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Plummeting prices of key components such as solar PV panels are allowing more than just the world’s wealthiest nations to build renewables infrastructure, which the report cited as a key reason for the coming rapid growth.

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“Deployment is expected to spread out geographically with increased activity in emerging markets,” Didier Houssin, the IEA’s director of energy markets and security, said on last week’s webcast from Paris. “New deployments are creating economies of scale and a virtuous cycle of improved competition and cost reduction.”

Canada was not singled out among the 15 key markets for renewable energy the report said account for about 80% of the world’s renewable power generation, though Steve Lewis believes Canadians are ideally positioned to ride the coming renewables wave.

“From a Canadian perspective I think there is a great opportunity for some Canadian players because we have access to capital, we have extremely stable and great companies sitting on cash, and if they wished to perhaps pick up some global development opportunities I think there is a great opportunity to have that happen today,” Mr. Lewis, senior vice-president of the Canadian renewable energy group for global consulting giant Ernst & Young LLP, said. “If they have the desire to strike out globally I think this is an excellent opportunity to go and do it.”

More than US$250-billion was invested in renewable energy projects globally last year, an increase of more than 20% from 2010. The opportunity is such that some Canadian companies didn’t wait for any official reports before trying to get out in front of the global rush toward renewables.