Demand for renewables documented with Guarantees of Origin has seen a record rise in the first half of 2020 by 15%, according to statistics released by the Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB).
Norwegian consultancy ECOHZ, which analysed the statistics, said a continued growth of 15% in 2020 is “especially impressive” given the Covid-19 pandemic.
ECOHZ managing director Tom Lindberg said: “The demand for renewable energy documented with Guarantees of Origin shows record growth during the first half of 2020, despite the negative effect Covid-19 is having on global and local economies.
“The fact that especially corporate demand for renewables seems unaffected is truly inspiring during these unusual and trying times.
“The demand for renewables reached 530 TWh at the close of Q2 2020. This is the highest figure recorded, even compared to previous full years – with the year 2019 being the only exception.”
Lindberg said much of the continued growth will come from a growing group of corporates with extensive energy use across international markets.
“We are also seeing the effect of numerous market and policy changes deployed the last few years. Among these are EU’s new Renewable Directive strengthening and clarifying the use of Guarantees of Origin,” he added.
Other factors driving uptake of the certificates include growing emphasis to report and document sustainability results at global and local levels, in the form of “full disclosure” policies in Europe, as well as the emergence of new platforms for enabling access to renewables, including new auction concepts in countries.
“Lastly, a nascent development to purchase and report renewables on a monthly basis, and in some cases on shorter time intervals (such as day, hour) also contributes to a more robust market. There are very few reasons these developments will not continue,” Lindberg added.
He also highlighted the inclusion of four new AIB countries in 2020: Serbia, Slovakia, Greece and Portugal.
“These countries have contributed little to the volume growth so far in 2020 but will likely have a positive effect moving forward,” said Lindberg.
“Even with a strong growth in the supply, market demand easily outpaced supply in 2019 … The 2019 growth is even more impressive given the that historical annual growth (CAGR) is 15.6% in the period from 2010 to 2019,” Lindberg said.
AIB’s data also reveals that hydropower’s share of renewable energy Guarantees of Origin in Europe is falling, from 64% in 2018, to 61% in 2019, down from 90% a decade ago.
“The falling share of hydro can primarily be explained by greater availability of both solar and wind,” said Lindberg.
AIB found wind has increased from a 19% share in 2018, to 23% in 2019, while solar’s share has grown to 5% in 2019.