For the first time ever, solar and wind made up the majority of new power generation in the world last year – marking a seismic shift in how nations get their electricity.
Solar additions last year totalled 119 gigawatts, representing 45 per cent of all new capacity, according to a report on Tuesday by BloombergNEF. Together, solar and wind accounted for more than two-thirds of the additions. That’s up from less than a quarter in 2010. The surge comes as countries move to slash carbon emissions and as technology costs fall.
“That is a big deal,” said Luiza Demoro, a Brazil-based BNEF analyst. “It shows that we are going in a good direction. It’s good for the climate.”
Global installations of natural gas-fired power – which in 2010 was the number one technology installed in more than one-third of the world – fell to a 10-year low in 2019. Meanwhile, 81 countries installed at least 1 megawatt of solar last year, with China and India being the top markets for new capacity.
Still, the world added 39GW of net new coal capacity, up from a 10-year low of 19GW in 2018.
“This is a good start, but it’s not enough in the long run,” Ms Demoro said in an interview. “Coal still represents a big share – 29 per cent of installed capacity globally, and 35 per cent of all the power produced last year. There is a lot of work to be done to replace that capacity.”
