Costs drop, production grows along with clean tech market
By
for Common
Dreams
IRENA's annual Renewable Capacity Statistics 2021 shows
that global renewable energy capacity grew by more than 260 gigawatts (GW) last
year, beating the previous record set in 2019 by nearly 50%.
Last
year marked the second consecutive year in which clean energy's share of all
new generating capacity increased substantially, with renewables accounting for
over 80% of all new electricity capacity added in 2020.
Total fossil
fuel additions, by contrast, fell by more than 6% last year—from 64 GW worth of
new electricity capacity in 2019 to 60 GW in 2020.
"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," IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera said in a statement.
"The great reset," as La
Camera called the coronavirus-driven economic slowdown, "offered a moment
of reflection and chance to align our trajectory with the path to inclusive
prosperity, and there are signs we are grasping it."
Referring to 2020 as "the start of the decade of renewables," La
Camera noted that "costs are falling, clean tech markets are growing, and
never before have the benefits of the energy transition been so clear."
Though hydropower—responsible for more
than 43% of the world's total renewable energy generation capacity—still
constitutes the largest global source of clean energy, other sources are
catching up; solar and wind contributed 127 GW and 111 GW of new installations,
respectively, together accounting for 91% of the growth in renewables in 2020.
While La Camera described the widespread adoption of renewable energy sources
as an "unstoppable" trend, he also emphasized that "there is a
huge amount to be done."
Notwithstanding recent momentum in favor
of clean energy, La Camera said that in order to limit global temperature rise
to 1.5ºC, "significant planned energy investments must be redirected to
support the transition if we are to achieve 2050 goals" of net zero
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as outlined last month in IRENA's World Energy Transition Outlook.
La Camera's words of caution about the
inadequate pace of the global energy transformation echoes a recent warning by
Fatih Bitrol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, who said last week that even
though the world's biggest economies have pledged to achieve net zero GHG
emissions by mid-century, few have implemented the policies necessary to
realize that objective.
Regarding the worldwide expansion of renewable energy capacity in 2020, La Camera stressed that "in this critical decade of action, the international community must look to this trend as a source of inspiration to go further."
