02
Mar

Coal accounted for 56.8% of China's energy consumption in 2020

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China reduced its coal use to from 57.7% of energy consumption in 2019 to 56.8% in 2020. However, overall coal use has continued to increase in a context of record industrial production and of completion of coal-fired power plants, and has not peaked yet. The share of natural gas, hydropower, nuclear power and wind power increased by one percentage point to 24.3% of consumption. Energy demand rose by 2.2% in 2020, with crude oil demand increasing by 3.3% and natural gas by 7.2%. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the carbon intensity (CO₂ emissions per unit of GDP) declined by 1% in 2020.

25
Feb

Spain added 1.7 GW of wind capacity in 2020

According to the Spanish wind association Asociación Empresarial Eólica (AEE), Spain’s installed wind capacity increased by 1,720 MW in 2020 and reached 27,446 MW at the end of 2020. In 2020, the autonomous communities with the largest wind capacity additions were Aragón (+1,051 MW to 4,159 MW), followed by Navarra (+263 MW to 1,302 MW), Castilla y León (+216 MW to 6,300 MW), Castilla La Mancha (+65 MW to 3,885 MW), Canary Islands (+29 MW to 450 MW), Andalusia (+24 MW to 3,478 MW) and Galicia (+24 MW to 3,829 MW). In total, there are 1,267 wind farms in Spain, with 21,431 installed wind turbines and wind power accounted for 21.9% of the electricity consumed in 2020.

25
Feb

France's installed renewable capacity rose by 2 GW to 55.9 GW in 2020

According to the French Renewable Energy Association, France’s installed renewable capacity, including hydropower, increased by more than 2 GW in 2020 (+1,105 MW of wind and +820 MW of solar) and reached 55.9 GW at the end of 2020. Hydropower capacity accounting for over half of the capacity, with 25.7 GW, followed by wind (17.6 GW), solar (10.4 GW) and bio-energies (2.2 GW). Renewable accounted for 26.9% of electricity consumption in mainland France in 2020, compared to 23.1% in 2019. This increase is due to a higher renewable production of 120.7 TWh (+10.4% compared to 2019) and to a lower electricity consumption due to the public health situation.

22
Feb

Brazil's installed wind capacity reached 17.7 GW at the end of 2020

According to the Brazilian wind association ABEEólica, Brazil had 17.7 GW of installed wind capacity at the end of 2020 (up from 928 MW at the end of 2010), with 695 wind power plants and more than 8,300 wind turbines. In 2020, Brazil installed nearly 2.3 GW of wind capacity. Most of Brazil’s installed wind capacity is located in Nordeste, with, most notably, 5.2 GW in Rio Grande do Norte, 4.9 GW in Bahia, 2.3 GW in Piauí and 2.2 GW in Ceará.

ABEEólica expects the Brazilian wind capacity to increase by nearly 11 GW by 2024, when it should reach 28.7 GW.