Global renewable electricity installation will hit a record level in 2020, according to the International Energy Agency, in sharp contrast with the declines caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the fossil fuel sectors.
A new analysis released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) showed that the renewables sector is to shrug off any impact from the COVID-19 pandemic as electricity generated by renewables will increase by 7 per cent globally this year, despite a 5 per cent annual drop in global energy demand, the largest since World War Two.
As a result, IEA reported explained that total renewable capacity additions will reach nearly 200GW this year, a feat achieved despite a worldwide contraction in energy demand triggered by the pandemic and associated national lockdowns.
Wind and hydropower additions are forecast to experience the most growth this year, with solar PV relatively stable year-on-year, the IEA said, standing at around 107GW in comparison to last year’s 108GW.
This has been attributed to continued growth in utility-scale solar additions being somewhat stymied by a stagnant rooftop solar market throughout 2020.
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“Renewable power is defying the difficulties caused by the pandemic, showing robust growth while others fuels struggle,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA’S executive director.
Global renewables capacity additions are expected to increase by 10percent in 2021, a new record growth factor and the largest increase since 2015, as projects delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, start to complete and markets with strong renewables pipelines roar back into life.
“The resilience and positive prospects of the sector are clearly reflected by continued strong appetite from investors,” He added.
The IEA reports that shares in renewable equipment makers and project developers have outperformed most major stock market indices and that the value of shares in solar companies has more than doubled since December 2019.
The US is one of the world’s biggest markets for renewables and the IEA suggests deployment could accelerate even faster if the policies of the president-elect, Joe Biden, are implemented.
Fossil fuels have had a turbulent time in 2020 as Covidrelated measures caused demand from transport and other sectors to plunge.
By 2023, the IEA expects that total installed wind and solar capacity will exceed that of natural gas and topple coal by the following year. Solar, which the IEA crowned as the new “king of electricity markets” last month, will account for the majority – 60percent – of new renewable capacity additions by 2025, effectively double that of wind.
“In 2025, renewables are set to become the largest source of electricity generation worldwide, ending coal’s five decades as the top power provider,” Birol said. “By that time, renewables are expected to supply one-third of the world’s electricity.”
A considerable amount of growth witnessed in renewables this year will occur in China, which expects to see installations soar by around 30percent year-on-year as developers rush to qualify projects for incentives before the national policy framework changes next year.
But while such a contraction of policy support in the world’s largest renewables market may have triggered a fall in deployment in years previous, the IEA expects an even stronger 2021 for renewables, with Europe and India coming to the fore.
