In the first half of the year, the global installed capacity of wind power and solar energy exceeded 1 terawatt

According to BloombergNEF, wind and solar installed more than 1 terawatt
in the first half of 2018.
According to its latest research, the massive deployment of Asian installations, led by China, has achieved this milestone
.

In the first half of the year, the global installed capacity of wind power and solar energy exceeded 1 terawatt

Deploying the first 1 terawatt capacity requires a reported investment of $2.
3 trillion
.
However, as the technology and market mature, deploying a second 1 terawatt will require an investment of $1.
23 trillion and a significant reduction
in cost.

Similarly, it took 40 years
to deploy the first 1 terawatt.
However, as higher global targets and lower prices allow more renewable energy assets to be deployed, analysts believe a second 1 terawatt capacity will be operational
as early as 2023.

90%
of the 1 terawatt capacity has been deployed over the past 10 years.
BloombergNEF believes that pioneering energy market design in Germany at the beginning of the 21st century is key
to this trend.
The German market fosters transparency
for investors and bankers.
Through feed-in tariff policies like the German "EEG", the risk of ROI calculation is much reduced, making this type of power generation beneficial to a growing number of financial stakeholders
.

The analysis further pointed out that wind power still maintained its leading position, accounting for 54%
of installed capacity.
However, BloombergNEF said solar could surpass wind power
by early 2020.
From the data provided, compared with wind power, the growth rate of solar energy is very fast
.
In China alone, analysts expect to deploy 1.
1 terawatts of solar
by 2050.

"1 terawatt is a huge achievement for the wind and solar industry, but as far as we're concerned, it's just the beginning
.
" Albert Cheung, head of analytics at BloombergNEF in London, said: "Wind and solar are winning the cost-first battle, so this milestone will only be the first
of many to come.
”

Capacity factor

The total installed global electricity capacity is 6.
2 terawatts, of which 1 terawatt is made up
of China's coal-fired power plants, the report said.
Reaching the same capacity for wind and solar is a good step, but BloombergNEF also draws attention to the fact that
different power sources have different capacity factors.

The capacity factor determines the extent to
which a power resource reaches its full theoretical potential.
According to BloombergNEF, the average capacity factor for wind farms worldwide is about 34 percent, although some of the best wind farms in the world can reach 60 percent
.
Solar capacity factors reportedly range from 10% in the UK to 19% in the US and 24% in the Atacama Desert in Chile
.
At the same time, it is estimated that coal-fired power plants have a capacity factor of 40%, while nuclear power plants may have a capacity factor of more than
80%.

As energy storage technologies become cheaper and more advanced, market designs are adapting to them, and grid operators and utilities see the potential
of renewable energy.
Grid operators can take advantage of more renewable energy because it does not affect grid stability and ultimately increases the capacity factor
of renewable energy.

"As we move into the second and third 1 terawatts, energy storage will become even more important
.
" "That's where we're seeing a lot of investment and innovation right now
," Cheung said.
”

，