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Growth of Renewables Transforms Global Energy Picture

Growth of Renewables Transforms Global Energy Picture REUTERS By Environment News Service May 13, 2009

In 2008 for the first time, more renewable energy than conventional power capacity was added in both the European Union and United States, showing a “fundamental transition” of the world’s energy markets towards renewable energy, finds a report released today by REN21, a global renewable energy policy network based in Paris.

Global power capacity from new renewable energy sources in 2008 was up 16 percent over the world’s 2007 capacity from new renewable sources, the REN21 Renewables Global Status Report shows.

“This fourth edition of REN21’s renewable energy report comes in the midst of an historic and global economic crisis,” says Mohamed El-Ashry, chairman of REN21.

“Although the future is unclear, there is much in the report for optimism,” said El-Ashry, an Egyptian national who from 1991 to 2003 served as the first CEO of the Global Environment Facility, which provides grants to developing countries for environmental projects………………………………….The report notes that in response to the financial crisis, several governments have directed economic stimulus funding towards the new green jobs the renewable energy sector can provide, including the U.S. package that will invest $150 billion over 10 years in renewable energy………………….

Feed-in tariffs were adopted at the national level in at least five countries for the first time in 2008 and early 2009, including Kenya, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, and Ukraine.

The report also shows that several hundred cities and local governments around the world are planning or implementing renewable energy policies and planning frameworks linked to carbon dioxide emissions reduction.

Growth of Renewables Transforms Global Energy Picture | Green Business | Reuters

May 15, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized