Overview of Global Renewable Energy Development as of 2008

According to the REN 21 Renewable Global status report, global power capacity from new renewable energy sources (excluding large hydro) reached 280,000 megawatts (MW) in 2008 – a 16 percent rise from the 240,000 MW in 2007 and nearly three times the capacity of the United States nuclear sector. During 2008, a number of governments enacted new policies, and many countries set ambitious targets. Today, at least 73 countries have renewable energy policy targets, up from 66 at the end of 2007. In response to the financial crisis, several governments have directed economic stimulus funding towards the new technologies in the renewable energy sector & energy efficiency measures, including the U.S. package that will invest $70 billion over ten years in renewable energy. This encouraging development comes at a time when by and large the major economies of the world are still reeling under the impact of the prevailing economic recession. According to the REN 21 Report - In 2008, renewable energy resisted the credit crunch more successfully than many other sectors for much of the year and new investment reached $120 billion, up 16 percent over 2007. However, by the end of the year, the impact of the crisis was beginning to show with the pace of new investments slightly slackening. Climate change and energy security, two of the main drivers of the renewable energy sector, are still at work. As the REN21 report shows, the renewable energy sector offers an essential path for growth that can stimulate economic recovery and job creation without the burden of increasing carbon emissions.
Let us have a look at some of the key RE Technologies that are the main stay of the contemporary Renewable energy sector.