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ePaper created 2014-06-03, 15:03:20 | version 1.30.01
21 01 RENEWABLES 2014 GLOBAL STATUS REPORT 01 GLOBAL OVERVIEW Renewable energy provided an estimated 19% of global final energy consumption in 2012i , and continued to grow strongly in 2013.ii 1 Of this total share in 2012, traditional biomassiii , which currently is used primarily for cooking and heating in remote and rural areas of developing countries, accounted for about 9%, and modern renewables increased their share to approximately 10%. The combined modern and traditional renewable energy share remained about level with 2011, even as the share of modern renewables increased.2 This is because the rapid growth in modern renewable energy is tempered by both a slow migration away from traditional biomass and a continued rise in total global energy demand.3 Modern renewable energy is being used increasingly in four distinct markets: power generation, heating and cooling, transport fuels, and rural/off-grid energy services. The breakdown of modern renewables, as a share of total final energy use in 2012, was as follows: hydropower generated an estimated 3.8%; other renewable power sources comprised 1.2%; heat energy accounted for approximately 4.2%; and transport biofuels provided about 0.8%.4 (See Figure 1.) During the years 2009 through 2013, installed capacity as well as output of most renewable energy technologies grew at rapid rates, particularly in the power sector.5 (See Figure 2.) Over this period, solar photovoltaics (PV) experienced the fastest capacity growth rates of any energy technology, while wind saw the most power capacity added of any renewable technology. The use of modern renewables for heating and cooling progressed steadily, although good data for many heating technologies and fuels are lacking.6 (See Sidebar 1, page 23.) Biofuels production for use in the transport sector slowed from 2010 to 2012, despite high oil prices, but picked up again in 2013.7 As renewable energy industries and markets mature, they increasingly face new and different challenges—as well as a wide range of opportunities. In Europe, a growing number of countries has reduced, sometimes retroactively, financial support for renewables at a rate that exceeds the decline in technology costs. Such actions have been driven, in part, by the ongoing economic crisis in some member states, by related electricity over-capacity, and by rising competition with fossil fuels. Policy uncertainty has increased the cost of capital—making it more difficult to finance projects—and reduced investment. (See Policy Landscape section.) During 2013, Europe continued to see a significant loss of start-up companies (especially solar PV), resulting in widespread financial losses.8 On a bright note, the share of renewables in gross final energy consumption in the European Union (EUiv ) reached an estimated 14.1% in 2012, up from 8.3% in 2004.9 i - Note that it is not possible to provide 2013 shares due to a lack of data. ii - Endnotes in this report are numbered by section and begin on page 152 (see full version online: http://www.ren21.net/gsr). Endnotes contain source materials and assumptions used to derive data in the GSR, as well as additional supporting notes. iii - Traditional biomass refers to solid biomass that is combusted in inefficient, and usually polluting, open fires, stoves, or furnaces to provide heat energy for cooking, comfort, and small-scale agricultural and industrial processing, typically in rural areas of developing countries. It may or may not be harvested in a sustainable manner. Traditional biomass currently plays a critical role in meeting rural energy demand in much of the developing world. Modern biomass energy is defined in this report as energy derived efficiently from solid, liquid, and gaseous biomass fuels for modern applications. (See Glossary for definitions of terms used in this report.) There is ongoing discussion about the sustainability of traditional biomass, and whether it should be considered renewable, or renewable only if it comes from a sustainable source. For information about the environmental and health impacts of traditional biomass, see H. Chum et al., “Bioenergy,” in Edenhofer et al., eds., IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2011). iv - The use of “European Union,” or “EU”, throughout refers specifically to the EU-28. Nuclear power 2.6% 78.4% Fossil fuels 19% All Renewables 9% Traditional Biomass Figure 1. Estimated Renewable Energy Share of Global Final Energy Consumption, 2012 10% Modern Renewables Wind/solar/ biomass/ geothermal power Biofuels 3.8% Hydropower 4.2% Biomass/ geothermal/ solar heat 1.2% 0.8% Figure 1. Estimated Renewable Energy Share of Global Final Energy Consumption, 2012 Source: See Endnote 4 for this section. 1