Renewable energy industry
[3] China was the largest contributor to renewable growth, accounting an increment of 1.0 EJ in consumption, followed by the US, Japan, the United Kingdom, India, and Germany.
[4] During 2006/2007, several renewable energy companies went through high profile initial public offerings (IPOs), resulting in market capitalization near or above $1 billion.
11 years later, the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also referred to as COP28 saw the first ever Global Stocktake, where countries are evaluated on their progress towards the sustainable goals they previously set.
[19] The company operates plants in Denmark, Germany, India, Italy, Britain, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Australia and China,[20] and employs more than 20,000 people globally.
[19][25] Africa's onshore wind energy potential is calculated of almost 180,000 Terawatt hours (TWh) per annum, which is able to satisfy the electricity demands of the continent 250 times over.
[30] Following the announcements of the Chinese government in 2009 about the new subsidy scheme of “Golden Sun” to support solar industry development in China, some of the worldwide industry players have announced their development plans in this region, such as the agreement signed by LDK Solar regarding a solar project in Jiangsu province with a total capacity of 500MW,[31] manufacturing facilities of polysilicon ingots and wafers, PV cells and PV modules to be built by Yingli Green Energy in Hainan Province,[32] and the new thin film manufacturing plants of Tianwei Baoding[33] and Anwell Technologies.
New biodiesel capacity appeared throughout Europe, including in Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras in Brazil is the second largest company in the world for hydroelectric power, and is in charge of the Belo Monte dam located by the Xingu River.
Renewable energy has gained much attention over the past two decades due to technological developments, government support measures, and the need to fight the growing threat of climate change.
Renewable energy sources hold a significant market share on the total power capacity indicating the high acceptance rate of the technology around the world.
Some developing countries use decentralized renewable energy systems like solar microgrids, and off-grid wind turbines in inaccessible places to generate power.
For instance, India and Kenya have led large-scale installation of solar projects to replace costly and environmentally unfriendly diesel generators.
The African Development Bank’s “Desert to Power” plan envisions the deployment of at least 10 GW of solar in the Sahel region to light up millions of homes.
Wind and solar power production are as unpredictable as the weather and this means there must be ways of storing energy, perhaps through batteries or hydrogen fuel cells.
Many developing countries, particularly in South and Southeast Asia, struggle with outdated power grids that are not equipped to handle variable energy sources such as wind and solar power.
The lack of efficient storage technologies further raise this concern, as energy generated from renewable sources must be consumed in real-time or stored in costly battery systems.
The high initial capital costs associated with renewable energy infrastructure pose a significant barrier to its widespread adoption.
Unlike fossil fuels, which benefit from well-established systems, renewable energy projects often require substantial upfront investments.
Green bonds and other financial instruments have been proposed as solutions to bridge this gap, but their impact remains limited due to underdeveloped capital markets in many regions.A key example is Indonesia's green sukuk bond, which raised $1.25 billion to support renewable energy projects, particularly in underdeveloped regions.
For instance, while ASEAN nations have set ambitious renewable energy targets, the implementation of these policies varies widely, with some governments prioritizing fossil fuels due to economic and political considerations[42].
Rural populations in many developing countries still rely on traditional energy sources such as firewood, which are inefficient and pose health risks.
Large-scale hydropower projects, while providing renewable energy, have led to environmental degradation in countries like Cambodia and Laos.
Decentralized renewable solutions, such as solar mini-grids, have been proposed as a means to address energy poverty, but their implementation remains uneven due to financial constraints.
