2017 saw the largest rise in renewable energy capacity: Report

• 2017 saw an increased growth of about 29% in solar energy than 2016 globally.
• Wind energy accounted for an addition of 53 GW renewable power generating capacity.
• India is also among the top countries with 19.6 GW solar energy setups installed since 2010.

With traditional sources of energy being depleted at an alarming rate countries around the world have already started moving towards renewable sources of energy. According to a report, renewable energy in 2017 accounted for about 70% of net addition to the global power generation capacity.

However, many sectors of the global industries still lag behind when it comes to the use of renewable energy. For example, heating, cooling and transport sectors which account for four-fifths of the global energy demand, have shown limited migration towards renewable energy in order to satisfy their requirements.

2017 saw an increased growth of about 29% in solar energy as compared to 2016. According to reports, solar energy generating capacity has reached global records. It has accounted for 98 gigawatts (GW) addition to energy generating capacity, which is more than that of coal, natural gas and nuclear power combined.

Wind power also accounted for an additional 52 GW renewable energy generation globally.

The world also saw increased investments in the renewable energy sector which was twice more than investments in new fossil fuels and nuclear power capacity combined. Renewable energy also accounted for more than two-thirds of investments in power generation. This trend is expected to continue in the following years due to increased cost-competitiveness and share of non-renewable energy in power generation.

China, USA and Europe accounted for 75% of the investments in renewable energy. The rest 25% came in from developing countries.

A pledge made under the 2015 Paris climate agreement in order to limit the rise in global temperature to “well below” 2 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels makes the challenge of cleaner energy much clearer. However, the power sector is not progressing fast enough to transmit the generated renewable energy.

The report, keeping in mind the Paris agreement, said that the heating, cooling and transport sectors needs to migrate to cleaner energy, and they need to do it soon.

In India, the number of installed solar thermal collectors increased by approximately 25% in 2017 as compared to 2016. And India is also among the leading countries when it comes to solar power. The country currently ranks third on the global solar gigawatt (GW)-scale market with China topping the list. Since 2010, India grew by a compound annual growth of approximately 170% in the solar power market. The country has set a new record with the installation of 9.6 GW solar power units in 2017, which is double the 4.3 GW set-up that was installed in 2016.

As of 2017, the total installed solar capacity of India was at 19.6 GW, which is about one-fifth of the planned solar capacity of 100 GW by 2022. The states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are the fastest growing in terms of solar power usage in India.