A1. Renewable Energy Market
   

Table A1.1. Renewables – selected indicators (www.ren21.net)

Renewable energy industries boomed during most of 2008.


Among new renewables (excluding large hydropower), wind power was the largest addition to renewable energy capacity.


Existing wind power capacity grew by 29 percent in 2008 to reach 121 gigawatts (GW), more than double that existed in 2004. The 2008 increase was led by high growth in the strongest markets of the United States (8.4 GW added), China (6.3 GW), India (1.8 GW), and Germany (1,7 GW).
   
   

Wind Power
   

Fig. A1.1. Wind power world capacity 1996-2008

Fig. A1.2. Selected ten countries with wind power capacities, 2008 (MW), (www.ren21.net)
   
   

Small Hydropower
   

Worldwide capacity of small hydropower units increased to 85 GW. Most of the small hydro units are in China, where the boom in small hydro has continued with 4–6 GW added annually during 2004–08.


Small hydro and micro-hydro development has also continued in several African and Asian countries.


Large hydropower increased by an estimated 25–30 gigawatts in 2008, significantly more than in previous years, led by China (12–15 GW added) and India.
   
   

Biomass Power Generation
   

Biomass power generation continued to grow in 2008, with an estimated 2 GW of power capacity added in 2008, bringing total existing biomass power capacity to about 52 GW.

 

Biomass power generation continued to grow in several EU countries during 2007/2008, including Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
   
   

Grid Connected Solar Photovoltaic (PV)
   

Fig. A1.3. Solar photovoltaic (PV) world capacity (MW)

This sector continued to be the fastest growing power generation technology, with a 70% increase in existing capacity to 13 GW in 2008. This represents a six-fold increase in global capacity since 2004.


Annual installations of grid-tied solar PV reached an estimated 5.4 GW in 2008.

 

Spain became the clear market leader, with 2.6 GW of new capacity installed, representing half of global installations and a fivefold increase over the 550 MW added in Spain in 2007. Spain’s unprecedented surge surpassed former PV leader Germany, which installed 1.5 GW in 2008.

 

Other leading markets in 2008 were the United States (310 MW added), South Korea (200–270 MW).

   
   

Goeothermal Power
   

Global capacity of geothermal power generation reached over 10 GW in 2008. The United States remains the world development leader, with more than 120 projects under development in early 2009, representing at least 5 GW.


Other countries with significant recent growth in geothermal include Australia, Iceland, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey.

   
   

Ethanol
   

Fig. A1.4. Ethanol and biodiesel production (www.ren21.net)

Liquid fuel ethanol production increased by 34 percent in 2008 to 67 billion liters. Thus, global fuel ethanol production by 2008 had more than doubled from 30 billion liters in 2004.


Fairly stagnant for a number of years, fuel ethanol production in Brazil ramped up dramatically, increasing from 18 billion liters in 2006 to 27 billion liters in 2008. And for the first time ever, more than half of Brazil’s non-diesel vehicle fuel consumption came from ethanol in 2008.

 

Notwithstanding Brazil’s achievement, the United States remained the leading ethanol producer, with 34 billion liters produced in 2008.

   
   

Biodiesel
   

Table A1.2. World’s power generation (GW) of renewables (www.ren21.net)

Biodiesel growth rates have been even more dramatic than ethanol, although absolute production is still much less than ethanol. Biodiesel production increased six fold from 2 billion liters in 2004 to at least 12 billion liters in 2008.

 

The EU is responsible for about two-thirds of world biodiesel production, with Germany, France, Italy, and Spain being the top EU producers.

 

By the end of 2008, EU biodiesel production capacity reached 16 billion liters per year.
   
   
 
 
   

A2. 20% by 2020 – Renewables Targets For Europe
   

Table A2.1. Projection to 2020 of electricity generation in the EU-15 by RES (www.wind-energie.de)

Table A2.2. RES contribution to total consumption (Mtoe) in the EU-15 by 2020.

Table A2.3. Benefits of increasing the share of RES in the EU-15 (Investments in billion €)

Table A2.4. Benefits of increasing the share of RES in the EU-15 (CO2 emissions in million tones), (www.wind-energie.de)

Table A2.5. Benefits of increasing the share of RES in the EU-15 (Employment)

 

Fig. A2.1. RES annual growth rates (to date and expected till 2020.) (www.wind-energie.de)

On the global level, renewable energy sources (RES) are essential to tackle climate change. Renewable energy technologies are uniquely well suited to respond to the limitations of current patterns of energy generation and consumption.

 

Renewable sources of energy can contribute to an overall strategy of sustainable development. They help reduce dependence on energy imports, thereby ensuring sustainable security of energy supply.

 

Summary of RES target for the EU-15

 

  • A contribution of RES to total inland consumption of 20% by 2020 is possible;
  • The contribution of renewable energy sources to electricity production will be more than 33% in 2020;
  • The contribution of renewable energy to heat production will be 25% by 2020.

 

For these reasons the European Union has started to promote renewable energy technologies in the last decade of last century.

 

In 1997 the European Commission’s “White Paper on renewable energy sources” set the goal of doubling the share of RES in the EU energy sector from 6 to 12% by 2010.

 

Expecting benefits of contribution of RES

(www.wind-energie.de)

 

  • A CO2 reduction of 728 Mt/year in 2020, representing a 17,6% decrease of the total EU GHG emission in 1990;
  • Investments of €443 billion made in the period 2001-2020;
  • An estimated €115.8 billion saved in avoided fuel costs;
  • Saving of between €126.7 and €323.9 billion in avoided external costs;
  • An additional 2,023.000 people in full time employment.

 

Since that time, relevant legislative measures have been put in place for RES electricity and biofuels, such as the directive on the promotion of electricity from RES and the directive for the promotion of biofuels, including specific national targets for these sectors.