Global renewable electricity to grow 3.2 per cent per year

• 13 years ago (2010-05-28)
• David Flin

North America 998 Renewables 751

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The US Department of Energy (DoE), in its report International Energy Outlook 2010, predicts that the global installed capacity of green and renewable power will rise from 44 GW in 2007 to 62 GW by 2015, 70 GW by 2020, 91 GW by 2030, and 107 GW by 2035.

The report predicts that by 2035, growth within OECD countries will be around 1.3 per cent per year, rising from 35 GW to 50 GW, while the total for non-OECD countries is predicted to grow from 9 GW to 57 GW, a rate of 6.9 per cent per year.

Over this same period, the report predicts that world energy use will grow by 49 per cent, driven by economic growth in developing nations. The global economic recession has had a “profound impact” on near-term prospects for energy demand but, as the economic situation improves, most nations are expected to return to the economic growth rates projected prior to the downturn. Global net electricity generation is predicted by the report to grow by 87 per cent from 18.8 TWh in 2007 to 35.2 TWh in 2035.

Richard Newell of DoE’s Energy Information Administration, said: “Renewables are the fastest-growing source of world energy supply, but fossil fuels are still set to meet more than three-fourths of total energy needs in 2035, assuming current policies remain unchanged.” The report predicts that the renewable energy share of generation will increase from 18 per cent in 2007 to 23 per cent in 2035. Much of the world increase will come from hydropower and wind power. Of the 4.5 TWh of increased renewable generation over the period, 2.4 TWh is expected to come from hydropower, and 1.2 TWh from wind power. The report states that: “Except for these two sources, most renewable generation technologies are not economically competitive with fossil fuels over the projection period outside a limited number of niche markets.”