According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), renewable electricity has overtaken natural gas this month to become the second largest source of global electricity behind coal. Renewable energy electricity in the UK was up to a record 22.3% share of generation, up 2.6% on the same period in 2014. The IEA said that in January it had forecast a record year for solar and wind power capacity additions with more than 40 gigawatts (GW) added by 2020. Recent increases in solar and wind projects have driven up the overall figures for renewable electricity generation, solar pv capacity at the start of 2015 rose 79% (1.4GW) with onshore and offshore wind increasing by a total of 1.9GW.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), renewable electricity has overtaken natural gas this month to become the second largest source of global electricity behind coal. The IEA said that in January it had forecast a record year for solar and wind power capacity additions with more than 40 gigawatts (GW) added by 2020. Recent increases in solar and wind projects have driven up the overall figures for renewable electricity generation, solar pv capacity at the start of 2015 rose 79% (1.4GW) with onshore and offshore wind increasing by a total of 1.9GW.