Renewable Energy Grew At A Blistering Pace In 2021

Energy Renewable Energy Grew At A Blistering Pace In 2021 Robert Rapier Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Aug 23, 2022, 09:01pm EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin QINGHAI, CHINA – AUGUST 10, 2022 – Hainan Ecological Photovoltaic Park in Hainan Prefecture, Qinghai .

. . [+] Province, China, August 10, 2022.

In recent years, relying on the advantages of land resources and solar energy resources, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province has focused on promoting the implementation of new energy power generation projects, and has initially formed an industrial cluster supported by water, wind and light storage. (Photo credit should read CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images) Future Publishing via Getty Images Note: The is the sixth article in a series on BP’s recently-released BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2022 . Previous articles were: Wind And Solar Provided A Record 10% Of The World’s Power Generation In 2021 Why The U.

S. Alone Can’t Curb The World’s Carbon Dioxide Emissions The U. S.

Is Still The World’s Top Oil Producer U. S. Natural Gas Production Set A New Record In 2021 Global Coal Consumption Surged In 2021 Today, we’ll cover renewable energy in more detail.

During the early stages on the Covid-19 pandemic, the world’s energy consumption plunged. All major categories of energy production declined, except for one. Despite the largest decline in primary global energy consumption since World War II, global renewable energy consumption grew by 9.

7% in 2020. That was remarkable given how significantly the pandemic impacted total energy demand. Energy trends in all categories bounced back in 2021.

But renewables once again led the pack. From 2020 to 2021, global renewable energy consumption grew by a whopping 15%. Global Renewable Energy Consumption 1965-2021 Robert Rapier Over the past decade, global renewable energy consumption has grown exponentially, at an average annual rate of 12.

6%. Renewables were the only category of energy that grew globally at double digits over the year and the past decade. MORE FOR YOU Here’s The List Of 317 Wind Energy Rejections The Sierra Club Doesn’t Want You To See Revisiting The Blame For High Gas Prices Why Do ‘Fracking’ Opponents Ignore Its Moral Benefits? For perspective, in 2010 the world consumed 10.

5 exajoules of renewable energy. In 2021, that had reached 39. 9 exajoules.

The 5. 1 exajoule increase in renewable consumption in 2021 was a record increase for one year, and it set a new all-time high for renewable energy consumption in a year. Hydroelectricity, which the Review reports as a separate category is growing globally at a much slower rate than modern renewables like solar power.

Global hydropower consumption in 2021 was 40. 3 exajoules, which is still more than wind and solar. However, the 10-year average annual growth rate for hydropower is much lower at only 1.

5%. Globally, hydroelectricity represented 6. 8% of the world’s primary energy consumption in 2021, just barely ahead of the 6.

7% for modern renewables like wind and solar power. But modern renewables will finally overtake hydroelectricity in overall consumption this year. Within the Renewable Power category, wind (49.

0%) and solar (27. 2%) accounted for most of the consumption. Although wind consumption maintains a healthy lead over solar consumption, the ten-year growth rate in solar power consumption continues to be more than double the growth rate of wind power.

China is the world’s top consumer of renewable energy. China’s growth rate over the past decade also vastly exceeds all other members of the Top 10. Cumulatively, the Top 10 consumers accounted for 75.

9% of the world’s renewable energy consumption in 2021. Top 10 Renewable Energy Consumers in 2021 Robert Rapier But here is the challenge the world faces. Against the backdrop of the 5.

1 exajoule global increase in renewable energy consumption, global energy demand increased by 31. 3 exajoules in 2021 — over six times as much. Based on the current trends it would take over a decade before renewable growth can match global energy demand growth.

One source of power that could help immensely as the world strives to reduce carbon emissions is nuclear power, the topic of the next article in this series. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn . Check out my website or some of my other work here .

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