*1.2. Recent Situation and Trends*

In 2019, 60 GW of wind power capacity was added globally, with the cumulative capacity reaching 650 GW. Costs have fallen rapidly for both onshore and offshore wind power, increasing dramatically the amount of bid prices in auctions around the world, especially in the past year. This development can be explained considering the constant

technology innovation, the reduced financing costs and the ever-growing competition in the industry, with electric utilities and large oil and gas companies continuing to invest further in that direction. Additionally, incentives such as robust regulatory reforms, wind energy's cost-competitiveness and its potential environmental benefits show that there is no expected deceleration in the wind power sector progress. Finally, the world's first commercial floating wind park has been commissioned in Scotland, while the sizes of turbines continued to increase, with some manufacturers producing turbines of up to 10 MW.

Meanwhile, development in solar PV sector is even faster, with almost 100 GW of new capacity added and increased the global capacity to 580 GW at the end of 2019. This growth can be explained mainly due to the raised awareness of the technology's potential to alleviate pollution, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and provide energy access to developing countries. Subsequently, intense competition, increasing efficiencies and reduction in energy costs have led to record-low auction prices.

Hydro-pumped storage advancements over the past few years continue to upgrade an already proven and reliable technology that represented more than 95% of all energy storage solutions globally, in terms of cumulative capacity. These include improved efficiencies with modern reversible pump-turbines, adjustable-speed pumped turbines, advanced equipment controls such as static frequency converters and generator insulation systems, as well as innovative underground construction methods and design capabilities, leading to faster response times of load follow for intermittent renewables more efficiently and cost effectively. Globally, there are approximately 270 pumped storage plants either operating or under construction, representing a combined generating capacity of over 127,000 MW. Of these total installations, 36 units consist of adjustable speed machines, 17 of which are currently in operation, totaling 3569 MW and 19 of which are under construction, totaling 4558 MW [23].
