Even after Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on almost everything else, the new year begins with surging growth for renewable energy. Growth will likely continue into 2021, fueled in part by last year’s major turning points. To understand what’s driving the renewable expansion—as well as what might hold it back—we’ve put together a guide to the biggest recent developments and the major forces shaping the global renewable market in 2021.
- America’s solar broke good and bad records—in the same year
- Installations doubled in China
- A battery boom in the U.S.
- Spain emerges as solar powerhouse
- Renewables top fossil fuels in European energy
- U.K. goes coal-free for more than two months
- Solar installations dropped in India—by a lot
- Australia’s grid is overwhelmed
- Solar-panel makers face rising prices
- A new climate-change risk