NEW ENERGY UP, OLD ENERGY DOWN

Report: Wind, Solar Power Growth Is Beginning To Outpace Coal, Nuclear
19 July 2011 (North American Windpower)

"The installed capacity of wind and solar power grew faster than that of any other power technology, according to [The silent Energy [R]evolution; 20 years in the making] by Greenpeace International…In addition, renewable energy reached its biggest market share in 2010, providing enough capacity to supply electricity to the equivalent of one-third of Europe…

"…[R]enewable energy plants accounted for more than a quarter (26%) of all new power plants added to the worldwide electricity grid over the past decade, compared to nuclear power stations, which represented 2% of new installations in the same period…[W]hile the global wind industry added approximately 35,000 MW of capacity in 2010 alone, it took the global nuclear industry from 2000 to 2010 to achieve this…"

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"During the same period, new coal installations went into decline in every country except China…[and] not only has China phased out some of its dirtiest coal plants over the last five years, but it has also increased its domestic wind market, doubling capacity every year since 2003. About 28% of all new power plants have been renewables, and 60% have been gas power plants (88% in total)…

"The growing share of renewables - especially wind and solar photovoltaic - in the U.S. and Europe is largely due to legally binding targets for renewable energy policies, such as feed-in-tariff (FIT) programs. Overall, new installations of power plant capacity in Europe in 2010 jumped to a record high due to the repowering needs of the aging power plant fleet…Renewable power generation policies currently exist in at least 83 countries. Of these, the FIT is most prevalent…"