The United Nations' latest renewable energy report is a ray of sunshine amid the gloom of Japan's nuclear disaster. According to the REN21 Renewables 2011 Global Status Report, last year renewable energy accounted for 16 percent of global final energy consumption and close to 20 percent of global electricity production.
All this despite ongoing global economic doldrums, cuts in incentives and low prices for natural gas.
Moreover, 2010 witnessed strong growth in renewable energy, reports REN21. An estimated 30 gigawatts (GW) of hydrowater generating capacity was added, and solar water- and space-heating capacity grew by an estimated 16 percent, or 25 gigawatts-thermal. Last year, 50 percent of added power-generating capacity came from renewable energy sources, and renewable energy now provides about 25 percent of the world's power-generating capacity.