Top five renewable energy trends in 2018

Five trends of renewable energy in 2018

the price of solar and wind power fell sharply in 2017, and the United States withdrew from the Paris Agreement. What will happen to the renewable energy market this year

the cost of renewable energy will continue to decline

since 2009, the cost of solar power has decreased by about 62%, while the cost of offshore wind power has also decreased by nearly half in recent years, reaching £ 57 per MWh by the end of 2017. Therefore, some places have seen the price of solar and wind power hit a record low, and are currently building new solar and wind farms without government subsidies

Jennifer, deputy editor of renewable energy world magazine ˙ Jennifer delony believes that the rise of renewable energy project auctions at the national level is a trend that will further reduce the cost of renewable energy power generation in India and other countries, especially the cost of solar power generation

mark, technical director of oil and gas of ING Group, a Dutch energy giant ˙ Sisomi ˙ virtue ˙ Mark sisouw de zilwa pointed out that although renewable energy investment remained at a high level in 2017, it did not increase significantly, mainly due to the decline in renewable energy prices and overcapacity in China, Germany and other countries. This trend is expected to continue in 2018

China will continue to promote its energy plan

as one of the world's largest energy consumers, China is also a global leader in solar power generation. Over the past 10 years, China's solar power generation capacity has increased nearly 800 times. It is estimated that solar panels with a power generation capacity of more than 54 gigawatts will be installed in 2017 alone. James Wilde, managing director of the innovation policy market of Carbon Trust, a consulting company, said: "China has exceeded the 2020 solar installed capacity target, and it is estimated that the 2020 wind power installed capacity target will be completed in 2019. They are making great progress."

in general, China plans to invest 292billion pounds to develop renewable energy by 2020. At the Paris climate change conference held at the end of 2015, China promised to improve the environment by reducing the use of coal. Experts predict that China's carbon emissions will peak in 2030

on December 19, 2017, China launched the carbon emissions trading system, which is also the largest carbon emissions trading system in the world. The implementation of this policy will effectively control the carbon emissions of China's coal-fired power plants

in addition, China has eight carbon capture and storage projects under way. China is expected to become a global leader in the manufacture and use of electric vehicles. Lisa, policy advisor of E3G, an energy think tank ˙ "China has invested more in R & D than Europe, so they are really promoting the development of the renewable energy industry," said Lisa Fischer

large companies take stronger action

by the end of 2016, target, a large American retailer, had installed 147mw of solar energy in its 300 stores, becoming one of the leading solar energy users in the United States

Apple's new headquarters in California uses 100% renewable energy. Goldman Sachs is one of the global banks that have joined re100. Re100 is an action convened by the climate organization and carried out in cooperation with the non-profit organization carbon Information Disclosure Project, which aims to promote 100% use of renewable energy by the world's most influential enterprises

Wilde predicts that more companies will commit to using renewable energy in 2018, which is driven by the decline in renewable energy costs. Many companies want to gain energy security and get the opportunity to participate in the aging and distributed power market

ing senior economist Yong Qi new materials make lithium batteries more "longevity" helben ˙ Gerben hieminga said that green investors also increasingly hope that companies can disclose the risks in the process of coping with climate change. The activities of non-governmental organizations are also affecting these companies - a trend that is expected to intensify in 2018

more jobs will be provided in the field of renewable energy

according to the report of the International Renewable Energy Agency, currently there are about 9.8 million people working in the field of renewable energy, and the accuracy of the experimental results is difficult to guarantee. In fact, wind turbine service technicians and solar panel installers are currently the fastest-growing jobs in the United States. The 17.5 billion pound investment in offshore wind power in the UK will also create thousands of new jobs

Mark said, "compared with the fossil energy industry, the renewable energy industry is quite labor-intensive. In order to provide the same electricity as coal-fired power plants or natural gas power plants, you need a large number of wind turbines. These wind turbines have many components, so you also need more maintenance personnel to maintain their operation."

however, although the demand for workers is increasing, there is still a shortage of technicians, which may limit the speed of energy transformation

competition in the battery market will become increasingly fierce

in 2018, the world's largest battery factory - Tesla gigafactory super battery factory in Nevada, the United States - will be completed. China is unwilling to be outdone and announced that it will review the installation accuracy of the tension machine. By 2021, the total capacity of Chinese battery enterprises will exceed 120 gigawatt hours. In addition, Sweden, Hungary, Poland and Germany are also planning to build large battery factories

in April 2017, the British government announced a plan called "Faraday challenge", which aims to invest 246million pounds, making Britain at the forefront of the energy storage market

however, it should be noted that lithium batteries are not the only form of energy storage that can achieve growth in 2018. "There are also pumped energy storage, compressed air energy storage, and many other ways can be used to store electricity." Mark said