The new renewable energy units reached the historically high 260 GW of new installed capacity in 2020, despite the coronavirus pandemic, according to the latest data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
Specifically, IRENA in its report entitled “Renewable Capacity Statistics 2021” states that the expansion of new RES units exceeded the levels of 2019 by almost 50%.
In addition, the share of RES in the total new production capacity increased significantly for the second consecutive year. More than 80% of the new electricity generation capacity installed last year was RES, with solar and wind accounting for about 91% of the new clean energy, according to the IRENA report.
Specifically, the new solar installations reached 127GW, while the wind farms reached 111GW.
On the opposite bank, new additions of fossil fuel units fell to 60 GW in 2020 from 64 GW a year earlier, underscoring the continuing downward trend in fossil fuel use.
Finally, to mention that according to IRENA data, at the end of 2020, the total global RES capacity is estimated at 2799GW, with hydropower maintaining the largest share with 1211GW.
