The massive rollout of clean energy solutions will need as much as $10 trillion of investments over the next 20 years, but continued use of fossil fuels will cost even higher, $14 trillion, Tesla said in a presentation on Thursday.
In addition to initial capex, 5% per year maintenance capex with a 20-year horizon is included in the investment estimate to reach sustainable energy for the world, Elon Musk’s EV maker said in the Master Plan Sustainable Energy for All of Earth report.
“Using these assumptions, building the manufacturing infrastructure for the sustainable energy economy will cost $10 trillion, as compared to the $14 trillion projected 20-year spend on fossil fuels at the 2022 investment rate,” according to Tesla.
Source: Tesla’s Master Plan Part 3
Speaking at the presentation of the report, Musk said, “Earth will move to a sustainable energy economy.”
“And it will happen in your lifetime,” said Musk as carried by Bloomberg.
Despite the rise in renewables, low-carbon energy supply needs at least double the current investment if the world has any chance of net zero by 2050, various analyses have shown in recent months.
In overall energy investment—not only supply—the energy crisis and policy actions sent global investment in low-carbon energy soaring to a record $1.1 trillion in 2022, with the money spent on the energy transition equaling for the first time the investment in fossil fuels, research firm BloombergNEF (BNEF) said in a report last month.
Despite the largest annual jump in investment in clean energy—31%—much more investment is needed to get the world on track for net zero in the long term, according to BloombergNEF.
In the company’s Net Zero Scenario, the world should invest an annual average of $4.55 trillion for the rest of this decade.
Earlier this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that as the world enters a new industrial age, total investments in clean energy technologies and infrastructure have to top $4.5 trillion in 2030 under the net-zero emissions by 2050 scenario.
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By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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