A Ray Of Hope For Mother Earth: Renewable Sources Add Two-Third Of 2018 Global Power Capacity Increase

Amidst a raging threat to our mother Earth through emissions from energy generation, a ray of hope is to be seen now. Courtesy, the renewable energy sources that most of the nations are now actively rooting for. So much so, that the renewable sources now account for a third of global power capacity.

To understand this through numbers, know that the total power capacity through renewable (or clean) sources at the end of 2018 stands at 2351 GW, a third of the total power capacity of the world. The figures come from a recent report titled Renewable Capacity Statistics 2019, released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

The significance of renewable energy

Now before we delve further into the report, let us try to put this into perspective. The total power capacity of India, through the combined use of sources (renewable + non renewable) stands at 350.16 GW. In 2018, the world added a total of 171 GW of power capacity through renewable sources, close to half of India¡¯s total production.

This means, two years of such growth can power a country like India completely on renewable sources for the distinct future. Now take into consideration that India stands third on the list of countries with largest electricity generation. Meaning endless other nations can easily meet their annual demand through the rise in renewable energy generation we have seen just in 2018.

Solar panels on the world's first-ever 'island' of solar panels in Santiago, Chile. (Image: Reuters/ Rodrigo Garrido)

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How did increase in sustainable energy happen?

So now that we know the significance of the increase, let us have a look at how it panned out. The report by IRENA mentions that the majority of the increase came in the form of new solar and wind installations in 2018. Accounting for as much as 84% of the 2018 increase (171 GW), most of the rise came from Asia and Oceania, measuring at 105 GW (with 11.4% growth) and 32 GW (17.7% increase) respectively.

The rise in renewable power capacity has now put the global wind capacity at 564 GW, up 49 GW in 2018. Similarly, solar capacity has increased by 94 GW to a new total of 480 GW, right behind wind. China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea and the U.S. are to thank for this increase.

IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin commented on the ongoing transition, ¡°Through its compelling business case, renewable energy has established itself as the technology of choice for new power generation capacity. The strong growth in 2018 continues the remarkable trend of the last five years, which reflects an ongoing shift towards renewable power as the driver of global energy transformation.¡±

Wind farms in Union Hidalgo in Mexico. (Image: Reuters/ Jorge Luis Plata)

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Beginning of clean energy generation

Though other technologies like hydropower, bio-energy, and geothermal energy also accounted for the recent increase, it is not the end of the road for long sought transition to renewable sources for the world¡¯s power requirement. As the renewable capacity displayed a significant increase, the rise in non-renewable generation capacity has not been far behind since the last couple of decades. Since 2000, around 115 GW of non-renewable capacity per year has been added on average with no solid decline, or rise.

A report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) noted that the energy demand across the globe increased by 2.3% in 2018 and with it, the global emissions reached a record high. The demand for all fuels increased globally, with 45% of the rise in energy consumption being met by natural gas.

A holistic approach to clean energy

¡°Renewable energy deployment needs to grow even faster,¡± Amin believes. For that, along with boosting renewable energy generation, the countries also need to stop operating the fossil fuel plants. He says, ¡°While the growth of renewables has been impressive, the transition to low-carbon energy production will require that more countries and regions not only switch to expanding renewable capacity but also start to retire or convert more of their existing fossil fuel power plants.¡±

Wind turbines at Suzlon wind farm at Surajbari village, Gujarat. (Image: Reuters/ Amit Dave)

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The benefits of renewable

There is a lot of sense for the world to shift to an emission free energy generation. In addition to saving our planet from a tipping point which it faces today due to these emissions, the nations using renewable sources are to have socioeconomic benefits too.

Look at it this way. The power generated through renewable sources will only be the initiator for almost every task a nation needs it for. Consider the case of transportation in a country. With the advent of electric vehicles on the global scenario, their charging infrastructure will have to be powered too. Now understandably, EVs can only be carbon neutral as long as they are being powered by a renewable source of energy. Hence, the need for transition to a renewable power capacity is the need of the hour and should be pursued in an even faster manner than present.