Renewables are on the rise. With increased efforts to combat climate change, renewables have emerged as the key tool, resulting in considerable increases in installed capacity, particularly in solar PV and wind. Renewables did unexpectedly well in 2020, despite the economic crisis and a significant pandemic effect, thanks to renewable-energy favorable energy regulations, improving technologies, and lowering costs.

In 2020, solar PV installations reached 138 GW, with wind power adding 114 GW.

In this report, approximately 20,000 patent applications filed worldwide between 2011 and 2021 in the field of solar energy, which is one of the most popular renewable technologies, were examined.