Renewable Energy 101 – What is Renewable Energy?

Sunlight, geothermal heat, wind, tides and rain are natural resources that can help generate energy and it is called renewable energy. In 2006, 18% of energy consumed globally came from renewable energy and 13% came from traditional biomass, which includes wood-burning.

The next largest renewable energy source is Hydroelectricity which provides 3% (15% of electricity generated globally), followed by solar hot water/heating, which contributed up to 1.3%. 0.8% of the final energy consumption is provided by wind power, geothermal energy, ocean energy and solar power.Every year, wind power grows at the rate of 30 percent, with a capacity of over 100 GW installed all over the world and is widely used in the United States and in several European countries. In 2006, the photovoltaic power stations manufactured more than 2,000 MW and these photovoltaic (PV) energy stations are quite popular in Spain and Germany

Renewable energy such as solar thermal power can be found in the Spain and in the USA, the Mojave Desert’s 354 MW SEGS power plant is the largest. If you go to The Geysers in California, you can find the world’s biggest geothermal energy installation. The rated capacity of the geothermal power installation is 750 MW. One of the largest renewable energy programs in the world can be found in Brazil, involving using sugar cane to produce ethanol fuel, and ethanol contributes 18 percent of the Brazil’s automotive fuel. In USA, ethanol fuel is also widely available

Even though there are many large-scale renewable energy production and projects, renewable energy technologies are also recommended for remote and rural areas, where energy is very important for human development. Kenya’s household solar ownership is the highest in the world. About 30,000 small solar power systems (20-100 watt) are sold per year.

The market for the many forms of renewable energy is increasing even though some renewable energy technologies were criticized for being unsightly or intermittent. High oil prices coupled with the climate change concerns and increasing government support are driving increasing incentives, renewable energy legislation and commercialization.Renewable energy industries will be able to weather the 2009 economic crisis better than many other sectors with the new government regulation, spending and policies

Tagged as: Energy, Renewable