Growing concerns about energy security and climate change will drive a new record capacity for renewable energy generation in 2022, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
The IEA predicts that 320,000 megawatts of renewables will come online this year globally, equivalent to Germany's highest total annual energy demand and more than the previous record of 295,000 megawatts in 2021.
Last year's capacity additions, driven by solar growth in China and Europe, exceeded the Paris-based agency's expectations, the IEA said in its new report on renewables.
"Energy market developments in recent months – particularly in Europe – have proven once again the key role of renewables in improving energy security, in addition to their well-established effectiveness in reducing emissions," noted IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sent inflation soaring to the highest levels in decades and energy prices rising in some advanced economies, leaving rulers scrambling to find cheaper and more reliable energy.
However, growth in renewable energy is hampered by supply chain difficulties, the IEA added in its report, saying the cost of installing solar photovoltaic (PV) panels will remain high this year and next due to higher commodity prices and transportation costs.
Absent stronger policies, growth in renewables is expected to stall in years as advances in solar power are offset by a 40% drop in hydropower expansion and steady growth in wind generation.
According to the IEA, renewable energy growth in 2021 was led by China, the European Union and Latin America, but lagged in the United States.
U.S. renewable energy prospects are clouded by uncertainty over new incentives for wind and solar power and trade action against solar PV imports from China and Southeast Asia," the Paris agency added.
