Wärtsilä’s scenarios provide alternative views on the future of power generation in a complex and changing global environment.
Wärtsilä, a leading provider of decentralised power generation solutions, has published a scenario report on future alternatives for global power and electricity production. Wärtsilä has spent more than 8,000 hours analyzing how electricity is likely to be produced and consumed in 2023. The project brought together the views of academics, non-governmental organizations, business leaders, government representatives and other experts, and resulted in three possible future scenarios being predicted. These have been called Green Earth, Blue Globe and Grey World.
The discussions with the various experts in attempting to anticipate likely future trends turned out to be so fascinating that Wärtsilä decided to share the results. Indeed, the very nature of forming a scenario is that of a multi-dimensional discussion. Governments, companies, and individual citizens all have the power to make choices that affect our common future.
We at Wärtsilä hope that the below scenarios will provide a useful contribution to the worldwide debate on power sector issues.
We are also happy to invite you to visit us at the Bright Green exhibition in Copenhagen, Denmark, 12-13 December, booth number 71, or at the PowerGen International exhibition in Las Vegas, USA, 8-10 December, booth number C4-323.
Wärtsilä’s scenarios: Green, Blue and Grey
The Green Earth scenario is shaped by individual citizens who have decided to tackle the challenge posed by climate change. The world economy grows at a modest pace, and the use of renewable energy sources increases. People accept the scarcity of resources and live sustainably.
The Blue Globe is a market-oriented, prosperous world, powered by large utilities. Policy is driven by two key factors: the need for economic growth and curbing emissions. Carbon capture and storage allows us to continue using coal.
The Grey World is ruled by governments. Scarcity of resources and energy security are major issues – climate change is not. Scarcity leads to considerable changes within society, and political tensions run high due to the uneven geographical distribution of energy resources.
Future power generation – a global issue of great importance
Creating scenarios is one powerful means for making sense of a complex and changing environment. Scenarios are fact-based, challenging, but plausible descriptions of what might lie ahead. They provide alternative views of the future, taking into consideration significant trends, events and actors, and try to model how they might interact.
Today, two major global challenges top the economic, social, and environmental agenda of the world. On the one hand we have to produce enough electricity to improve the living standards of a growing population. On the other hand, we must curb climate change. These issues are highly topical since the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen is now underway.
These issues are also more than relevant for Wärtsilä, as we believe that the power sector has a key role to play in solving these challenges. As a provider of complete lifecycle power solutions for our customers, we need to make the right decisions regarding long-term product development in order to be the preferred partner for future investments.
For further information, please contact:
Pauliina Tennilä
General Manager, Scenarios & Business Intelligence
Wärtsilä Power Plants
Tel: +358 10 709 5498
e-mail: pauliina.tennila@wartsila.com
Maria Nystrand
Publicity Manager,
Wärtsilä Power Plants
Tel: +358 10 709 1456
e-mail: maria.nystrand@wartsila.com
Wärtsilä in brief
Wärtsilä is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising technological innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers.
In 2008, Wärtsilä’s net sales totalled EUR 4.6 billion with 19,000 employees. The company has operations in 160 locations in 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, Finland.
