10 June 2014 – The global renewable energy policy network, REN21 (Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century) has released its annual Global Status Report, showing that overall – with some exceptions in Europe and the United Sates – there was positive growth in Renewables in 2013.
Aided by continuing technological advances, falling prices, and innovations in financing possibilities – all at least partly driven by policy support – renewables have become increasingly affordable for many consumers worldwide, meaning the renewable energy market is no longer reliant on only a few rich countries.
The most significant growth occurred in the power sector, which grew by 8% on 2012, bringing global capacity to over 1,560 GW. Hydropower grew by 4%, and other renewables grew collectively by 17%. For the first time, more solar PV capacity was added than wind capacity, with an increasing number of both being built without public financial support.
In the EU, renewables represented 72% of new electricity capacity for a sixth year. This compares starkly with just a decade before, when fossil fuel generation accounted for 80% of new capacity. Overall in 2013, renewables accounted for more than 56% of net additions to global power capacity.
The number of emerging economies with policies in place to support the expansion of renewable energy has surged more than six-fold in just eight years, from 15 countries in 2005 to 95 in early 2014.
Click to see the REN21 Global Status Report 2014.