Environment Energy Mining Watch SEE|News|SEE Region, Countries worldwide added a record 295 GW of renewable electricity capacity last year

SEE Region, Countries worldwide added a record 295 GW of renewable electricity capacity last year

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Countries worldwide added a record 295 GW of renewable electricity capacity last year, increasing the stock by 9.6%. Still, green energy expansion in most countries in the region was slower than the global pace, except for Bulgaria and Cyprus which recorded stunning growth.

Bulgaria emerged as a significant player in the Balkans as its overall renewable electricity capacity surged 14.8% to 5.2 GW. IRENA attributed the entire growth to solar power. The sector expanded by a whopping 52.8% to 1.95 GW.

Cyprus posted an even more stunning increase, 30.9%, than in the previous year, when it achieved 21.3%. Total capacity reached 635 MW. Again, photovoltaics amounted for the entire rise, expanding 47.3% to 464 MW.

The remaining countries of Southeastern Europe had weak or zero overall growth, while the board also showed some negative revisions against the figures from the previous reports. Romania inched higher to an otherwise strong 11.14 GW, of which solar power accounted for 1.41 GW against 3 GW in wind energy.

Photovoltaics were the only vibrant segment for the rest, though total solar power capacities remain modest. Montenegro saw a rise of 19 MW to 26 MW and Serbia added 85 MW to hit 137 MW. Bosnia and Herzegovina almost doubled its capacity to 107 MW and Croatia grew to 182 MW last year from 138 MW.

Most Balkan countries have a share of renewable electricity plants higher than the world’s 40%, the report revealed. Albania and Montenegro are ranked the highest, with 96.3% and 78.9%, respectively, followed by Croatia’s 72.4%. Serbia (35.1%) and Kosovo* (16.7%) are the only ones below the line, Serbian Monitor reports.

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