Are oil and gas companies fleeing the fossil fuel industry?

According to PV-magazine report on June 3, the solar energy industry executives may be attracted by the expectation of PV investment in major markets this year.

The latest annual report shows that non-state fossil fuel companies are abandoning exploration of new oil and gas fields in favor of developing existing reserves.

The IEA research pointed out that the natural gas reserves in the Middle East will enable the country’s state-owned enterprises to make up for excess capacity and market share in the short term, as evidenced by the ambitious LNG investment plan announced by Qatar.

When it comes to solar energy, IEA said that in 2020, the progress of solar energy technology will be replaced by the intermittent progress of renewable energy-wind energy.

IEA predicts that this year's photovoltaic investment will exceed wind energy investment, and the growth rate of the United States and Europe will exceed 10%.

Even when large-scale solar projects are withdrawn from the market, small-scale solar installation projects are increasing.

The report estimates that this year's expenditure will increase by nearly 10% to US$1.

In 2020, battery energy storage investment will increase by nearly 40% to 5.

In terms of green hydrogen: last year's low-carbon hydrogen spending also reached a record level.

Electricity and green hydrogen also account for a large part of the venture capital of emerging energy companies, especially in the United States and Europe.

Wang Jiajing excerpted and translated from PV-magazine

The original text is as follows:

Are oil and gas companies on the run?

While solar industry executives are likely to be drawn to estimates such as an anticipated 10% rise in PV investment in key markets this year, the more headline-grabbing content of the International Energy Agency's latest global investment survey may concern the world's oil and gas majors .

The latest edition of the annual report cites figures which demonstrate non-state-owned fossil fuel companies are pulling away from exploration in favor of exploiting their existing reserves.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) study notes the reserves held in the Middle East will enable state-owned players there to pick up the slack – and market share – in the short term, as demonstrated by ambitious liquefied natural gas investment plans announced by Qatar .

Back on the solar beat, the IEA document said the technology was eclipsed by the progress of rival intermittent renewable power source wind last year, although, confusingly, the numbers don't stack up where the report states global wind capacity almost doubled to 114 GW , led by more than 15 GW in the US pv magazine has asked the IEA about the apparent discrepancy.

Solar companies can take solace from the IEA's prediction PV spending will surpass wind investment this year, with a rise of more than 10% in the US and Europe, following a year which saw new PV generation capacity deployment rise almost 25%, to nearly 135 GW.

　　Even in markets where large scale solar retreated, there was an uptick in small scale installations, with the IEA pointing to Vietnam, where the winding down of a large scale incentive program was counterbalanced by rooftop arrays – with 9 GW added.

　　With the report estimating total energy spending will rebound almost 10% to $1.
9 trillion this year – including $530 billion for new generation capacity of which 70% will be devoted to clean power – the IEA said record levels of sustainable debt and green bond issuance last year mean there is plenty of cash available for renewables, but not enough high-quality projects or dedicated channels to ensure it translates into panels – or turbines – on the ground.

　　The document reported battery storage investment rose almost 40% last year, to $5.
5 billion, with grid scale facilities accounting for a 60% rise.
The report did not give a megawatt-hour volume for the new capacities deployed, but did note battery costs fell an average 20% during 2020.

　　Green hydrogen

　　Low-carbon hydrogen spending also hit record levels last year with the report stating $70 million worth of electrolyzers came online although the majority of them will “run on grid electricity, at least initially.
”

　　Storage and green hydrogen also accounted for a healthy chunk of the venture capital funding which flowed into start-up energy companies, notably in the US and Europe.
The fact more cautious institutional investors are starting to have exposure to such innovative companies in their portfolios, According to the IEA report, could be another indicator of lean times ahead for the fossil fuel industry.