RENEWABLE ENERGY IS A GLOBAL SUCCESS

Last year, for the first time, according to a report in the New York Times, renewable energy sources – principally wind and sun – accounted for the majority of new electricity-generation capacity that was added around the world. More than half of the $286 billion invested in wind and solar occurred in emerging markets such as China, India, and Brazil. Ten percent of all electricity generated globally in 2015 came from renewables, which nearly doubled the amount produced by renewables in 2007.

The average global cost of generating electricity from solar panels fell 60 percent between 2009 and 2015. In such sunny countries as India and Dubai, some developers of solar farms have offered to sell electricity for half the global price. Replacing coal-fired power plants with renewables also has major health benefits in heavily polluted cities in China and India, where ground-level pollutants like soot and smog adversely affect breathing.

Here in the Philippines, the establishment of solar farms in Negros Occidental has put that province on the world map. Negros Occidental recently developed seven polar power facilities, making it the Philippines’ solar power capital, with solar generation capacity of 341 megawatts of power.

In 2015, $161 billion was invested in solar energy globally, which is more than what was invested in coal and natural gas combined. For the first time last year developing countries attracted the most investment and poorer countries, such as China and Chile, are getting the bulk of their electricity needs from giant solar parks which have been linked to their national grids. This year the United States hopes to triple its solar capacity and China and India each plan to add about 1,000 gigawatts of solar power in the next six years.

Lower costs have contributed to this expansion. The price of solar panels, most of which come from China, has fallen by 80 percent in the past five years. In Mexico electricity is being offered at $40 a megawatt hour, which is cheaper than natural gas or coal.
Developing countries will need to invest more in building transmission lines to connect the solar power being generated in sunny areas to its users. Makers of solar panels should focus not just on cutting costs but on improving the technology so that more of the sun’s energy is converted to electric power.

Reference:
Romulo, B. D. (May 5). Renewable energy is a global success. Manila Bulletin. Retrieved from http://www.mb.com.ph/renewable-energy-is-a-global-success/

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