Partners within the Utilities for Net Zero Alliance (UNEZA) launched at COP28, under the guidance of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the UN Climate Change High-level Champions, intend to invest more than $116 billion per year in clean power generation and power system grid infrastructure globally in the future.
The 39 partners of UNEZA, including 32 utility and energy companies, serving more than 327 million customers globally and planning to scale renewables portfolios 2.6 times by 2030, will increase efforts to expand and modernize grid infrastructure. 48% of the total investment planned and committed in the coming years will aim for transmission and distribution infrastructure.
The announcement forms part of ongoing efforts by the Alliance and its members to indicate an increased demand for the equipment and materials essential to expand a cleaner power system, helping to underpin investments by supply chain companies in the additional manufacturing capacity that will be needed.
UNEZA members also published a statement with recommendations to policymakers designed to alleviate supply chain constraints. It includes calls from industry for policymakers to harmonize standards of equipment across regions and jurisdictions creating a bigger market for common goods, promote free flow of supplies, establish forward-looking, integrated and long-term system planning including multi-project approvals and permitting, promote policy and regulatory business model innovation and maintain a healthy skills supply chain.
According to IRENA (2024), annual investment in renewable capacity should more than double grid investment between now and 2030, reaching $1,550 billion per year as compared to the $720 billion required annually for grid infrastructure.
