Last month, a project was launched under the name “Global Renewable Energy Observatory”, which is the first interactive digital atlas that provides accurate data about the locations of solar and wind power stations around the world.
This atlas depends on modern satellite images that cover the period between 2018 to the end of 2024, and therefore it enables users to track the development of renewable energy projects during the years, in addition to monitoring changes in land use.
What distinguishes this atlas also is that it is available to everyone, and it constitutes a scientific reference that is based on data based on the accuracy of the algorithms used, which will develop their accuracy over time.
The Atlas shows that the solar energy spaces have multiplied about three times during the past seven years. As Asia leads this growth by 61% of the total global spaces, the globally complex solar energy has reached 886.66 gigawatts.
In the field of wind energy, the number of wild turbines increased to more than 375,000 turbines until mid -2024, and these turbines are mainly distributed between China and the United States in terms of the total number, while European countries are exported in terms of relative density.
Despite this growth, the data of the International Renewable Energy Agency indicates that achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement requires doubling the number of renewable projects annually. The current increase – despite its importance – is still not sufficient to reduce global temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
In particular, the recent reports of the International Energy Agency indicate that global energy demand in 2024 witnessed an increase of 2.2%, exceeding average growth in the past decade.
The largest increase in the electricity sector, which recorded a growth of 4.3%, was due to the high temperatures around the world, the expansion of electrical applications, in addition to increasing dependence on digital technologies and artificial intelligence.
As for the geographical distribution of electricity demand, more than 80% of the increase in demand from emerging and developing economies came. China tops the scene as the owner of the highest absolute increase in energy demand, followed by India in second place, where the demand for demand exceeded the total increase in all advanced economies combined.
It is clear from the above that the observatory data related to increased investments in renewable energy in the Asian continent are consistent with what was stated in the reports of the International Energy Agency, which indicate the export of developing economies – in particular China and India – for the growth of electricity demand.
The agency notes that this growth in demand came accompanied by the increase in the contribution of renewable energy sources, which constituted 38% of the total increase in global energy supplies, which is also consistent with the Energy Observatory.
Therefore, the observatory, by relying on satellite images, can confirm or refute any hypothesis offered by international agencies, as it represents an independent tool to verify the numbers published in the renewable energy sector, which will open the door for many future applications that will contribute to supporting international efforts to monitor progress in renewable energy projects in a way that supports environmental agendas.
* Director of the Energy and Environment Program – Bahrain Center for Strategic and International Studies and Energy «Studies»
