Record growth in electricity from renewables

Global renewable energy capacity additions in 2020 exceeded previous estimates and all previous records, despite the economic downturn caused by the Covid 19 pandemic. This is according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). According to data it just released, more than 260 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity was added worldwide last year. Thus, the capacity increase in 2019 was exceeded by almost 50 %.

91% attributable to solar and wind energy

From the annual Renewable capacity statistics 2021 from IRENA shows that the share of renewable energy in total new power generation capacity increased significantly for the second year in a row. More than 80% of the new power capacity added last year came from renewables, with 91% of that coming from solar and wind, it says.

The growing share of renewables was partly due to the net retirement of fossil fuel power generation in Europe, North America and, for the first time, Eurasia (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation and Turkey). Total additions from fossil fuels fell from 64 GW in the previous year to 60 GW in 2020, he said, highlighting the continuing downward trend in fossil fuels.

"Despite challenging times, 2020 marks the beginning of the renewable energy decade," said IRENA Director General Francesco La Camera. "Costs are falling, markets for clean technologies are growing, and never before have the benefits of the energy transition been so clear. The trend is unstoppable, but as the preview of our World Energy Transitions Outlook has shown, there is still a lot to do. Our 1.5-degree Celsius forecast shows that significant planned energy investments must be redirected to support the energy transition and meet 2050 goals. In this critical decade of action, the international community must look to this trend for inspiration to move forward."

Overall, hydropower still dominates

The 10.3% increase in installed capacity represents an expansion that exceeds the long-term trend of more moderate year-on-year growth, the energy agency writes in its press release. By the end of 2020, the global renewable generation capacity would be 2,799 GW. Hydropower still accounts for the largest share (1,211 GW), although solar and wind power are catching up rapidly. The two variable sources of renewables dominated capacity additions in 2020, with 127 GW and 111 GW of new solar and wind capacity, respectively.

China and the U.S. were the two standout growth markets in 2020, IRENA further writes. China, which is already the world's largest renewable energy market, added 136GW last year, the bulk of which was wind power at 72GW and solar at 49GW, it said. The U.S. installed 29 GW of renewables last year, nearly 80% more than in 2019, including 15 GW of solar and about 14 GW of wind, according to data. Africa recorded a steady expansion with an increase of 2.6 GW, slightly more than in 2019, it said, while Oceania remained the fastest growing region (+18.4 %), although its share of global capacity was small and the expansion was almost entirely driven by Australia.

Key data by technology

Hydropower: Hydropower growth recovered in 2020 after the commissioning of several large projects was delayed in 2019. China added 12 GW, followed by Turkey with 2.5 GW.

Wind power: Wind power capacity additions almost doubled in 2020 compared to 2019 (111 GW compared to 58 GW last year). China added 72 GW, followed by the US (14 GW). Ten other countries increased their wind power capacity by more than 1 GW in 2020. The share of offshore wind turbines in total wind power capacity increased to about 5 % in 2020.

Solar energy: Total solar capacity is now roughly on par with wind power, mainly due to expansion in Asia (78 GW) in 2020. Larger capacity increases were seen in China (49 GW) and Vietnam (11 GW). Japan also increased by more than 5 GW, and India and the Republic of Korea added more than 4 GW of solar capacity. The USA increased by 15 GW.

Bioenergy: Net capacity additions dropped by half in 2020 (2.5 GW vs. 6.4 GW in 2019). China expanded its bioenergy capacity by over 2 GW. Europe, the only other region with significant expansion in 2020, added 1.2 GW of bioenergy capacity, similar to 2019.

Geothermal: Very small capacity expansion in 2020. Turkey increased capacity by 99 MW. Minor expansions in New Zealand, the USA, and Italy.

Off-grid power: Off-grid capacity grew by 365 MW (2 %) in 2020, reaching 10.6 GW. Solar power grew by 250 MW to 4.3 GW and hydropower stagnated at about 1.8 GW.

Source: IRENA

Solar record in Switzerland

Swissolar, the Swiss trade association for solar energy, is forecasting a new record in the construction of photovoltaic systems in 2020. Compared to the previous year, the growth is at least 30%, according to the association. But to achieve Switzerland's climate and energy policy goals, it said, additions must increase by a factor of 4 over the next few years. To achieve this, adjustments to subsidies, the obligation to use one's own electricity in new buildings and simplifications in spatial planning for ground-mounted systems, especially on infrastructures, are needed, Swissolar emphasizes in its media release.

(Official statistics for solar energy additions in 2020 will be available in July 2021).

www.swissolar.ch

All CH production plants by click

The Energy Strategy 2050 envisages a gradual transformation of the Swiss energy system. One of the main pillars is the expansion of renewable energies. This can now be transparently displayed and spatially analyzed using the geodata "electricity production plants". At bfe.admin.ch/electricity-production therefore shows the Swiss Federal Office of Energy over 110,000 electricity production plants in Switzerland. In addition to the location of the plant, the data also show the output in kilowatts (kW) and the date of commissioning.

Municipalities and cantons can use geospatial data to track local additions against their potential and, if necessary, take steps to accelerate them.

Source: SFOE