The growth of renewable energy continues despite the coronavirus pandemic

According to the International Energy Agency, by 2025, the major power producers are expected to come from renewables, eclipsing coal. They added that this year was the worst for the energy industry due to the pandemic, but clean energy generating sources have continued to grow.  By the end of 2020, a growth of 7% is expected for energy from wind, hydroelectric, and solar sources. This is a remarkable jump since the power demand will heavily fall by 5%. This is according to a forecasting group based in Paris. 

Speaking to a news conference, Birol Fatih, the agency’s executive director, said that these results show that renewables are immune to coronavirus, adding that by 2025, renewable energy is expected to grow by 50%. This is the year coal would be eclipsed as the world’s biggest energy source. The report said that the main reason for the growth in renewables is government policies that encourage investors and interested parties to invest in clean power projects. This year renewables from solar and wind are expected to increase by 4%, despite obstacles such as factory closings and travel restrictions due to the pandemic. 

In 2021, a rapid increase of 10% is expected, the reason being many renewable energy projects will resume.  Also, Asia and European governments would increase their spending s to help combat climate change. Mr. Birol said that returning to the climate change Paris Accord by the United States would give a new momentum to fight climate change. 

So far, many companies are willing to shift to renewables. For instance, BP, a London-based company, has said that they agreed with Orsted on Tuesday to construct a big pilot plant to produce free-hydrogen emissions. Orsted is a Danish company and the major developer of offshore wind farms. Hydrogen gas is one of the clean fuels that are used in the industries and transport sector. This is why it is gaining more attention. There is a proposed project in northwestern Germany that is expected to use power from the Orsted wind farm to produce hydrogen gas from the water. Currently, hydrogen is produced from natural gas. 

Companies say that they will reduce the consumption of polluting hydrogen by 20%, which would decrease emissions of around 45000 cars each year. To ensure this happens, most of these companies are applying for funding from the European Union.