Renewable Energy Grew at Fastest Rate this Century in 2020 – IEA

In 2020, the capacity for renewable power grew at its fastest rate this century, according to a report from the International Energy Agency. That prompted forecasts to be revised to account for these new growth levels, which the IEA called “the new normal”.

The demand for renewable energy continued to soar last year as the pandemic forced factories to shut down and curbed travel at an unprecedented rate. This growing need for renewables has been catalysed by a demand for energy sources that slow down the effects of global warming.

In 2020, the power generation through renewables grew to 280 gigawatts (GW), a 45% increase which was the largest increase year over year since the turn of the century. The forecasts from the IEA estimated these levels to continue to rise in 2021 (a forecast of 3238 GW) and in 2022 (a forecast of 3518 GW).

Wind and solar lead demand in renewables

The rise of wind and solar power has been key to this new demand, according to the IEA. Despite soaring levels of demand from the renewables sector, fossil fuels are still the leading source of energy in the world, accounting for 81% of global energy consumption in the pre-pandemic area.

“Wind and solar power are giving us more reasons to be optimistic about our climate goals as they break record after record,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said.

“Declining costs, a recovering distributed PV sector and growing interest in corporate PPAs offer hope for more extensive solar PV expansion,” the report read. “Following the pandemic-induced slowdown of the first half of 2020, U.S. residential and commercial markets recovered fully and even grew in the latter part of the year.”

Renewables will continue to drive demand as the pandemic tapers off on several continents. However, the key to minimizing the impact of global warming is the adoption of this renewable electricity by reducing the dependency on fossil fuels, such as oil, natural gas and coal.