The world will add a record amount of renewable electricity capacity this year as governments and consumers seek to offset high energy prices and capitalize on a solar boom. It is expected to reach 440 GW by 2023, bringing global installed capacity to 4,500 GW, roughly as much as the combined generating capacity of the United States and China. The supply chain for wind turbines is not growing fast enough to meet demand, and the grid must be upgraded and expanded to account for the intermittency of solar and wind power. To meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement, emissions need to be halved by 2030 and cut to "net zero" by mid-century. Countries will discuss setting international targets for renewable energy rollout at the UN climate summit.
India's electricity consumption has increased significantly. In December 2022, its total electricity consumption will reach 121.19 billion kilowatt-hours, leading the growth of renewable energy in the world, and it is the third largest country in terms of new installed capacity of renewable energy. To ensure financial stability, the government has introduced facilitation schemes such as Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Scheme, Rooftop Scheme and Solar Park Scheme. Financial stability in the energy sector is critical to attracting funding for clean energy projects, developing innovative technologies and supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy. It also ensures that companies can maintain stable employment levels, provide fair wages, and contribute to the local economy. Without stability, companies may have difficulty obtaining funding or accessing capital markets, hindering their ability to grow and innovate.
Portugal's first auction of permits to build offshore wind farms will start at the end of the year. Its goal is to have a total installed capacity of more than 1 GW by 2030, with a total investment of 3-40 billion euros in projects. The auction will target floating wind farms with turbines in the deep sea, where the winds are strong enough to harness more energy than conventional structures on land. Portugal already has a small 25 MW floating wind project off its Atlantic coast, and other utilities have shown interest in developing offshore wind projects in Portugal. There is also strong investment interest in Portugal, with hydrogen plants installed by 2030 doubling or even tripling the forecasted 2.5 GW.
Power Finance Corp plans to increase its loan book exposure to renewable energy projects to 27% by FY2030 (large hydropower projects). To achieve this, spending could rise to Rs 3 trillion over the next seven years. The company has the largest loan portfolio in the renewable energy sector with a renewable energy book of Rs 48,200 crore. Non-performing assets (NPAs) have been reduced due to the resolution of stressed assets and the financial discipline brought about by National Disco. Total technical and commercial loss has improved to 16.5% in FY22.
Japan's wind power agency has set a mid-century goal of increasing installed capacity to 140 gigawatts (GW) by 2050 to meet a third of the country's electricity needs and help it achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and target. JWPA aims to install 40 GW of onshore wind farms, 40 GW of bottom-fixed offshore wind farms and 60 GW of floating offshore wind farms. These installations will have an economic knock-on effect of 6 trillion yen per year by 2050, creating 355,000 jobs and reducing fossil fuel procurement costs.
Hyphen Hydrogen Energy has reached an agreement with the Namibian government for the next phase of a $10 billion green hydrogen project, which will be exported to Europe. The plant will be built in stages and will eventually produce 2 million tonnes of green ammonia per year for regional and global markets when fully operational. However, some community activists have raised concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the massive deal. Hyphen has signed a memorandum of understanding with a potential European customer and a letter of intent with Koole Terminals for a proposed import of green ammonia into Europe.