Wind Was World’s Biggest New Power Source Last Year

Renewable energy represented more than half of all new power capacity in '15; Wind turbine power is projected to supply up to 20% of global electricity by 2030

Lucas Mearian, October 26, 2016 (ComputerWorld)

“Renewable energy represented more than half the new power capacity in the world in 2015…Most of the gains were driven by record-level wind additions of 66GW and solar photovoltaic (PV) installations of 49GW, according to the latest report from the International Energy Agency (IEA)…Wind accounted for 41% of all new electrical generation capacity installed in the U.S. in 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Energy…[T]otal utility-scale solar power capacity in the U.S. grew 43% over 2014, reaching nearly 14,000 megawatts (MW)…The report also noted the price of renewables has fallen by as much as 94% in the last eight years…Renewable energy generation costs now range from $30 per megawatt hour (MWh) to $50 MWh for both onshore wind and solar PV. Utility-scale solar power costs are expected to drop by about 25% from now through 2021. Onshore wind generation costs are expected to drop 15% on average by 2021…[The U.S., India, and China are expected to be among] the world's fastest growing markets for renewables…” click here for more

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