Introduction

This inventory of renewably-sourced electricity production aims to supply objective, quantified information about the development of the individual renewable electricity sectors across the world. The document, which is now in its eleventh annual edition, is intended for market and energy policy analysts, and all those who take an interest in the development of renewable energies. It naturally describes the trend for hydraulic power, and also extends to the various biomass sectors (solid biomass, biogas, renewable municipal waste, liquid biomass), wind power, geothermal power, solar (photovoltaic and electro-solar power) and ocean energies over the 1998-2008 period. The inventory also looks at the trends for fossil fuels (fuel oil, gas, coal) grouped together in a single category, nuclear energy and waste classified as non-renewable (industrial and non-renewable municipal waste) – i.e. the conventional sectors.

The advances made in each renewable sector can thus be measured in absolute terms through their production track records and comparatively by calculating their respective shares of total electricity production. The inventory also provides qualitative analyses of the variations observed and information on the energy context of each country and world region to make the statistical indicators more readily understandable.

The document adopts the same structure as in previous years. The first chapter characterises the context in which renewable electricity production is developing at world scale. The second chapter presents an overview of the world and regional dynamics of each renewable sector. The third presents the track record of each of these sectors in the electric system of eighty-seven countries and thirteen regions of the world (naturally including the European Union). Four countries have been added since the last edition – Serbia and Croatia, candidates for entry to the European Union, which both have hydropower and wind power sectors; Libya, whose inclusion finally gives an exhaustive picture of renewables in North Africa as the inventory already covered all the other countries in the region; and lastly Honduras, which completes the analysis of Central America.

The fourth and final chapter for its part looks at the development of decentralised rural electrification in developing countries using photovoltaic power plants, for all application sectors (domestic electrification, community electrification, water pumping and business applications). The countries covered in chapter four are Argentina, Brazil, India, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Mexico, the Philippines, Senegal and South Africa.