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Europe, US increase renewable-power capacity
In 2009, for the second year in a row, both the US and Europe added more power capacity from renewable sources like wind and solar than from conventional sources like coal, gas and nuclear, according to reports published by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the Twenty-First Century (REN21).Last year, renewables accounted for 60% of newly installed capacity in Europe and more than 50% in the US. This year, or in 2011, experts predict the world will add more capacity to the electricity supply from renewables than from nonrenewable sources.
The reports detail trends in the global green energy sector, indicating the sources that attract the greatest attention from investors and governments in different regions of the world.
Investment in core clean energy (new renewables, biofuels and energy efficiency) decreased by 7% in 2009, to $162-billion. Many subsectors declined significantly in terms of money invested, including large-scale solar power and biofuels projects. However, there was record investment in wind power. If spending on solar water heaters, as well as total installation costs for rooftop solar photovoltaics, were included, total investment in 2009 actually increased, bucking the economic trend.
Growth in China New private- and public-sector investments in core clean energy leapt 53% in China in 2009, with the Asian country adding 37 GW of renewable-power capacity, more than any other country.
China surpassed the US in 2009 as the country making the greatest investment in clean energy. China’s wind farm development was the strongest investment feature of the year by far, although there were other strong performers worldwide in 2009, notably North Sea offshore wind power investments and the financing of power storage and electric-vehicle technology companies.
Global Growth Globally, nearly 80 GW of renewable-power capacity was added, including 31 GW of hydropower generation capacity and 48 GW of nonhydropower generation capacity.
Wind power and solar photovoltaic (PV) additions reached record highs of 38 GW and 7 GW respectively. Investment totals in utility-scale solar PV declined, compared with 2008 figures, partly because of significant drops in the cost of solar PV. However, this decline was offset by record investments in small-scale (rooftop) solar PV projects.
The reports also show that countries with policies encouraging renewable energy have roughly doubled from 55 in 2005 to more than 100 today – half of them in the developing world – and have played an important role in the sector’s rapid growth.
Says Mohamed El-Ashry, chairperson of REN21: “For the upward trend of renewable-energy growth to continue, policy efforts now need to be taken to the next level and [there is need to] encourage a massive scale-up of renewable technologies.”
Michael Liebreich, CEO of Bloomberg News Energy Finance adds: “The relatively resilient performance of the sector during the current economic downturn shows that clean energy was not a bubble created by the late stages of the credit boom, but is, instead, an investment theme that will remain important for the years ahead.”
Source : Engineering News 2010-09-27
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