Despite the economic slowdown that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic, global renewable energy capacity additions in 2020 have beat previous records.

Renewable Energy Has Beaten

As per the IRENA’s annual Renewable Capacity Statistics 2021 report, out of all of the electricity added in 2020, 80% of it was via renewable energy. Moreover out of that 80%, the major share was held by solar and wind. Both combined contribute more than 90% of that total electricity addition.

Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA, said, “These numbers tell a remarkable story of resilience and hope. Despite the challenges and the uncertainty of 2020, renewable energy emerged as a source of undeniable optimism for a better, more equitable, resilient, clean, and just future.”

Further, he added, “Costs are falling, clean-tech markets are growing, and never before have the benefits of the energy transition been so clear. This trend is unstoppable, but as the review of our World Energy Transition Outlook highlights, there is a huge amount to be done. Our 1.5-degree outlook shows significant planned energy investments must be redirected to support the transition if we are to achieve 2050 goals. In this critical decade of action, the international community must look to this trend as a source of inspiration to go further.”

The highlights by technology:

  • Hydropower: Growth in hydro recovered in 2020, with the commissioning of several large projects delayed in 2019. China added 12 GW of capacity, followed by Turkey with 2.5 GW.
  • Wind energy: Wind expansion almost doubled in 2020 compared to 2019 (111 GW compared to 58 GW last year). China added 72 GW of new capacity, followed by the United States (14 GW). Ten other countries increased wind capacity by more than 1 GW in 2020. The offshore wind increased to reach around 5% of total wind capacity in 2020.
  • Solar energy: Total solar capacity has now reached about the same level as wind capacity, thanks mainly to expansion in Asia (78 GW) in 2020. Major capacity increases in China (49 GW) and Vietnam (11 GW). Japan also added over 5 GW, and India and South Korea expanded solar capacity by more than 4 GW. The United States added 15 GW.
  • Bioenergy: Net capacity expansion fell by half in 2020 (2.5 GW compared to 6.4 GW in 2019). Bioenergy capacity in China expanded by over 2 GW. Europe, the only other region with significant expansion in 2020, adding 1.2 GW of bioenergy capacity, similar to 2019.
  • Geothermal energy: Minimal capacity was added in 2020. Turkey increased capacity by 99 MW, and small expansions occurred in New Zealand, the United States, and Italy.
  • Off-grid electricity: Off-grid capacity grew by 365 MW in 2020 (2%) to reach 10.6 GW. Solar expanded by 250 MW to reach 4.3 GW, while hydro remained almost unchanged at about 1.8 GW.

 

 

 

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