World’s Renewable Electricity Generation to Expand by Over 8% in 2021 (IEA)

Paris – The world’s renewable electricity generation is projected to grow by over 8% in 2021, marking the largest increase since the 1970s, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday.

In 2020, demand for renewables increased by 3%. This year, the trend is set to continue across all key sectors, including power, heating, industry and transport.

“The power sector leads the way, with its demand for renewables on course to expand by more than 8%, to reach 8 300 TWh, the largest year-on-year growth on record in absolute terms,” the IEA said in its Global Energy Review 2021.

Renewables’ growth is set to be mainly driven by solar and wind energy. The IEA estimates that the share of renewables in electricity generation will total nearly 30% in 2021, up from less than 27% in 2019.

Wind and solar electricity generation will rise by around 17% and 18%, respectively, this year.