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Report: International Energy Agency Deliberately Undermined Growth Potential of Renewable Energy : Red, Green, and Blue

Report: International Energy Agency Deliberately Undermined Growth Potential of Renewable Energy : Red, Green, and Blue Mridul Chadha 11 Jan 09 A group of scientists and politicians has accused the International Energy Agency of publishing false data about the growth potential of the renewable energy in the future. The Energy Watch Group said that the IEA “consistently underestimated the amount of electricity generated by wind power while advising various governments.” The group holds IEA’s close ties to oil, gas and nuclear sectors responsible for the its “ignorance and contempt” towards renewable energy.

The International Energy Agency is an intergovernmental organization which publishes reports about future trends of energy generation and use which help governments across the world to chalk out energy production plans. The Energy Watch group says that the IEA reports glorify fossil fuels deeming them irreplaceable by renewable energy sources.

The group compared the production projections of wind energy that the IEA presented in the past decade to the the actual growth in wind energy generation.

In 1998, the IEA predicted that global wind electricity generation would total 47.4GW by 2020. This figure was reached in December 2004. In 2002, the IEA revised its estimate to 104GW wind by 2020 – a capacity that had been exceeded by last summer.

In 2007, net additions of wind power across the world were more than four-fold the average IEA estimate from its 1995-2004 predictions.

The IEA report predicts a five-fold increase in wind energy from 2006-2015 but then assumes an abrupt & unexplained downturn in production. A Swiss parliament member also notes that IEA derives most of its employees from the oil industry and raised questions about its intent regarding the energy outlook reports.

One has to question the wind energy growth numbers that IEA puts in its reports. Investments in renewable energy have grown tremendously around the world. The European Union has been very open about its huge investment plans in renewable energy keeping with the emissions reduction targets and the clean energy targets it has set for 2010 and 2020. China has become the largest investor in clean energy, pumping in billions of dollars in building some of the biggest wind and solar energy plants in the world.

Report: International Energy Agency Deliberately Undermined Growth Potential of Renewable Energy : Red, Green, and Blue

Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, uranium, radioactive, renewables

January 12, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties