A report by the Worldwatch institute, released yesterday, reveals that the EU has exceeded its targets on renewable energy for 2010. The report shows that the EU as a whole exceeded its targets for wind energy, solar energy photovoltaic, concentrating solar thermal power, and heating/heat pumps.

The REN21 Renewables 2011 Global Status Report shows that the renewable energy sector has continued to perform well in spite of the economic recession and in the face of incentive cuts and low natural gas prices.

Worldwatch Institute Senior Fellow Janet Sawin, the report’s author, who collaborated with a global network of research partners, discovered that in 2010 renewable energy supplied an estimated 16 per cent of global energy and delivered close to 20 per cent of global electricity production.

She concluded that renewable energy now comprises about a quarter of total global power-generating capacity. Including large and small hydropower; renewable energy accounted for approximately 50 per cent of total added power-generating capacity last year. Furthermore, solar water and space heating capacity increased by an estimated 16 per cent. 

The report was commissioned by the Paris-based Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21). A spokesperson for Worldwatch said that, although the report’s findings were promising, more must be done to increase coverage and bring down the cost of renewable energy worldwide in order to benefit more people while retaining a level of sustainability.

He said “The Global Status Report shows that despite the recession, renewables are growing at an enormous rate. Still, there are 1.5 billion people who don’t have any access to energy, and 3 billion people relying on traditional biomass sources. If we want to prevent climate change from spinning out of control, we need to scale up our efforts to accelerate renewable energy development and deployment at all levels. Worldwatch will continue to provide guidance as to how this can be done.”

Policies remain the main driver behind renewable growth

Renewable energy policies continue to be the main driver behind renewables growth. By early 2011, at least 119 countries had some type of policy target or renewable support policy at a national level, more than double the number from five years ago.

Last year, investment in renewables reached a record $211 billion; this is around one third more than the $160 billion invested in 2009 and more than five times the amount invested in 2004. In the European Union, renewables represented an estimated 41 per cent of newly installed electric capacity. While this share was significantly lower than the more than 60 per cent of new capacity in 2009, more renewable power capacity was added in Europe than ever before.

The report’s findings have been welcomed by the scientific and political community, who say the advances detailed within the report represent a positive direction for global energy and electricity production.

Mohamed El-Ashry, chairman of REN21’s steering committee, said, “The global performance of renewable energy, despite headwinds, has been a positive constant in turbulent times. Today, more people than ever before derive energy from renewables as capacity continues to grow, prices continue to fall, and shares of global energy from renewable energy continue to increase.”