• Friday, March 29, 2024
businessday logo

BusinessDay

Global renewable capacity to reach 320GW in 2022 – IEA

Energy efficiency needs 4% growth to meet 2050 Net-zero emissions, says IEA

Global renewable energy capacity could hit over 320 gigawatts (GW) globally by the end of 2022 says the International Energy Agency (IEA) in a new report.
The Paris-based think-tank stated in its latest “Renewable Energy Market Update,” that renewable capacity is expected to increase by over eight percent in 2022 further.

According to the Agency, global forecast additions for 2022 and 2023 have been revised upwards by eight percent from December last year, thanks to strong policy support in the People’s Republic of China, the European Union, and Latin America, and despite downward forecast revisions in the United States.

It further said that biofuel demand recovered in 2021 from Covid-19 lows to near 2019 levels, and it expects growth to expand year-on-year by five percent in 2022 and by three percent in 2023.

Meanwhile, increasing feedstock prices and policy reactions from multiple countries slow growth in the short term, leading to a 20 percent downward revision of our previous biofuel demand growth forecast.

Read also: Africa Specialty Risks energy division capacity hits $38m

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is also putting upward pressure on an already high-price environment for biofuel feedstocks, particularly vegetable oils.
“looming market uncertainties increase challenges, and the new focus on energy security – especially in the European Union – is also triggering an unprecedented policy momentum towards accelerating energy efficiency and renewable,” the IEA said.

On the other hand, the report stated the current global energy crisis has added new urgency to accelerate clean energy transitions and, once again, highlighted the key role of renewable energy.

“For renewable electricity, pre-crisis policies lead to faster growth in our updated forecast,” the IEA noted. “wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) have the potential to reduce the European Union’s power sector dependence on Russian natural gas by 2023.”

In addition, the Agency reiterated that it is too early to assess the potential impact on our 2022 and 2023 forecast of newly announced targets following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in the absence of rapid policy implementation.

“Annual renewable capacity additions broke a new record in 2021, increasing six percent to almost 295 GW, despite the continuation of pandemic-driven supply chain challenges, construction delays, and record-level commodity prices for raw materials.
“Solar PV and wind costs are expected to remain higher in 2022 and 2023 than pre-pandemic levels due to elevated commodity and freight prices,” the report highlighted.