Renewable Energy – New Record Reached in 2020
Renewable energy is on the rise and it’s on its way to overtaking nuclear and coal and even the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t going to stop it. According to IRENA (the International Renewable Energy Agency), there was a global increase of renewable energy capacity with around 260 GW, beating the last record by almost 50%. Solar energy is the leading renewable energy with an installed capacity of 127 GW, followed closely by wind energy with 111 GW. Other increases are seen in hydropower (20 GW), bioenergy (2 GW) and also geothermal energy (164 GW).
Renewable energy generation by regions
In order to ensure a greener future, the whole world must work together. In this paragraph we are going to see how different regions are participating in the movement towards a carbon-free future.
The leading role in the addition of renewable energy generation is awarded to Asia. Asia increased its renewable capacity by 167,6 GW, accounting for 64 % of the new capacity in 2020. China is responsible for a huge part of this increase. By the end of 2020, China had a total of 281,5 GW wind energy generation capacity and a total of 253,4 GW solar capacity, making it the world’s leading country in electricity production from renewable energy sources. China has invested a lot into its renewable sector and that’s why it’s growing way faster than fossil fuel and nuclear capacity. This country pledged to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060 and severely reduce emissions before 2030. China has also expanded its renewable manufacturing and with that the costs of renewable energy technologies. In 2015, China became the world’s biggest producer of photovoltaic panels.
Europe also has a strategy for increasing the percent of renewable energy, increasing them by at least 32% by 2030. Renewable energy capacity in Europe has expanded by 34 GW (6 %). North America is the third continent for the expenditure of renewable energy, with an increasement of 32 GW (8,2%). The United States of America has a huge role in this increasement. Africa has also continued to expand with 2,6 GW (5 %), slightly more that 2019.
Renewable Energy Expansion by Technology
Solar Energy: Solar energy has become very popular in 2020. With new innovations like floatovoltaics and photovoltaics on buildings, there has been a massive increase all over the world.
Wind Energy: Wind energy comes in second to solar energy. Wind expansion almost doubled in 2020 in comparison to 2019. China has expanded its capacity to 72 GW followed by the United States of America (14 GW).
Hydropower: With the delay of several large projects in 2019, the growth in hydro power recovered in 2020. A total capacity of 1,33 GW was installed in 2020 with – you guessed it – China leading with 370,2 MW.
Geothermal energy: In 2020 there was a small increase in this particular field. Turkey has increased the capacity by 99 MW and small expansions were made in New Zealand, Italy and the United States of America.
