IRENA: ‘The global shift to renewables is underway’

by John Kelly

This article originally appeared in the Austin Journal

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) released data earlier this week that demonstrated a large surge in the amount of renewable energy put in place around the world in 2021.

“The global shift to renewables is underway,” Francesco Camera, director-general of IRENA, told the Austin Journal recently. “2021 was a strong year for the energy transition – the world added almost 257 Gigawatts (GW) of renewables, increasing the stock of renewable power by 9.1% and contributing to an unprecedented 81% of global power additions. Solar power alone accounted for over half of the renewable additions with a record 133 GW last year, followed by 93 GW of wind energy overall, with offshore wind energy capacity hitting a record 21 GW.”

But despite this growth, renewables have been noted to be unreliable as the primary source of energy.

“Because energy generation fluctuates with weather, you do not want to be solely focused on building energy projects that depend entirely on the weather,” Bill Peacock, policy director for The Energy Alliance, told the Journal in January. “This does nothing but exacerbate the issue.” 

Renewable energy comprised 81% of all global capacity additions in 2021, a recent IRENA report said. Solar capacity led the way with a 19% hike. Wind energy was next, going up by 13%. 

Texas was in line with the international community’s trend.

Texas led the U.S. in increasing renewable energy production in 2021, a recent American Clean Power press release said. The state’s 7,352 megawatts (MW) that became available for use last year far surpassed California’s second-place production of 2,697 MW. Texas also has the highest capacity in its development pipeline of any state. 

In 2021, subsidies for wind and solar generation exceeded $2.4 billion nationwide, a report from The Energy Alliance said. In Texas, state and local subsidies — which are completely under the influence of Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and members of the Texas Legislature — almost reached $1 billion. Since 1999, no state has added more renewable energy to its power grid than Texas.