China's ambitious green energy rollout pushed the global renewables industry pass its latest milestone last year, as global installed capacity hit a record 913.5GW, according to new data released this week by research firm GlobalData.
The country installed more biopower, small hydropower and onshore wind than any other in 2015, and retained its title as the leading installer of solar power for the second year running, said Ankit Mathur, GlobalData's Practice Head for Power.
"China became the largest consumer of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules in 2014, overtaking both Japan and the US," he explained in a statement. "China's annual solar PV installations have grown rapidly over the past few years, from 500MW in 2010, to 10.6GW in 2014, and an estimated 18.43GW in 2015."
As part of its emissions reductions strategy, China plans to have installed 150GW of solar PV capacity by 2020 further cementing its position as the world's largest renewables market.
Mathur added that China was closely followed in the solar race by Japan and the US, with both countries adding an estimated 8.2GW each of solar power in 2015.
In related news, a new report released yesterday from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) predicted 2016 will see the continuation of the global trend towards cheaper and greener energy. The wide-ranging report, which sets out predictions for 2016 across a variety of industries, said the slumping price of fossil fuels will fail to curb the rollout of renewables around the world.
The report predicts that in 2016 renewables will account for more than half of all newly installed electricity capacity globally, driven by falling deployment costs and spread of low-carbon policies in the wake of the Paris Agreement.
The report, which comes in the same week as oil prices dipped below $30 a barrel for the first time since 2004, predicts low oil prices will "stick around" and coal and gas prices will also struggle.
But it argues that growing price competition from fossil fuels will not stop renewable energy hitting an "inflection point".
"As we enter 2016 it is becoming clearer that a long-term energy transition is under way," the report states. "Twelve months ago we predicted that 2015 would be a year of "cheaper and greener" energy, characterised by lower fossil fuel prices and fast growth in the use of renewable energy. That turned out to be correct, and in 2016 we expect the trend to continue. Indeed, we believe that global energy markets are now at an inflection point."
Moreover, the EIU added its voice to the growing rank of analysts who predict renewable energy will become one of the world's dominant sources of energy in the coming years. "The coming period will be characterised by a more rapid decline in the carbon intensity of the global economy and faster growth in the deployment of renewables," the report said. "Although attractively cheap oil, natural gas and coal are here for the short- to medium-term, the shift towards lower-carbon energy sources will prove far longer-lasting."
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