IEA Praises Renewable Sector’s Resilience

Renewable installations are set to fall this year due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.
The IEA’s Renewable Market Update report projects that 167 gigawatts of renewable capacity will be added in 2020, a 13% drop compared to the rise in 2019 and the first decline in the growth rate in 20 years, CNBC reported.
In its report, the IEA said that the drop reflected “delays in construction activity due to supply chain disruption, lockdown measures and social-distancing guidelines” as well as what it described as “emerging financial challenges.”
While new additions are set to drop this year, overall worldwide renewable capacity is still set to increase by 6%, according to the agency.
Looking further ahead, the IEA noted that 2021 was forecast to see renewable power additions bounce back to 2019 levels. Combined growth for 2020 and 2021 is still, however, seen as being nearly 10% lower than previous forecasts made before the Covid-19 pandemic.   
“The resilience of renewable electricity to the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis is good news but cannot be taken for granted,” Fatih Birol, the IEA executive director, said in a statement.
“Even before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the world needed to significantly accelerate the deployment of renewables to have a chance of meeting its energy and climate goals,” he added.
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the renewable energy sector in a number of ways, disrupting supply chains and forcing some facilities to close their doors.