According to recent research provided by the International Energy Agency (IEA), wind and solar power generation capacity is ten-fold what it was a decade ago. By 2022, renewable electricity capacity is projected to increase by 43%.
Recent data show that solar PV projects are offering prices as low as 3 cents/kWh, in places where the resources are abundant and low-cost financing is available. The report indicates that renewables accounted for almost two-thirds of net new power capacity around the world last year, with almost 165 gigawatts coming online and a strong solar PV market.
“We see renewables growing by about 1,000 GW by 2022, which equals about half of the current global capacity in coal power, which took 80 years to build,” said Dr Fatih Birol, the executive director of the IEA. “What we are witnessing is the birth of a new era in solar PV. We expect that solar PV capacity growth will be higher than any other renewable technology through 2022.” Renewable energy sources include wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and more.