Trade body WindEurope touts the additional benefits the wind industry brings to local and national economies as Europe navigates its way out of the pandemic-induced financial crisis. In its latest report, WindEurope found that the industry generates €2.5bn of value added to the EU economy for each new gigawatt of onshore wind installed and €2.1bn for each new gigawatt of offshore wind. Wind farms also pay an average of €2.3/MWh in local taxes as well as providing jobs and additional community benefit to those living near projects.

A new analysis from the US-based Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) finds that the building of all-electric single family homes is cheaper than multi-fuel houses. RMI looked at new housing across seven major US cities. Across most locations, multi-fuel homes have higher upfront costs than all-electric buildings that use heat pumps for heating and cooling. As well as the economic impact, it will also benefit the climate. All-electric homes in Seattle could see a 93% saving on carbon emissions over the lifetime of the equipment. New York homes could see an 81% saving, while new buildings in four other cities could save over 50% of emissions.

Solar PV is now consistently cheaper than new coal- or gas-fired power plants in most countries, and now offers some of the “lowest cost electricity ever seen”, according to the IEA’s new World Energy Outlook 2020. “Solar becomes the new king of electricity,” it says. If today’s policies and goals remain the same, renewables will meet 80% of global electricity demand growth over the next decade. Emissions from the power sector could drop by more than 40% by 2030, with annual additions of solar PV almost tripling from today’s levels. However, the report shows that strong growth of renewables needs to be paired with robust investment in electricity grids.