2023 Was Strong for Global Renewable Energy; Electric Vehicles and Fast Chargers Increase in 2024 in the US.
Renewable energy powered 30% of global electricity in 2023! While the bulk of that is hydropower, the amount of energy generated by hydropower has been fairly stable for decades; the steady, phenomenal growth since 2006 has been in wind and solar.
Much of that increased solar in 2023 has been in China, which put up enough solar panels last year to power 50 million homes. https://www.npr.org/2024/01/14/1224674031/renewable-energy-grew-at-record-pace-in-2023-thanks-to-a-push-from-china Last January 2024 The Guardian reported that the IAE predicts that in Europe, the US and Brazil electricity generation by renewables will overtake coal in 2025.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA): https://www.iea.org/reports/renewables-2023/executive-summary#
“Global annual renewable capacity additions increased by almost 50% to nearly 510 gigawatts (GW) in 2023, the fastest growth rate in the past two decades. This is the 22nd year in a row that renewable capacity additions set a new record. While the increases in renewable capacity in Europe, the United States and Brazil hit all-time highs, China’s acceleration was extraordinary. In 2023, China commissioned as much solar PV as the entire world did in 2022, while its wind additions also grew by 66% year-on-year. Globally, solar PV alone accounted for three-quarters of renewable capacity additions worldwide.”
In addition, the IEA noted “In 2023, spot prices for solar PV modules declined by almost 50% year-on-year, with manufacturing capacity reaching three times 2021 levels… In 2023, an estimated 96% of newly installed, utility-scale solar PV and onshore wind capacity had lower generation costs than new coal and natural gas plants.”
The World Resources Institute reported in February 2024 that solar-powered electricity has also been increased in the United States in 2023 with much more planned in 2024. “Battery storage also grew substantially in 2023, with installations through Q3 exceeding those of all of 2022. Strong growth is expected to continue, with a projected doubling of capacity in 2024.”
They also found that “Despite news reports highlighting the slowing of EV sales, a record 1.2 million EVs were sold in the U.S. in 2023, representing 7.6% of total vehicle sales, up from 5.9% in 2022.” And the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act “…stimulated an unprecedented slate of planned domestic clean energy manufacturing facilities, reversing the trend of years of declining investments. According to American Clean Power, 113 manufacturing facilities or expansions have been announced since August 2022, totaling $421 billion of investment in domestic, utility-scale clean energy production, as of early 2024.”
Electric vehicles need charging stations to prevent “range anxiety” because not everyone has a house or resources to have a fast charger at home. In fact, the US added 700 new chargers in just April through June 2024! There are now 9,000 stations across the US. Bloomberg Green says US public chargers will surpass gas stations in 8 years!
Thumbnail photo a charging station in Colorado (Alamy). Most new charging stations now are not Tesla stations.