According to the latest statistics from the International Energy Agency, 296GW of new renewable energy capacity will be installed globally in 2021, up 6% from last year. By type of energy, new wind capacity fell 17 percent in 2021, but that was offset by growth in solar pv and hydropower installations.
The EU is the second largest renewable energy market in 2021
In 2021, China remains the world's leading renewable energy market share, with 46% of new renewable energy capacity added globally, reaching 135GW. China's new installed capacity fell 2 percent from 2020, with onshore wind and photovoltaic installations down 55 percent and 22 percent from the same period last year, but new offshore wind capacity increased sixfold.
The EU was the second largest market in terms of capacity growth, with 47GW of new installed capacity, accounting for 16% of the global total. The 21 percent increase in new capacity from 2020 was driven by a rapid increase in solar pv projects in Spain, France, Poland and Germany.
India, which delayed some renewable energy projects in 2020 due to the pandemic, has recovered to pre-pandemic levels with a 119% increase in installed capacity in 2021 as policy incentives and some projects come on stream.
The decline in new installed capacity in the ASEAN region was mainly due to changes in Vietnam's energy policy, but overall it was still slightly higher than in 2019.
Renewable energy is expected to grow by 8% in 2022
Global installed renewable energy capacity is expected to grow by more than 8% in 2022, breaking the 300GW mark for the first time, according to the International Energy Agency.
Solar photovoltaics are expected to remain the dominant source of renewable power generation, accounting for 60 per cent of the world's installed renewable capacity at 190 gigawatts, up 25 per cent from the previous year.
Despite a year-on-year decline in new onshore wind installations in 2021, global onshore wind capacity is expected to recover slightly to nearly 80GW in 2022. Offshore wind capacity is expected to double by 2022.
In addition, the trend is that the continued growth of solar pv is likely to be offset by the decline in hydropower capacity, while the growth of wind power and bioenergy is relatively stable, so global renewable energy capacity growth is expected to remain stable in 2023 compared to 2022 unless more favorable policies are introduced.
Market outlook: Pv and onshore wind investment costs will continue to rise
By March 2022, polysilicon prices had tripled, aluminum doubled, steel increased by 50 percent, copper increased by 70 percent, and overall freight rates increased nearly fivefold.
For overseas PV and onshore wind investment costs, higher freight rates were the main factor, followed by higher prices for wind turbines and pv modules due to higher costs for manufacturers.
According to the International Energy Agency, the total investment cost of solar pv and onshore wind power in 2022 could be 15% to 25% higher than in 2020.