Paris, 27 February 2008 – 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)
in collaboration with the Worldwatch Institute, 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.
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