Solar PV growth outpaces all other fuels — and will continue to grow
Renewables broke new records in 2016, largely as a result of booming solar photovoltaics (PV) deployed in the People’s Republic of China, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA)
According to the IEA's report Renewables 2017: Analysis and Forecast to 2022, renewables deployment, driven by sharp cost reductions and policy support, represented almost two-thirds of new net electricity capacity additions in 2016, with almost 165 GW coming online. This was accompanied by record-low auction prices as low as $30/MWh, said the IEA. This year's renewable forecast is 12% higher than last year, thanks mostly to solar PV upward revisions in China and India. Three countries—China, India and the United States—will account for two-thirds of global renewable expansion by 2022. Total solar PV capacity by then would exceed the combined power capacities of India and Japan today. "We se
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