for energy efficiency in the private sector.
“We see the IEA forecast as a confirmation of our strategy of focusing entirely on the new energy world,” says Leonhard Birnbaum, Member of the E.ON Management Board, who also serves as European Chair of the World Energy Council. Birnbaum expects rapid renewable energy growth will also increase the importance of energy grids as well. In addition to this he expects renewable energy growth will grant electricity a significantly more important role in both the heating and transport sectors. New business models would thus arise for E.ON, which in turn would need to be intelligently linked using digital technology. “Our businesses in energy networks and renewable energy customer solutions provide us with representation in key markets and leave us well positioned to shape the new energy environment,” Birnbaum emphasizes.