REN21’s Renewable Global Status Report – 2006 Update

Wiki: http://gsr.ren21.net/index.php?title=Main_Page
Useful data source page: http://gsr.ren21.net/index.php?title=Sources_of_Data
Record investment in new renewable energy capacity occurred in 2005—$38 billion, up from $30 billion in 2004. Germany and China were the investment leaders, with about $7 billion each, followed by the United States, Spain, Japan, and India. Lots of statistics about level of different types of renewable energy production Biodiesel (not ethanol) production grew from 2.1 billion liters to 3.9 billion liters between 2004 and 2005 Has page of “Notes for Specific Countries”. Notes do not seem to be comprehensive, in terms of policy measures, and are not very conveniently laid out (narratives, not tables). Still, good starting place. Global Market Overview U.S. ethanol caught up with Brazil in 2005 Investment Flows An estimated $38 billion was invested in new renewable energy capacity worldwide in 2005, up from $30 billion in 2004.* (See Figure 9) Almost all the increase was due to increased investment in solar PV and wind power. Technology shares of the $38 billion annual investment were wind power (37 percent), solar PV (26 percent), solar hot water (11 percent), small hydropower (11 percent), biomass power and heat (7 percent), and geothermal power and heat (7 percent). An additional $15–20 billion was invested in large hydropower. Developing countries: The World Bank Group committed $150 million to renewables (excluding GEF funds and carbon finance) plus $420 million for large hydropower, both increases from 2004 Industry Trends Growth in renewable energy companies: By 2006, at least 85 publicly traded renewable energy companies worldwide (or renewable energy divisions of major companies) had a market capitalization greater than $40 million.*9 The number of companies in this category expanded significantly, from around 60 in 2005. Wind employment: By 2006, the global wind industry employed 235,000 people according to WWEA 2006, a substantial difference from the previous estimate of 40,000–70,000 in the Renewables 2005: Global Status Report. PV Plans, hampered by lack of silicon: The largest number of companies is in the solar PV industry, which is becoming one of the world’s fastest growing, most profitable industries. Global production increased from 1150 MW in 2004 to over 1700 MW in 2005. Japan was the leader in cell production (830 MW), followed by Europe (470 MW), China (200 MW), and the United States (150 MW). As in recent years, shortages of silicon continued to affect production. Capacity expansion plans by the solar PV industry for 2006–08 total at least several hundred megawatts and potentially two gigawatts.Policy Landscape
Policy targets for renewable energy - table of EU targets by 2010 and actual levels in 1997
49 countries have policy targets
31 U.S. states and Canadian provinces have policy targets; 22 have renewable portfolio standards

Power Generation Promotion Policies
Feed in laws place a legal obligation on utilities to purchase electricity from renewable energy installations at a set price (which may be diminishing), usually over a fixed period.
Countries revising feed-in laws in 2005 include Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Portugal.
6 states in India have FITs, 2 Canadian provinces (Ontario, PEI),
These new policies in Canada and India increased the numbers of states/provinces/countries worldwide with feed-in policies from 37 to 41.
U.S. has 30% solar PV and SHW tax credit, capped at $2000, until 2007
California solar initiative - $3.2 bil, 11 yr plan to install 3 GW of solar PV by 2017


Table 8, Cumulative Number of Countries/States/Provinces Enacting RPS Policies (Unchanged from Renewables 2005 Global Status Report, Table 6)

Year	Cumulative Number	Countries/States/Provinces Added That Year
1997	1	Massachusetts (USA)
1998	3	Conneticut, Wisconsin (USA)
1999	7	Maine, New Jersey, Texas (USA);Italy
2001	12	Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada (USA);Flandres (Belgium); Australia
2002	16	California, New Mexico (USA); Wallonia (Belgium); United Kingdom
2003	20	Minnesota (USA); Japan; Sweden; Maharashtra (India)
2004	34	Colorado, Mryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island (USA); Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island (Canada);Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa (India); Poland; Thailand
2005	38	District of Columbia, Montana, Delaware (USA); Gujarat (India)

Begin with Solar Hot Water/Heating Promotion Policies next time...