Europe Now Has Two Countries Fully Dependent on Green Energy
Europe recently hit a major green-energy milestone after two nations in the region became fully dependent on renewables to power their energy grids. Figures from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) show that Albania and Iceland now source 99.7% of their electricity from either wind, geothermal, hydro or solar, making them almost completely reliant on green energy.
Data compiled by Professor Mark Jacobson from Stanford University shows that Norway came close with 98.38% of its energy coming from either wind, solar or hydro. In all, 11 European nations generated at least one-half of their energy from renewables in 2021 and 2022 while European nations such as Germany and Portugal can use renewables to cover 100% of their energy needs for a short time.
The Global Wind Report also found that 2023 was a record year for new wind-energy project installations with Europe accounting for a significant portion of new wind capacity. Issued by industry trade association the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the report noted that the world cumulatively installed a whopping 116 gigawatts of new wind-energy capacity in 2023, making it the best year on record for the wind industry. This also represented a 50% increase in new wind-power installations from 2022.
Unsurprisingly, China led the pack in both onshore and offshore wind installations followed by North America, Brazil and Germany. China has consistently been at the forefront of new green-energy installations and currently has among the largest green-energy capacities on the globe. Europe also saw a surge in wind installations as strong wind-energy growth in the Netherlands increased the continent’s wind capacity by a record 3.8 gigawatts.
Wind, solar and other renewables will be key to decarbonizing Europe’s industries and helping the continent cut its greenhouse-gas emissions. Continuous technological advancements over several decades have significantly reduced wind-energy installation costs and made the technology much more efficient and effective, allowing countries to deploy wind-energy infrastructure en masse.
The report also noted that while most of the growth in wind-energy capacity was concentrated in major economies such as the U.S., China and Germany, other nations and regions also experienced significant growth in the sector. For instance, the Middle East and Africa tripled their solar capacity from 2022 to 2023 and installed close to a gigawatt of wind-energy capacity last year.
Even so, report authors say that while the world is definitely “moving in the right direction” in its quest to combat global climate change, they warn that it isn’t enough to meet the COP28 renewable energy pledge. To triple the globe’s green-energy capacity by 2030 as per the COP28 pledge, annual wind-capacity growth has to reach at least 320 gigawatts by the end of the decade.
As efforts to generate green energy pick up steam, the work of companies such as Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) to develop alternatives to ICE vehicles would deliver higher climate-change dividends since it is ideal to recharge EVs using renewable forms of energy.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/MULN
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the GreenEnergyStocks website applicable to all content provided by GES, wherever published or re-published: https://www.greennrgstocks.com/Disclaimer
Europe recently hit a major green-energy milestone after two nations in the region became fully dependent on renewables to power their energy grids. Figures from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) show that Albania and Iceland now source 99.7% of their electricity from either wind, geothermal, hydro or solar, making them almost completely reliant on green energy.
Data compiled by Professor Mark Jacobson from Stanford University shows that Norway came close with 98.38% of its energy coming from either wind, solar or hydro. In all, 11 European nations generated at least one-half of their energy from renewables in 2021 and 2022 while European nations such as Germany and Portugal can use renewables to cover 100% of their energy needs for a short time.
The Global Wind Report also found that 2023 was a record year for new wind-energy project installations with Europe accounting for a significant portion of new wind capacity. Issued by industry trade association the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the report noted that the world cumulatively installed a whopping 116 gigawatts of new wind-energy capacity in 2023, making it the best year on record for the wind industry. This also represented a 50% increase in new wind-power installations from 2022.
Unsurprisingly, China led the pack in both onshore and offshore wind installations followed by North America, Brazil and Germany. China has consistently been at the forefront of new green-energy installations and currently has among the largest green-energy capacities on the globe. Europe also saw a surge in wind installations as strong wind-energy growth in the Netherlands increased the continent’s wind capacity by a record 3.8 gigawatts.
Wind, solar and other renewables will be key to decarbonizing Europe’s industries and helping the continent cut its greenhouse-gas emissions. Continuous technological advancements over several decades have significantly reduced wind-energy installation costs and made the technology much more efficient and effective, allowing countries to deploy wind-energy infrastructure en masse.
The report also noted that while most of the growth in wind-energy capacity was concentrated in major economies such as the U.S., China and Germany, other nations and regions also experienced significant growth in the sector. For instance, the Middle East and Africa tripled their solar capacity from 2022 to 2023 and installed close to a gigawatt of wind-energy capacity last year.
Even so, report authors say that while the world is definitely “moving in the right direction” in its quest to combat global climate change, they warn that it isn’t enough to meet the COP28 renewable energy pledge. To triple the globe’s green-energy capacity by 2030 as per the COP28 pledge, annual wind-capacity growth has to reach at least 320 gigawatts by the end of the decade.
As efforts to generate green energy pick up steam, the work of companies such as Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) to develop alternatives to ICE vehicles would deliver higher climate-change dividends since it is ideal to recharge EVs using renewable forms of energy.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/MULN
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the GreenEnergyStocks website applicable to all content provided by GES, wherever published or re-published: https://www.greennrgstocks.com/Disclaimer
