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OUTLOOK

Record renewables additions

for 2021 and 2022 despite

supply bottlenecks prove solar

& wind’s resilience

International Energy Agency

espite – or perhaps because of –
global market and political turmoil,
renewable power is set to break
another record in 2022. That’s af-
ter 2021 also saw record new ca-
D pacity from solar, wind and other
renewables worldwide. It’s mainly driven by solar
PV in China and Europe as governments around
the world take advantage of renewables’ ener-
gy security and climate benefits, according to
the IEA’s latest Renewable Energy Market Up-
date. 295GW of new renewable power capacity
was added last year. That’s expected to rise to
320GW this year. Although solar and wind instal-
lation costs rose for the first time in many years
due to pandemic-related supply issues, momen- Global capacity additions are expected to rise
tum was maintained because fossil prices have this year to 320 gigawatts – equivalent to an
risen even faster. Annual additions in the EU amount that would come close to meeting the
jumped by almost 30% to 36GW in 2021, finally entire electricity demand of Germany or match-
exceeding the region’s previous record of 35GW ing the European Union’s total electricity gener-
set a decade ago. The prospects for 2023 now ation from natural gas. Solar PV is on course
depend on whether new and stronger policies to account for 60% of global renewable power
are introduced and implemented over the next growth in 2022, followed by wind and hydro-
six months, says the IEA. power.
In the European Union, annual additions jumped
by almost 30% to 36 gigawatts in 2021, finally
Record 295 GW renewable exceeding the bloc’s previous record of 35 giga-
watts set a decade ago. The additional renewa-
capacity added in 2021 bles capacity commissioned for 2022 and 2023
has the potential to significantly reduce the Euro-
The world added a record 295 gigawatts of new pean Union’s dependence on Russian gas in the
renewable power capacity in 2021, overcoming power sector. However, the actual contribution
supply chain challenges, construction delays will depend on the success of parallel energy
and high raw material prices, according to the efficiency measures to keep the region’s energy
IEA’s latest Renewable Energy Market Update. demand in check.

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