Page 19 - AfrElec Annual Review 2021

AfrElec DECEMBER AfrElec

South Africa becomes poster boy for

just transition in developing world World set for 290GW of new

green capacity in 2021

GLOBAL 2021 is set to be a record year for global renew- The amount of renewable capacity added
ables installations, the International Energy over the period of 2021 to 2026 is expected to be
Agency (IEA) said this week, with growth set to 50% higher than from 2015 to 2020.
accelerate further in the coming years. This is driven by stronger support from gov-
The agency said its Renewables Market ernment policies and more ambitious clean
Report for 2021 that stronger government poli- energy goals announced before and during the
cies and raised climate goals set ahead of COP26 COP26 Climate Change Conference.
were driving renewables to new records. “This year’s record renewable electricity addi-
However, the repeated its warnings that tions of 290GW are yet another sign that a new
faster deployment of solar panels, wind turbines, global energy economy is emerging,” said IEA
hydrogen and other green technology would be Executive Director Fatih Birol.
needed across all key industrial sectors if the “The high commodity and energy prices we
world is to reach net zero by 2050. are seeing today pose new challenges for the
The report found that despite rising costs for renewable industry, but elevated fossil fuel prices
key materials, additions of new renewable power also make renewables even more competitive.”
capacity are forecast to rise to 290GW in 2021,
surpassing the previous all-time high set in 2020. Region by regoin
The growth of renewables is forecast to increase
Forecasts in all regions compared with the 2015-2020
By 2026, global renewable electricity capacity period. China remains the global leader in the
is forecast to rise by more than 60% from 2020 volume of capacity additions: it is expected to
levels to over 4,800GW, equivalent to the current reach 1,200GW of total wind and solar capacity
total global power capacity of fossil fuels and in 2026 – four years earlier than its current target
nuclear combined. of 2030.
Renewables are set to account for almost 95% India is set to come top in terms of the rate
of the increase in global power capacity between of growth, doubling new installations compared
now and 2026, with solar PV alone providing with 2015-2020.
more than half. Deployments in Europe and the US are also

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