Renewable Energy Up Sharply In Asia - And So Is Electricity Demand - CSM
November 1, 2016 Washington—China remains the undisputed leader of growth in renewable energy worldwide, but that growth comes with a risk that Asia may end up with more energy capacity than it can use, according to the new annual report of the International Energy Agency.
The organization, which was founded by 29 oil-importing countries in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis, projects renewable generating capacity to grow by 42 percent worldwide from last year to 2021. Heymi Bahar, IEA project manager for the report, said the projected growth is due to improved prospects in pivotal countries – notably China, but also India, Mexico, and the United States.
“The growth is strong,” Mr. Bahar said at a discussion Monday about the report, held at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “[But] it will depend significantly on how fast Asia, emerging Asia, decarbonizes, if you want to achieve these long-term targets.” Coal is cheaper and easier to use for heat than renewable energy, which has slowed the move to alternative power for China and other Asian countries.
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But electricity demand is increasing faster than renewable energy growth, particularly in China, India and Southeast Asia, said Charles Ebinger, a Brookings senior fellow focused on energy security and climate. That creates an obstacle to reducing carbon use. Bahar called the dilemma the product of a “two-speed world.” In the EU, the US and Japan, renewable energy growth is bigger than the growth in electricity need. In China and India, as well as many African and Southeast Asian nations, the rise in electricity needs far surpasses renewable energy growth.
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http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Inhabit/2016/1101/Renewable-energy-surges-in-Asia-but-so-does-electric-demand