The coronavirus outbreak has had a negative impact on the electricity market in Brazil, such as lower demand and higher default rates. However, when it comes to renewable energy, the crisis is not affecting the sector as much. According to a study by the IEA (International Energy Agency), renewable energy will be the only energy source that is likely to see growth in demand by the end of 2020.
“Until now, renewable energy has been the most resilient energy source to Covid-19 lockdown measures. In the first quarter of 2020, for example, the global use of renewables was 1,5% higher than in the first quarter of 2019. The increase was driven by more than 100 GW of photovoltaic energy and around 60 GW of wind energy projects that were completed in 2019,” the survey said.
In addition Global Energy Review 2020 showed that in the first quarter of 2020, solar and wind reached 9% of generation, up from 8% in the first quarter of 2019. “Renewables are also resilient to lower electricity demand, as they are generally dispatched before from other sources due to low operating costs or regulations that provide them priority,” the study clarified.
The report's authors also undermined the frequent complaint heard by the renewables lobby that clean energy does not have sufficient political support. They point out that the priority shipment of renewables is one of the main reasons why solar, hydro and wind energy have proven resilient in the face of an unprecedented drop in energy demand.
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“In our estimate for 2020, demand for renewable energy increases by about 1% from 2019 levels, in contrast to all other energy sources. Renewable electricity generation grows by almost 5% despite supply chain and construction delays caused by the Covid-19 crisis. In doing so, renewables nearly reach 30% of electricity supply worldwide, halving the gap with coal (from 10 percentage points in 2019),” the Global Energy Review 2020 survey concluded.
