Do you think that today only oil workers have problems? Renewable energy has also rolled back. All the time, the field of electricity production using renewable sources was supported by huge subsidies. But governments in conditions of economic instability and pandemics cannot allow unnecessary expenses for the maintenance of obviously inefficient projects. In 2019, the increase in generating capacities for the first time decreased, and this will happen again in 2020.
Renewable generation capacity expansion continued continuously since 2003. Last year, governments in almost all countries in the Asian region began to reduce subsidies for the development of this industry. As a result, in 2019, the annual growth of green generating capacities decreased for the first time in 17 years, although the reduction was only 2%. This year renewable energy will be hit by the coronavirus pandemic, which will further slow down the development of the industry.
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, quoted by Nikkei, in 2019, 176 GW of renewable generating capacities were added worldwide, of which 97.68 GW were solar power plants. In the first position, the annual reduction was 2%, in the second – 2.5%.
The main contribution to the slowdown in the growth of green capacities was made by Asia. In 2019, the region added 12% less renewable generating capacities than in 2018. In China and Japan, there was a decrease of 15% and 40%, respectively. Incentives ended, and investor interest disappeared. Over all past years, preferential tariffs cost Japanese taxpayers 2 trillion yen ($ 18.6 billion). However, the Japanese government plans to introduce premium bonuses to green energy producers in excess of market rates. China has reduced government subsidies for renewable energy.
The pandemic has made adjustments to renewable energy. Danish company Vestas, the world’s leading manufacturer of wind turbines, stopped production at two Spanish factories due to an outbreak of coronavirus. Its competitor, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, suspended work in six out of ten of its Spanish plants.
In China, in February, the utilization rate of plants for the production of solar panels fell to about 60%. True, since then, congestion has recovered, but it is impossible to ignore the significance of this decline – in the global volume of solar panel production, China accounts for up to 70% of this production.
With wind turbines there is one more difficulty – installation of wind generators without risk is possible only in the summer, when the likelihood of storms is minimal. This means that many projects planned for this summer may be delayed until next year. Invested money freezes and will not bring investors benefits.
Finally, the world is still not ready for the arrival of mass “green” energy. The periodic nature of renewable energy generation means that power lines need to be modernized and laid out a little differently. Also, enterprises and households need to stock up on batteries and home power subsystems to unload power grids at rush hour and to power at night and during the absence of wind.
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