[IEA: The global renewable energy installed capacity in 2023 is nearly 510GW] In a recent groundbreaking report, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that the world will install nearly 510GW of renewable energy capacity in 2023, a 50% surge compared to the previous year. This growth was primarily driven by the rapid growth of photovoltaic systems installed worldwide, which accounted for three-quarters of new renewable energy capacity installed worldwide. China has become a global renewable energy powerhouse, with as much installed PV system capacity in 2023 as will be installed worldwide in 2022, while wind power installations soared 66% year on year, showing impressive growth. Europe, the United States and Brazil also experienced record high growth in installed renewable energy capacity. The Renewable Energy 2023 Report, published by the International Energy Agency, is the first comprehensive assessment report released after the COP28 climate conference. According to the report, under current policies, the cumulative installed capacity of renewable energy generation facilities worldwide is expected to reach 7,300GW by 2028. This forecast shows that photovoltaic systems and wind power are the main contributors to the growth of global renewable energy installed capacity, accounting for 95%. Notably, by early 2025, renewable energy is expected to overtake coal as the world's main source of electricity. However, despite this significant progress, further efforts are needed to achieve the goal of tripling installed renewable energy capacity by 2030. Editor/Xu Shengpeng

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• 2024.03.18 18:09
• [Europe: Install solar on the roof of all new residential buildings from 2030]
• The European Parliament has formally adopted the revised Energy Performance Directive for Buildings (EPBD), which will become law after formal approval by the Council of Ministers. The directive requires all new residential buildings in the EU to be powered by rooftop solar from 2030, and public buildings and non-residential buildings will need to be phased in according to their scale and technical and economic assessments. The EPBD aims to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector in line with the EU's goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Currently, the building sector accounts for 40% of the EU's total energy consumption and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions. The aim of improving energy efficiency in buildings is to enhance energy independence and sustainability in this sector by reducing the use of imported oil and gas fuels. Under the forthcoming rules, all new buildings occupied or owned by public bodies will need to be zero-emission by 2028, and all new buildings from 2030 onwards. Member States need to clearly plan the measures taken to decarbonize heating systems in order to phase out fossil fuels in heating and cooling by 2040. From 2025, stand-alone fossil fuel boilers will no longer receive subsidies, but hybrid heating systems that use renewable energy will be eligible for financial incentives. Editor/Xu Shengpeng

• 2024.03.18 18:09
• [Germany plans to build fusion power plants]
• Germany's Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger has announced a new fusion research funding program aimed at paving the way for the construction of the first fusion power plant in Germany by 2040. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has long supported fusion research at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Garching and Greifswald, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Jurich Research Centre (FZJ). "This institutional funding is complemented by the second pillar of the new Project Funding Scheme," the ministry said. "The project funding aims to advance the technologies, components and materials required for fusion power plants in the first phase by the early 2030s. The second phase focuses on integration into the power plant design. The funding program is open to technology and addresses so-called magnetic confinement and laser fusion technology." In order to achieve the construction of fusion power stations as soon as possible, the program is essentially application-oriented collaborative research as a form of public-private partnership. Projects on specific sub-technologies will be carried out jointly by research institutions, universities and industry. This allows new findings from the research to be applied at an early stage and know-how to be transferred to domestic industries for further use, the ministry said. Editor/Xu Shengpeng