2015 was a record-breaking year for new supplies of wind, solar and hydro plants.
Renewable energy is fast becoming the mainstream energy source across the world, according to a report released this week by REN21, a global renewable energy policy network. Investors spent twice as much money on renewables in 2015 (US$130 billion) than they did on coal and gas-fired power generation.
Renewables are not only winning on the investment front, they are also winning on the jobs front in Canada and worldwide. Employment in the global renewable energy sector grew by six per cent in 2015 while jobs in the global oil industry fell by 18 per cent, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
“The renewables train is barreling down the tracks, but it is running on 20th-century infrastructure – a system based on outdated thinking where conventional baseload is generated by fossil fuels and nuclear power,” said Arthouros Zervos, chair of REN21, to The Guardian. Zervos says decentralized and community-based generation will speed up the clean energy transition.
Key Facts:
REN 21 says about 147 Gigawatts of renewable energy was added to global power generation in 2015;
Clean energy investment rose to US$ 286 billion in 2015 with solar energy making up 56% of total investments and wind power, 38%;
The renewable energy sector (excluding hydro) employed over eight million people last year, says IRENA;
New Brunswick Opportunities:
One of the many measures outlined in the Conservation Council’s climate action plan involves
investing in more non-polluting community energy supplies.
With success stories pouring in from all over the world, and regular report on the jobs these
investments create, our transition to renewable energy here at home will no doubt speed up.