However, Oslo-based consultancy ECOHZ, which released the figure, warns that the rapid growth in demand masks a lagging supply curve.

"What makes the continued demand growth in 2015 even more significant is a parallel development of a falling supply curve,” says ECOHZ managing director Tom Lindberg.

“Market supply – the issuance of Guarantees of Origin – declined by nearly 30% compared to Q1 in 2014.