Research firm IHS Markit has published a new report revealing the top clean energy technology trends to look out for in 2021.

  • Renewable energy installations will rebound by double-digits after the COVID-19 impasse

A strong rebound of renewable installations, a continued surge in green hydrogen growth, and a focus on recycling will be among the key themes in the clean energy technology space this year, according to the report.

Solar energy installations to grow by 30%

Annual solar installations are predicted to grow by over 30% in 2021 after volatile demand in 2020, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although global installation numbers increasingly de-link from reliance on the Chinese market, China will still account for 35% of global annual installations in 2021. There are now 18 markets globally that have +1GW cumulative solar installations, compared to just six a decade earlier.

This strong market demand comes despite an increase in production costs (up 10–15%) driving an historic surge in module prices, especially in the first quarter. However, production costs are set to drop in the second half of the year, lowering module prices and laying the ground for record solar installations at the end of 2021. Edurne Zoco, executive director clean energy technology at IHS Markit, said: “We will see for the first time a situation in which global demand grows over 30% despite high module prices in the first half of the year, which is […]

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