2007 Global Status Report
Shows Perceptions Lag Reality
Washington, D.C. - The renewable
energy industry is stepping up its meteoric
rise into the mainstream of the energy sector,
according to the REN21 Renewables 2007 Global
Status Report. Renewable energy production
capacities are growing rapidly as a result
of more countries enacting far-reaching
policies.
Prepared by the Renewable
Energy Network for the 21st Century (REN21)
(www.ren21.net) in collaboration with the
Worldwatch Institute (www.worldwatch.org),
the Renewables 2007 Global Status Report
paints an encouraging picture of rapidly
expanding renewable energy markets, policies,
industries, and rural applications around
the world. In 2007, global wind generating
capacity is estimated to have increased
28 percent, while grid-connected solar photovoltaic
(PV) capacity rose 52 percent.
"So much has happened in the renewable
energy sector during the past five years
that the perceptions of some politicians
and energy-sector analysts lag far behind
the reality of where the renewables industry
is today," says Mohamed El-Ashry, Chair
of REN21.
Renowned researcher
Dr. Eric Martinot led an international team
of 140 researchers and contributors from
both developed and developing countries
to produce the report. He says renewable
energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal,
and small-scale hydropower offer countries
the means to improve their energy security
and spur economic development.
Citing the report, Martinot
says the renewable energy sector now accounts
for 2.4 million jobs globally, and has doubled
electric generating capacity since 2004,
to 240 gigawatts. More than 65 countries
now have national goals for accelerating
the use of renewable energy and are enacting
far-reaching policies to meet those goals.
Multilateral agencies and private investors
alike are integrating renewable energy into
their mainstream portfolios, capturing the
interest of the largest global companies.
Worldwatch President
Chris Flavin says the report shows that
renewable energy is poised to make a significant
contribution to meeting energy needs and
reducing the growth in carbon dioxide emissions
in the years immediately ahead. "The
science is telling us we need to substantially
reduce emissions now, but this will only
happen with even stronger policies to accelerate
the growth of clean energy," he says.
El-Ashry emphasizes
that many of the trends described in the
Renewables 2007 Global Status Report are
the result of leadership and actions launched
since the major renewable energy conference
held in Bonn, Germany, in 2004. "This
leadership has never been more important,
as renewable energy has now reached the
top of the international policy agenda under
the United Nations and the G8," said
El-Ashry.
Commenting on the dramatic
rise of renewables, Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary
General and Executive Director of the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP), said: "The
findings come in the wake of UNEP's annual
gathering of environment ministers in Monaco
last week. It is clear from ministers in
Monaco and from reports like REN21 that
we are beginning to see elements of an emerging
Green Economy, fueled by the existing climate
change agreements and the prospect of even
deeper and more decisive emissions reductions
post 2012."
The Renewables 2007
Global Status Report is being released ahead
of the Washington International Renewable
Energy Conference (WIREC), taking place
March 4?6 in Washington, D.C. WIREC will
be the third such international conference
following those in Bonn in 2004 and Beijing
in 2005.
Notes to Editors:
Download an advance copy of the Renewables
2007 Global Status Report (for media only):
http://www.ren21.net/pdf/RE2007_Global_Status_Report.pdf
or http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/renewables2007.pdf.
WIREC 2008: During WIREC 2008, a special
side event will be held to present the Renewables
2007 report on Tuesday, March 4, from 12:30?14:00
in the Washington Conference Center.
About REN21: REN21 is a global policy network
including members from governments and international
organizations, civil society, and industry
from the energy, environment, and development
sectors. REN21's goal is to bolster policy
development for the rapid expansion of renewable
energy in developing and industrialised
economies. German development enterprise
GTZ and the United Nations Environment Programme
are partners in the network's secretariat.
For more information, visit www.ren21.net.
About Worldwatch: The
Worldwatch Institute is an independent research
organization based in Washington, D.C. that
works on energy, resource, and environmental
issues. The Institute's State of the World
report is published annually in more than
20 languages. For more information, visit
www.worldwatch.org.
REN21 Renewables 2007
Global Status Report: Highlights
? Renewable electricity generation capacity
reached an estimated 240 gigawatts (GW)
worldwide in 2007, an increase of 50 percent
over 2004. Renewable energy represents 5
percent of global power capacity and 3.4
percent of global power generation. New
renewable energy (not counting large hydropower)
generated as much electric power worldwide
in 2006 as one-quarter of the world's nuclear
power plants. Large hydropower itself accounted
for 15 percent of global power generation.
? The largest component
of the renewable power capacity increase
was wind power, which grew again by over
25 percent worldwide in 2007, to reach an
estimated 95 GW.
? The fastest growing
energy technology in the world is grid-connected
solar photovoltaics (PV), with 50 percent
annual increases in cumulative installed
capacity in both 2006 and 2007, to an estimated
7.7 GW. This translates into 1.5 million
homes with rooftop solar PV feeding into
the grid worldwide. Another estimated 2.7
GW of stand-alone systems brings global
PV capacity to over 10 GW.
? Rooftop solar heat collectors provide
hot water to nearly 50 million households
worldwide, and space heating to a growing
number of homes. Existing solar hot water/heating
capacity increased by 19 percent in 2006
to reach 105 gigawatts-thermal globally.
? Biomass and geothermal
energy are commonly used for both power
and heating, with recent increases in a
number of countries, including uses for
district heating. More than 2 million ground-source
heat pumps are used in 30 countries for
heating and cooling of buildings.
? Production of biofuels
(ethanol and biodiesel) exceeded an estimated
53 billion liters in 2007, up 43 percent
from 2005. Ethanol production in 2007 represented
about four percent of the 1,300 billion
liters of gasoline consumed globally. Annual
biodiesel production increased by more than
50 percent in 2006.
? Renewable energy,
especially small hydropower, biomass, and
solar PV, provides electricity, heat, motive
power, and water pumping for tens of millions
of people in rural areas of developing countries,
serving agriculture, small industry, homes,
schools, and community needs. Twenty-five
million households cook and light their
homes with biogas, and 2.5 million households
use solar lighting systems.
? Developing countries
as a group have more than 40 percent of
existing renewable power capacity, more
than 70 percent of existing solar hot water
capacity, and 45 percent of biofuel production.
? Investment reached
an estimated $71 billion in new renewable
power, fuel, and heat production assets
worldwide in 2007 (excluding large hydropower),
of which 47 percent was for wind power and
30 percent was for solar PV. Investment
in large hydropower represented an additional
$15?20 billion.
? Investment flows became
more diversified and mainstreamed during
2006/2007, including those from major commercial
and investment banks, venture capital and
private equity investors, multilateral and
bilateral development organizations, and
smaller local financiers. The renewable
energy industry saw many new companies,
huge increases in company valuations, and
many initial public offerings. Just counting
the 140 highest-valued publicly traded renewable
energy companies yields a combined market
capitalization of more than $100 billion.
Companies also broadened expansion into
emerging markets. Major industry growth
is occurring in a number of emerging commercial
technologies, including thin-film solar
PV, concentrating solar thermal power generation,
and advanced/second generation biofuels
(with first-ever commercial plants completed
in 2007 or under construction).
? Jobs worldwide from
renewable energy manufacturing, operations,
and maintenance exceeded 2.4 million in
2006, including some 1.1 million for biofuels
production.
? Policy targets for
renewable energy exist in at least 66 countries
worldwide, including all 27 European Union
countries, 29 U.S. states (and D.C.), and
9 Canadian provinces. Most targets are for
shares of electricity production, primary
energy, and/or final energy by a future
year. Most targets aim for the 2010?2012
timeframe, although an increasing number
of targets aim for 2020.
? There is now an EU-wide
target of 20 percent of final energy by
2020, and a Chinese target of 15 percent
of primary energy by 2020. In addition to
China, several other developing countries
adopted or upgraded targets during 2006/2007.
? In addition, targets
for biofuels as future shares of transport
energy now exist in several countries, including
an EU-wide target of 10 percent by 2020.
? Policies to promote
renewable energy have mushroomed in recent
years. At least 60 countries-37 developed
and transition countries and 23 developing
countries-have some type of policy to promote
renewable power generation. The most common
policy is the feed-in law. By 2007, at least
37 countries and 9 states/provinces had
adopted feed-in policies, more than half
of which have been enacted since 2002.
? Strong momentum for
feed-in tariffs continues around the world
as countries enact new feed-in policies
or revise existing ones. At least 44 states,
provinces, and countries have enacted renewable
portfolio standards (RPS), also called renewable
obligations or quota policies. There are
many other forms of policy support for renewable
power generation, including capital investment
subsidies or rebates, tax incentives and
credits, sales tax and value-added tax exemptions,
energy production payments or tax credits,
net metering, public investment or financing,
and public competitive bidding.
