Renewable Energy Market Trends

Over the last decade, the growing population and urbanization worldwide has boosted industrial development and enlarged the demand for power.

Global power plant engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) market has been generating high volumes of investment which were anticipated to continue throughout 2020. However, Covid-19 has majorly impacted this year’s projected growth. Lockdown measures have significantly reduced electricity demand, in turn, affecting the power mix.

That being said, renewable energy is showing strength. According to The IEA, renewable energy has been the most resilient energy source to Covid‑19 lockdown measures. Renewable electricity has been largely unaffected with generation expected to rise by 5% in 2020. The IEA estimates total global use of renewable energy will rise by circa 1% in 2020 – not a huge growth, but growth nonetheless in a undoubtedly challenging year.

The global energy crisis, depleting fossil fuel reserves and global awareness for issues such as carbon emissions and environmental protection, are quickly driving momentum and popularity for renewable power generation. Governments and unions worldwide are increasing spending on renewable energy which is expected to bolster the market further. 

The Paris Agreement of 2015, which led to several countries pledging their support for increasing the adoption of renewable energy, has become a major factor for improving the growth of the wind and solar energy market.

Since this agreement, The European Union has committed to becoming the first climate-neutral bloc in the world by 2050, releasing in December 2019 The European Green Deal Investment Plan which involves:

• Financing: mobilising at least €1 trillion of sustainable investments over the next decade. 
• Enabling: providing incentives to unlock and redirect public and private investment. 
• Practical support: the Commission will provide support to public authorities and project promoters in planning, designing and executing sustainable projects.

Energy live news has reported that renewable energy can provide 12,000 new jobs and around £20 billion of new investments (largely in the construction sector) to the UK alone as part of the nation’s sustainable economic recovery. 

Renewable sources such as wind and solar power are increasingly replacing fossil fuels and other conventional energy sources. Across Europe numerous renewable energy projects are being rolled out, especially wind, solar and kick-starting a clean hydrogen economy.

A noteworthy renewables-based project includes Norwegian oil giant, Equinor’s, plans to build one of ‘the world’s first at-scale facilities’ to produce hydrogen from natural gas in combination with carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the UK. These hydropower projects meet the power supply requirements without the need to expand the power grid in remote regions. 

The renewable energy sector is showing resilience and strength, we can expect more projects to be introduced and developed, resulting in a rise in job opportunities.