Page 4 - AfrElec Week 13 2022

AfrElec COMMENTARY AfrElec

Wind and solar growth must

accelerate to keep pace with

demand for power

GLOBAL. WIND and solar accounted for a record 10.3% emissions and coal consumption.
of global electricity consumption in 2021, after Coal-fired generation rose by 9% in 2021, or
solar generation rose by 23% and wind grew by by 10,042 TWh, the biggest percentage rise on
14%. record since at least 1985 and accounting for 59%
However, the transition needs to become far of the total growth in demand.
quicker and to post higher growth rates in order New coal records were set throughout Asia,
to phase out coal and reduce CO2 emissions. where electricity demand boomed, including in
The good news is that 50 countries worldwide China (+9%), India (+11%), Kazakhstan (+6%),
have now reached the 10% threshold for wind Mongolia (+13%), Pakistan (+8%), the Philip-
and solar, with seven of them hitting the mile- pines (+8%) and most likely Indonesia (data not
stone for the first time in 2021. yet available).
The fastest climber in 2021 was Vietnam, In 2021, coal power in the US, EU and Japan
where solar output ballooned by 337%, repre- strongly rebounded compared to 2020, but
senting growth of 17 TWh, in one year, making remained below 2019 levels. China’s share of
it the world’s 10th largest solar generator. This global coal power rose from 50% in 2019 to 54%
allowed the Southeast Asian country to reduce in 2021.
its share of fossil fuels and to drive emissions The record rise in coal was not matched by
down by 6%. global gas generation, which expanded by only
1% in 2021. 62% of the world’s electricity came
Rising demand from fossil fuels in 2021, up from 61% in 2020
Green think-tank Ember said in its Global Elec- – the first year since 2012 that fossil fuels’ share
tricity Review, released on March 30, that clean has risen.
power now accounted for 38% of all electricity China “is installing not only record levels of
in 2021, with solar and wind providing 10.3% of wind and solar, but also installing record levels
total generation, up from 1% in 2020. of clean electricity like hydro, nuclear and bio-
Global demand for power rose by 5%, with energy, which means their coal generation will
29% of that growth being met by wind and solar. start falling,” Ember’s global lead Dave Jones
However, other forms of clean electricity pro- said, Reuters reported.
vided no net growth, with nuclear increasing but “What’s not clear is how quickly that will be,”
hydro falling. he added.
The remaining demand increase was there- Indeed, emissions from the power generating
fore met by fossil fuels. 59% of the electricity sector rose by 7%, or 778mn tonnes, in 2020, the
demand rise in 2021 was met by coal generation largest absolute rise ever, thanks to the record
alone. Gas and oil made up the final 10%. expansion in coal and an increase in gas con-
As such, renewables still have much to do sumption for power generation.
keep pace with rising demand for power, with The main issue currently slowing the growth
the report finding that solar and wind need to rate is on-the-ground constraints like permit-
grow by 20% every year by 2030 in order to meet ting, and if governments want to supercharge
emissions targets and to keep net zero by 2050 growth they need to solve the problems that slow
in sight. deployment, Jones said.
“Wind and solar have arrived. The process
Coal growth that will reshape the existing energy system has
The review looked at annual power genera- begun. This decade they need to be deployed
tion data for 209 countries between 2000 to at lightning speed to reverse global emissions
2020, with 2021 data included for 75 countries increases and tackle climate change,” Jones said
that together account for 93% of global power in a statement from Ember.
demand. This 7% rise in power sector emissions must
Globally power demand rebounded in turn into a 60% fall between 2021 and 2030 if
2021 after collapsing in 2020 because of the the world is to stay on the International Energy
global pandemic, causing a record rise in CO2 Agency’s (IEA) 1.5-degree pathway.

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 13 31•March•2022