News Summary: Global renewable energy growing

GREEN GROWTH: Renewable energy is growing fast around the world and will edge out natural gas as the second biggest source of electricity, after coal, by 2016, according to a five-year outlook published Wednesday by the International Energy Agency.

CHANGING MIX: Renewable power, including hydropower, is expected to increase by 40 percent in the next five years. By 2018 it will generate a quarter of the world's electricity, according to the report, up from 20 percent in 2011.

DARK CLOUDS: Still, renewable power is facing uncertain times as subsidies in developed countries wane. And the IEA said in April the world's energy is no cleaner than it was 20 years ago because of rising reliance on coal-fired generation in the developing world.