[ad_1]
More than 140 gigawatts of solar and wind generation capacity were added worldwide last year, as solar photovoltaic power strengthened its role as the driving force behind the growth of the renewable energy market, according to new figures released by the company. International Agency for Renewable Energy (IRENA).
Among the renewable technologies, wind power remains the second largest hydropower of its installed base, with 564 gigawatts in operation, compared with 480 gigawatts for solar energy, said IRENA.
But the solar market is regularly moving around the world, with solar installations reaching a record 94 gigawatts last year, said IRENA, despite a slowdown induced by Chinese market policy.
The global wind energy market has remained stable in recent years, standing at just under 50 gigawatts of new installations in 2018.
However, many segments of the global wind market are dynamic. Terrestrial wind has proven to be the least expensive option for new energy generation in a growing number of markets worldwide, including in most of the United States, and developers are increasingly finding more ways to build projects without subsidies.
The US wind energy market is poised to grow the most in two years, as developers strive to use the endangered federal tax credit. At the same time, the offshore wind market continues to gain traction in markets outside Europe, including China, where nearly 2 gigawatts were added last year, according to IRENA figures. .
2019 bigger for solar
But the solar market is by far the solar market. Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables badysts estimate that the global solar energy market will break the 100 gigawatt mark for the first time this year, a level that the wind energy market has not seen. never reached.
WoodMac badysts have described a number of positive signals for the global solar energy market in 2019, ranging from clarifying China's approach to supporting the sector to an increasingly diverse global market. which depended less on Chinese demand.
The fastest growth comes from the markets of the global sunbelt countries of the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
Costs continue to fall rapidly in the solar industry, giving the global market a pace of annual installations in the range of 115 gigawatts to 120 gigawatts in the early 2020s, according to Wood Mackenzie.
Exceed fossil fuels
Non-renewable generation capacity has grown on average 115 gigawatts a year since 2000, said IRENA.
The faster growth of wind and solar energy means that renewable energies are absorbing an ever greater share of the global new plant market, from 25% of new capacity commissioned in 2001 to 63% Last year, a new record.
In total, the world added 171 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity last year, of which 84% was wind and solar.
Hydropower remains the largest source of renewable energy in the world, with an installed base of 1,172 gigawatts. But the market for new hydropower capacity is stagnating, with only 8.5 gigawatts added in the world last year, almost all in China.
Source link
