Recently, the "Renewable Energy 2023" annual market report released by the International Energy Agency shows that the global new installed capacity of renewable energy in 2023 will increase by 50% compared with 2022, and the installed capacity will grow faster than at any time in the past 30 years. . The report predicts that global renewable energy installed capacity will usher in a period of rapid growth in the next five years, but key issues such as financing in emerging and developing economies still need to be solved.

Renewable energy will become the most important source of electricity by early 2025

The report is the first comprehensive assessment of global renewable energy development trends by the International Energy Agency since the conclusion of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28). The report shows that the world's newly installed renewable energy capacity will reach 510 GW in 2023. The International Energy Agency predicts that under existing policies and market conditions, global renewable energy installed capacity is expected to reach 7,300 GW between 2023 and 2028. By early 2025, renewable energy will become the world's leading source of electricity.

The report predicts that wind and solar power will account for 95% of new renewable energy power generation in the next five years. By 2024, total wind and solar power generation will surpass hydropower; wind and solar power will surpass nuclear power in 2025 and 2026 respectively. The share of wind and solar power generation will double by 2028, reaching a combined 25%.

Global biofuels have also ushered in a golden development period. In 2023, biofuels will be gradually promoted in the aviation field and begin to replace more highly polluting fuels. Taking Brazil as an example, biofuel production capacity growth in 2023 will be 30% faster than the average over the past five years.

The International Energy Agency believes that governments around the world are paying more and more attention to providing affordable, safe and low-emission energy supply, and stronger policy guarantees are the main driving force for the renewable energy industry to achieve milestone development.

Achieving growth targets still requires more policy and financing support

“Although the world is moving towards the goal set by COP28 to triple global installed renewable energy capacity by 2030, under current policy and market conditions, renewable energy growth is not fast enough to achieve this goal. ” said Fatih Birol, Director of the International Energy Agency.

The International Energy Agency report believes that the global development of renewable energy is unbalanced, especially the slow development of hydrogen energy and bioenergy. Taking hydrogen energy as an example, although many green hydrogen energy projects have been launched in the past 10 years, due to factors such as slow investment progress and high production costs, it is expected that only 7% of the planned production capacity will be actually put into production by 2030.

The International Energy Agency also pointed out that the biofuel industry also needs to accelerate its development before 2030, so that it is expected to achieve the net-zero emissions schedule for the global energy industry. In addition, due to tight global supply chains, rising costs and long project licensing cycles, the development of the global wind power industry also faces many challenges and requires more policy support from various countries.

In the development process of renewable energy, different economies also face different problems and challenges. The report believes that for developed economies, policy uncertainty, insufficient investment in grid infrastructure, and cumbersome administrative approval procedures are the main challenges in developing renewable energy. For most emerging and developing economies, the focus is on addressing the financing, governance and regulation of the renewable energy industry.

“Onshore wind and solar power is now cost competitive with fossil fuel power generation in most countries around the world, and the biggest challenge in achieving this is how to rapidly scale up the financing and deployment of renewable energy in most emerging and developing economies. ." Birol said that the International Energy Agency will pay close attention to whether countries fulfill their commitments and implement appropriate policies.

China is a leader in renewable energy

The International Energy Agency stated in the report that China is the global leader in renewable energy. China's newly installed wind energy capacity in 2023 will increase by 66% over the previous year, and China's new solar photovoltaic installed capacity in 2023 will be equivalent to the global new installed solar photovoltaic capacity in 2022. It is expected that by 2028, China will account for 60% of the world's new renewable energy power generation. "China plays a vital role in achieving the global goal of tripling renewable energy."

In recent years, China's photovoltaic industry has developed rapidly and remains an international leader. At present, nearly 90% of the global photovoltaic industry's production capacity is in China; among the top ten photovoltaic module companies in the world, seven are Chinese companies. While Chinese companies are reducing costs and increasing efficiency, they are also increasing research and development efforts to tackle new generation photovoltaic cell technology.

China's wind power equipment exports are also growing rapidly. According to relevant statistics, about 60% of wind power equipment in the global market is currently produced in China. Since 2015, the compound annual growth rate of China’s export installed capacity of wind power equipment has exceeded 50%. The first wind power project in the United Arab Emirates, built by a Chinese company, has been officially put into operation recently, with a total installed capacity of 117.5 MW. The first centralized wind power project in Bangladesh invested and built by a Chinese company has also been connected to the grid to generate electricity recently, which can provide 145 million yuan to the local area every year. Kilowatt hours of green electricity... While China is achieving its own green development, it is also providing support for more countries to develop renewable energy and helping to achieve global climate goals.

Abdulaziz Obaidli, chief operating officer of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company in the United Arab Emirates, said that the company has close cooperation with many Chinese companies, and many projects have the support of Chinese technology. China has contributed to the development of the global new energy industry. and made significant contributions to combating climate change. Ahmed Mohamed Masina, Deputy Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy of Egypt, said that China’s contribution in this field is of great significance to global energy transition and climate governance.

The International Energy Agency believes that China has technology, cost advantages and a long-term stable policy environment in the field of renewable energy, and has played an important role in promoting the global energy revolution, especially in reducing the cost of global solar power generation.