In 2013, renewable power capacity expanded at its fastest pace to date. Renewable power generation continued to grow strongly, reaching almost 22% of the global mix, compared with 21% in 2012 and 18% in 2007. Globally, renewable electricity generation is now on par with that of natural gas, which remained relatively stable in 2013. Investment in new renewable power capacity topped USD 250 billion globally in 2013 and is likely to remain at high levels.
Nevertheless, policy and market risks increasingly cloud the development picture, raising concerns over how fast renewables can scale up to meet long-term deployment objectives. Just when renewables are becoming a cost-competitive option in an increasing number of cases, policy uncertainty is rising in some key OECD markets.