JUL 26

The newly released REN21 Renewables 2011 Global Status Report shows that renewable energy hit a major milestone in 2010 by making up 25 percent of global energy capacity by the end of that year.  Renewable sources supplied 20 percent of the energy consumed in 2010.

So far in 2011, renewable energy sources (solar, wind, water, biomass, biofuels, geothermal) have supplied 11.73 percent of energy consumed in the U.S., which is 5.65 percent more than nuclear power and not far away from the energy supplied from domestic crude oil.

The report states that 50 percent of renewable energy capacity is now in developing countries.  The top five countries (in order) for non-hydro renewable energy capacity are the U.S., China, Germany, Spain and India. China ended 2010 with renewables accounting for 26 percent of installed energy capacity and 18 percent of the energy consumed.

In other encouraging news, the EU exceeded all of its targets for wind, solar PV, solar thermal and heating/heat pumps.  In 2010, renewables made up 41 percent of new electricity capacity in the EU.

For more on the state of renewable energy in the world, including more country rankings by sector, you can check out the full report here (PDF).

via Sustainable Business

Comments (4)

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written by J, July 26, 2011

Some of the numbers are wrong. From the report:

In the United States, renewable energy accounted for
about 10.9% of domestic primary energy production
(compared with nuclear’s s 11.3%), an increase of 5.6%
relative to 2009.

I haven't checked the rest.

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written by Bazu, July 27, 2011

Out of curiosity, is there any reason for showing 'total without hydro' and 'total with hydro'? I mean, why hydro in particular?

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written by Kalirren, July 28, 2011

Hydro is cheap and mature and competitive with fossil fuel. Its capacity has also largely been exploited more or less fully, leaving little room for further growth. The major exceptions to this are in South America, where the issue hyderoelectric development is, to my knowledge, still highly politicized.

The other sectors represent energy industries that are less mature and have more growth potential, but are generally not yet cost-competitive with fossil fuels. So separation between hydro and non-hydro makes a lot of sense.

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written by Rosco, August 11, 2011

These figures are an embarrassment to the UK. Less than 10% of energy coming from renewable resources while there is an abundance of untapped potential. Hostile vested interests, nimbyism and bad planning rules are holding back progress. We need better policies and planning here to catch up.

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