Proponents of both renewable energy and fossil fuels see opportunities for growth as the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, but working out that has the upper hand depends largely on the actions of governments and financiers.
With much of the world still struggling to control the latest coronavirus and economies ravaged by lockdowns, the only thing that is obvious so far is that 2020 is going to be a bad year for new ventures and initiatives.
New wind power plants may fall by 12 per cent and solar power by 8 per cent in 2020 compared to pre-coronavirus forecasts, according to research by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
The hit comes at a time when renewables were gaining more ground on fossil fuel projects, increasingly undercutting coal-fired and gas-fired power undertakings.
Solar and offshore wind are now the cheapest sources of new generation for at least two-thirds of the world 's population, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said in its April 28 report, while battery storage is now the most cost-effective source of peak power.
It is this cost edge that leads green activists and some market analysts to believe that renewables have an advantage over future generations.
This is almost certainly the case in Europe, and possibly in North America, but it is less certain in Asia, where the largest share of energy generation growth is expected in the coming decades.
In India, according to consultants Eurasia Group, a 1,200 megawatt (MW) tender for solar power with battery storage closed at less than 6 U.S. cents per kilowatt hour (kWh).
This is well below the 10 cents per kWh required for a modern combined-cycle gas turbine and 7-9 cents for a coal-fired power plant, Eurasia Group said in a May 12 report.
Similar to India, Australia is blessed with huge coal reserves and near-perfect conditions for solar energy, as well as wind power in some areas.
Similarly to India, Australia 's experience is that clean energy ventures seem to be easier to deliver, with many big announcements in recent weeks.
These include the environmental approval of a giant 9,000 MW wind and solar power plant in the north of West Australia, which aims to supply electricity both domestically and via an underwater cable to Indonesia.
A 400 MW solar farm in eastern Queensland is scheduled to begin construction in the coming months following the signing of a power purchase agreement with a state-owned generator.
The island state of Tasmania also plans to spend A$ 7.1 billion ($4.3 billion) to double its current hydropower capacity and construct a new underwater cable to the mainland, enabling it to act as a backup power for renewable generation.
All of these projects are progressing despite the fact that Australia's federal government is controlled by the Liberal National Coalition, which is known to be pro-coal and natural gas, and includes a number of climate change sceptics within its parliamentary ranks.
