This year saw record-breaking solar output and a 'momentous shift’ in battery production.
Led by new solar power, the world added renewable energy at breakneck speed in 2023.
If amplified, this trend will help Earth turn away from fossil fuels and prevent severe global warming and its effects.
Clean energy is often now the least expensive option, explaining some of the growth. Nations also adopted policies that support renewables, some citing energy security concerns, according to the International Energy Agency. These factors countered high interest rates and persistent challenges in getting materials and components in many places.
The IEA projected that more than 440 gigawatts of renewable energy would be added in 2023, more than the entire installed power capacity of Germany and Spain together.
Here's a look at the year in solar, wind and batteries.
A record year for solar power
China, Europe and the US each set solar installation records for a single year, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IEA).
China's additions dwarfed those of all other countries, at somewhere between 180 and 230 gigawatts, depending on how end-of-the-year projects turn out. Europe added 58 gigawatts - a 40 per cent growth from 2022.
Solar is now the cheapest form of electricity in a majority of countries. Solar panel prices fell a whopping 40 to 53 per cent in Europe between December 2022 and November 2023 and are now at record lows.
“Particularly in Europe, it’s been really at breakneck speed of scaling up the deployment,” says Michael Taylor, senior analyst at the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
When the final numbers for 2023 are in, solar energy is expected to surpass hydropower in total capacity globally, but for actual electricity produced, hydropower will still lead for some time because it can produce around the clock.
In the United States, California continues to have the most solar energy, followed by Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Arizona.
Both state and federal incentives had a large influence on US solar growth, says Daniel Bresette, president of the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, a non-profit education and policy organisation.
Despite solar’s success in 2023, there are hurdles. There has been a shortage of transformers, Bresette says, while interest rates have risen.
In the US, solar manufacturing grew as well. “We have seen the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act in terms of fuelling investments... More than 60 solar manufacturing facilities were announced over the past year,” says Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Original Article Source Credit: https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/12/29/europe-us-china-where-installed-the-most-wind-and-solar-power-in-2023
Comments