Renewable capacity continues to grow in US and Europe

Statistics have been released for 2013 for the US and European renewable energy sectors, highlighting the capacity increase over the year in both areas.

In the US, renewable electricity, including hydropower and energy from biomass, grew to nearly 15% of the nation’s total installed capacity and made up 13% of total electricity generation in 2013. This is according to figures from the 2013 Renewable Energy Data Book from the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The data book also says that renewables accounted for more than 61% of new generating capacity installed in the US in 2013. Of this, solar was the fastest growing electricity generation technology with capacity increasing by 66% on 2012 levels.

This solar growth continued in 2014, and the US solar industry added more than 31,000 jobs in 2014 according to the National Solar Jobs Census from the US Solar Foundation. According to the Foundation the US solar industry now supports more than 173,000 jobs.

Meanwhile in Europe, in 2013 over half of electricity generated came from low carbon sources according to figures from European electricity industry association EURELECTRIC. 

A report from the organisation, A sector in transformation: Electricity industry trends and figures, says that the share of renewable electricity in Europe grew from 24% in 2012 to 27% in 2013, and this helped fuel Europe’s decline in emissions.

EURELECTRIC says that the rapid transition of the electricity sector means that the European power system needs to adapt to the growing share of variable electricity production, while ensuring a stable electricity supply and continued low carbon investment.

‘To pursue Europe’s decarbonisation pathway, 740 GW of additional generation capacity would be needed by 2035, making the EU the second largest economy after China to revamp its generation fleet to such an extent,’ said Oluf Ulseth, CEO of Energi Norge and Chairman of EURELECTRIC’s Energy Policy and Generation Committee. ‘This can only be achieved if EU policymakers recognise the urgency in putting forward a regulatory framework that empowers companies to cost-efficiently meet the decarbonisation agenda.’