Renewables 2014, the global status report on renewable energy by the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), says that the “evolution of renewable energy over the past decade has surpassed all expectations.”
REN21 is a global renewable energy policy multi-stakeholder network, which has brought together both governmental and non-governmental players.
The report paints a robust picture of the renewable energy future and India has made it to the league of significant players in the emerging sector.
The report says that the early 2000s saw “upward trends in global renewable energy investment, capacity and integration across all sectors.” But “most mainstream projections did not predict the extraordinary expansion of renewables that was to unfold in the coming decades.”
Scenarios projected for renewable energy achievement by 2020 were surpassed in 2010, the report says. Renewable energy is now not only being viewed as a means to energy security but also as an answer to greenhouse gas emissions and source of social benefits. Renewables are becoming the mainstream energy source “as we enter the Decade of Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL)”. Ensuring clean and sustainable energy for all by 2030 is at the centre of SE4ALL.
Renewable energy provided roughly 19 per cent of the global final energy consumption in 2012.
Of this, modern renewables accounted for about 10 per cent and the rest came from traditional biomass.
The report says that heat energy from modern renewables accounts for about 4.2 per cent of total energy use; hydro power contributed about 3.8 per cent; wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass and biofuels together account for two per cent.
Positive trend
The study says that as the renewable energy market grows up, it faces newer challenges. But the overall trend in 2013, with some exceptions in Europe and the United States, is positive for renewable energy.
Power sector saw the most significant growth. Global capacity exceeded 1,560 gigawatts, a growth of more than eight per cent over 2012.
Hydro-power generation grew four per cent and all the other renewables accounted for nearly 17 per cent growth in power generation.
One of the findings of the study is that for the first time more solar PV was added than wind power capacity and solar PV has continued to march on with global capacity growth pegged at nearly 55 per cent yearly over the last five years. Wind power has added the most capacity during the period.
Ensuring clean and sustainable energy for all by 2030 is at the centre of Decade of Sustainable Energy for All
