With the global energy crisis as a catalyst, solar and wind power are expected to show the strongest annual growth in terms of new renewable capacity on record, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
According to the IEA’s latest “Renewable Energy Market Update: Outlook for 2023 and 2024” report released on Thursday, global renewable energy capacity additions are expected to increase by a third in 2023 due to the growing political support, rising fossil fuel prices and energy security concerns.
Growth is also expected to continue in 2024. The authors estimate that total global renewable power capacity will increase to 4,500 gigawatts (GW), equivalent to the total power generation of China and the United States combined.
Additionally, global renewable capacity additions are expected to soar by 107 gigawatts (GW), the largest absolute increase on record, to over 440 GW in 2023. Dynamic expansion is taking place in major global markets.
New policy measures are also helping to generate significant increases in the United States and India over the next two years. China, meanwhile, is consolidating its leadership position and is expected to account for nearly 55% of global renewable energy capacity additions in 2023 and 2024.
” Solar and wind are leading the rapid expansion of the new global energy economy. This year, the world is set to add a record amount of renewables to power systems – more than the total power capacity of Germany and Spain combined “, specified Fatih Birol, executive director of the AIE.
He explains that the global energy crisis has shown that renewables are key to making the energy supply not only cleaner, but also more secure and affordable and governments are responding by pushing to deploy them more quickly. But achieving stronger growth means overcoming some major challenges.
” Policies need to adapt to changing market conditions, and we need to modernize and expand power grids to ensure we can take full advantage of the huge potential of solar and wind “, he added.
Meanwhile, solar PV additions will account for two-thirds of this year’s increase in renewable energy capacity and are expected to continue growing in 2024, the researchers point out, noting that solar generation is expected to double to 1,000 GW by 2024.
Based on these trends, the world will have enough solar PV manufacturing capacity in 2030 to comfortably meet the level of annual demand envisioned in the IEA’s Net Zero Emissions by 2050 scenario.
As for wind energy, additions are expected to rebound strongly in 2023, with growth of almost 70%. According to the report, this rapid growth is mainly due to the completion of projects that had been delayed by the restrictions imposed by the pandemic and by problems with supply chains in Europe and the United States.
However, continued growth in 2024 will depend on governments being able to provide greater policy support to address licensing and auction design challenges, the researchers say.
Indeed, renewable energies are at the forefront of the response of several countries to the energy crisis, including Morocco. The Kingdom has doubled its renewable energy capacity, from 1,837 MW in 2013 to 3,727 MW in 2022, allowing it to position itself in the top 5 of African countries.
According to the latest statistics from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Morocco produced 1,770 MW in hydroelectricity, 1,556 MW in wind energy, 858 MW in solar energy and 7 MW in bioenergy.
Moreover, the country, which aspires to become an African energy hub, aims to reach 52% of electricity production capacity from renewable energies by 2030. Experts believe it is possible that it will reach this goal even before the deadline set, thanks to the efforts made and the many projects implemented.