Page 6 - AsiaElec Week 45

AsiaElec COMMENTARY AsiaElec

Renewable power proves

resilient to COVID

Renewables will account for 90% of new generating capacity in 2020, the IEA forecasts, but
consistent green policies are needed to foster sustainable growth, writes Richard Lockhart

GLOBAL RENEWABLE energy’s resilience during the “Renewable power is defying the difficulties
global pandemic of 2020 has been driven by the caused by the pandemic, showing robust growth
WHAT: continued expansion of the electricity sector, while other fuels struggle,” said Fatih Birol, the
New renewables capacity which is set to grow by 7% in 2020, the Interna- IEA Executive Director.
will reach almost 200GW tional Energy Agency (IEA) said in this week’s “The resilience and positive prospects of the
in 2020 2020 Renewables Report. sector are clearly reflected by continued strong
This strong showing from green generation appetite from investors – and the future looks
WHY: means that global renewable energy demand is even brighter with new capacity additions on
The green industry has set to rise by 1% in 2020, the report said, even course to set fresh records this year and next.”
proved resilient to the though total energy demand is set to decline by
global pandemic 5%. Drilling down
This continued rise in green energy is under- The report highlighted that auctioned renewa-
WHAT NEXT: pinned by strong growth in renewable electricity, bles capacity rose by 15% year on year between
To maintain growth driven by long-term contracts, priority access to January and October, meaning that investor
and investment, more the grid and continuous installation of new gen- appetite for green generation remains strong
consistent government erating capacity. despite economic uncertainties.
policies are needed to The 7% rise in green electricity demand In terms of figures, net installed renewable
boost investment contrasts with a 2.2% fall in global electricity capacity will grow by nearly 4% globally in 2020,
demand for the year. reaching almost 200GW, driven by the US and
On the other hand, the use of bioenergy for China.
industry and biofuels for transport has decreased This figure of 200GW is 18% higher than the
this year, with demand for green transport fuel IEA’s previous forecast in May. The report noted
forecast to fall by 11.5%, mainly because of lower that construction of plants and manufacturing
economic activity, the report found. activity ramped up again quickly after the initial

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 45 11•November•2020