Record Renewable Power Capacity Added in 2016

EghtesadOnline: The world added a record 138.5 gigawatts of renewable power capacity in 2016 despite a 23% drop in investment, reflecting the falling cost of clean energy, the UN announced Thursday.

News ID: ۷۷۵۲۸۶

08 April 2017

The new energy -- mainly from wind and solar installations, but not including large hydro projects -- was up 8% from the previous year, on global investment of $242 billion, AFP reported.

Investment in fossil fuel-based energy was approximately half that amount in 2016, according to a report jointly published by UN Environment and Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

"Ever-cheaper clean tech provides a real opportunity for investors to get more for less," said Erik Solheim, executive director of UN Environment.

According to Financial Tribune, the renewables capacity brought online in 2016 is equivalent to that of the world's 16 largest power producing facilities combined. The new figures come a day after Europe's energy utilities dealt a body blow to the coal industry by pledging that no new coal-fired power plants would be built after 2020.

National energy companies from 26 of the European Union's 28-nations -- with the exception of Poland and Greece -- joined the initiative, announced in Brussels. The UN report, Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment, said that the added clean energy in 2016 accounted for 55% of all new capacity last year -- the highest share to date.

The proportion of electricity worldwide coming from renewables, excluding large hydro, rose from 10.3% in 2015 to 11.3%, the report said.

The rapidly falling cost of wind and especially solar photovoltaic energy is driving a global shift from dirty to clean energy.

The average expenditure per megawatt for both types of renewables dropped by about 10% compared to a year earlier. Investment in 2016 was evenly divided between solar and wind.