fbpx
Wikipedia

Renewable energy

January 09, 2023

For the journal, see Renewable Energy (journal).

Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat.[2] Although most renewable energy sources are sustainable, some are not. For example, some biomass sources are considered unsustainable at current rates of exploitation.[3][4] Renewable energy often provides energy for electricity generation to a grid, air and water heating/cooling, and stand-alone power systems. Renewable energy technology projects are typically large-scale, but they are also suited to rural and remote areas and developing countries, where energy is often crucial in human development.[5][6] Renewable energy is often deployed together with further electrification, which has several benefits: electricity can move heat or objects efficiently, and is clean at the point of consumption.[7][8] In addition, electrification with renewable energy is more efficient and therefore leads to significant reductions in primary energy requirements.[9]

Renewable energy capacity additions in 2020 expanded by more than 45% from 2019, including 90% more new wind power (green) and a 23% expansion of new solar photovoltaic installations (yellow).[1]

From 2011 to 2021, renewable energy has grown from 20% to 28% of global electricity supply. Fossil energy shrunk from 68% to 62%, and nuclear from 12% to 10%. The share of hydropower decreased from 16% to 15% while power from sun and wind increased from 2% to 10%. Biomass and geothermal energy grew from 2% to 3%. There are 3,146 gigawatts installed in 135 countries, while 156 countries have laws regulating the renewable energy sector.[10] [11] In 2021, China accounted for almost half of the global increase in renewable electricity.[12]

Globally there are over 10 million jobs associated with the renewable energy industries, with solar photovoltaics being the largest renewable employer.[13] Renewable energy systems are rapidly becoming more efficient and cheaper and their share of total energy consumption is increasing,[14] with a large majority of worldwide newly installed electricity capacity being renewable.[15] In most countries, photovoltaic solar or onshore wind are the cheapest new-build electricity.[16]

Many nations around the world already have renewable energy contributing more than 20% of their total energy supply, with some generating over half their electricity from renewables.[17] A few countries generate all their electricity using renewable energy.[18] National renewable energy markets are projected to continue to grow strongly in the 2020s and beyond.[19] Studies have shown that a global transition to 100% renewable energy across all sectors – power, heat, transport and desalination – is feasible and economically viable.[20][21][22] Renewable energy resources exist over wide geographical areas, in contrast to fossil fuels, which are concentrated in a limited number of countries. Deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies is resulting in significant energy security, climate change mitigation, and economic benefits.[23] However renewables are being hindered by hundreds of billions of dollars of fossil fuel subsidies.[24] In international public opinion surveys there is strong support for renewables such as solar power and wind power.[25][26] But the International Energy Agency said in 2021 that to reach net zero carbon emissions more effort is needed to increase renewables, and called for generation to increase by about 12% a year to 2030.[27]

Overview

See also: Outline of solar energy and Lists of renewable energy topics
 
Coal, oil, and natural gas remain the primary global energy sources even as renewables have begun rapidly increasing.[28]
 
PlanetSolar, the world's largest solar-powered boat and the first ever solar electric vehicle to circumnavigate the globe (in 2012)

Definition

See also: Sustainable energy

Renewable energy flows involve natural phenomena such as sunlight, wind, tides, plant growth, and geothermal heat, as the International Energy Agency explains:[29]

Renewable energy is derived from natural processes that are replenished constantly. In its various forms, it derives directly from the sun, or from heat generated deep within the earth. Included in the definition is electricity and heat generated from solar, wind, ocean, hydropower, biomass, geothermal resources, and biofuels and hydrogen derived from renewable resources.

Drivers and benefits

Renewable energy stands in contrast to fossil fuels, which are being used far more quickly than they are being replenished. Renewable energy resources and significant opportunities for energy efficiency exist over wide geographical areas, in contrast to other energy sources, which are concentrated in a limited number of countries. Rapid deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency, and technological diversification of energy sources, would result in significant energy security and economic benefits.[23] Solar and wind power have got much cheaper.[30] In some cases it will be cheaper to transition to these sources as opposed to continuing to use the current, inefficient, fossil fuels. It would also reduce environmental pollution such as air pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels, and improve public health, reduce premature mortalities due to pollution and save associated health costs that could amount to trillions of dollars annually.[31][32] Multiple analyses of decarbonization strategies have found that quantified health benefits can significantly offset the costs of implementing these strategies.[33][34]

Climate change concerns, coupled with the continuing fall in the costs of some renewable energy equipment, such as wind turbines and solar panels, are driving increased use of renewables.[25] New government spending, regulation and policies helped the industry weather the global financial crisis better than many other sectors.[35] As of 2019, however, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency, renewables overall share in the energy mix (including power, heat and transport) needs to grow six times faster, in order to keep the rise in average global temperatures "well below" 2.0 °C (3.6 °F) during the present century, compared to pre-industrial levels.[36]

Scale

Main article: Renewable energy § Market and industry trends
Main article: Renewable energy commercialization

A household's solar panels, and batteries if they have them, can often either be used for just that household or if connected to an electrical grid can be aggregated with millions of others.[37] Over 44 million households use biogas made in household-scale digesters for lighting and/or cooking, and more than 166 million households rely on a new generation of more-efficient biomass cookstoves.[38][needs update] According to the research, a nation must reach a certain point in its growth before it can take use of more renewable energy. In our words, its addition changed how crucial input factors (labor and capital) connect to one another, lowering their overall elasticity and increasing the apparent economies of scale.[39] United Nations' eighth Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that renewable energy has the ability to lift the poorest nations to new levels of prosperity.[40] At the national level, at least 30 nations around the world already have renewable energy contributing more than 20% of energy supply.[41] Although many countries have various policy targets for longer-term shares of renewable energy these tend to be only for the power sector,[42] including a 40% target of all electricity generated for the European Union by 2030.[43]

Uses

Renewable energy often displaces conventional fuels in four areas: electricity generation, hot water/space heating, transportation, and rural (off-grid) energy services.[44]

Power generation

More than a quarter of electricity is generated from renewables as of 2021.[45]

Heating and cooling

Solar water heating makes an important contribution to renewable heat in many countries, most notably in China, which now has 70% of the global total (180  GWth). Most of these systems are installed on multi-family apartment buildings[46] and meet a portion of the hot water needs of an estimated 50–60 million households in China. Worldwide, total installed solar water heating systems meet a portion of the water heating needs of over 70 million households. In Sweden, national use of biomass energy has surpassed that of oil. Heat pumps provide both heating and cooling, and also flatten the electric demand curve and are thus an increasing priority[47][48] Renewable thermal energy is also growing rapidly.[49] About 10% of heating and cooling energy is from renewables.[45]

Transportation

 
A bus fueled by biodiesel

One of the efforts to decarbonize transportation is the increased use of electric vehicles (EVs).[50] Despite that and the use of biofuels, such as biojet, less than 4% of transport energy is from renewables.[51] Occasionally hydrogen fuel cells are used for heavy transport.[52]

Mainstream technologies

Solar energy

Main articles: Solar energy and Solar power
 
Satellite image of the Bhadla Solar Park in India, the largest solar park in the world
 
Global map of horizontal irradiation.[53]
Global electricity power generation capacity 849.5 GW (2021)[54]
Global electricity power generation capacity annual growth rate 26% (2012-2021)[55]
Share of global electricity generation 2% (2018)[56]
Levelized cost per megawatt hour Utility-scale photovoltaics: USD 38.343 (2019)[57]
Primary technologies Photovoltaics, concentrated solar power, solar thermal collector
Other energy applications Water heating; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC); cooking; process heat; water treatment

Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, is harnessed using a range of ever-evolving technologies such as solar heating, photovoltaics, concentrated solar power (CSP), concentrator photovoltaics (CPV), solar architecture and artificial photosynthesis.[58][59] Most new renewable energy is solar.[60] Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on the way they capture, convert, and distribute solar energy. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air. Active solar technologies encompass solar thermal energy, using solar collectors for heating, and solar power, converting sunlight into electricity either directly using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP).

A photovoltaic system converts light into electrical direct current (DC) by taking advantage of the photoelectric effect.[61] Solar PV has turned into a multi-billion, fast-growing industry, continues to improve its cost-effectiveness, and has the most potential of any renewable technologies together with CSP.[62][63] Concentrated solar power (CSP) systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. Commercial concentrated solar power plants were first developed in the 1980s. CSP-Stirling has by far the highest efficiency among all solar energy technologies.

In 2011, the International Energy Agency said that "the development of affordable, inexhaustible and clean solar energy technologies will have huge longer-term benefits. It will increase countries' energy security through reliance on an indigenous, inexhaustible and mostly import-independent resource, enhance sustainability, reduce pollution, lower the costs of mitigating climate change, and keep fossil fuel prices lower than otherwise. These advantages are global. Hence the additional costs of the incentives for early deployment should be considered learning investments; they must be wisely spent and need to be widely shared".[58] Solar power accounts for 505 GW annually, which is about 2% of the world's electricity. Solar energy can be harnessed anywhere that receives sunlight; however, the amount of solar energy that can be harnessed for electricity generation is influenced by weather conditions, geographic location and time of day.[64] According to chapter 6 of the IPCC 2022 climate mitigation report, the global potential of direct solar energy far exceeds that of any other renewable energy resource. It is well beyond the total amount of energy needed in order to support mitigation over the current century.[65] Australia has the largest proportion of solar electricity in the world, supplying 9.9% of the country's electrical demand in 2020.[66] More than 30 per cent of Australian households now have rooftop solar PV, with a combined capacity exceeding 11 GW.[67]

Wind power

Main article: Wind power
 
Wind energy generation by region over time.[68]
 
Global map of wind power density potential.[69]
Global electricity power generation capacity 824.9 GW (2021)[70]
Global electricity power generation capacity annual growth rate 13% (2012-2021)[71]
Share of global electricity generation 5% (2018)[56]
Levelized cost per megawatt hour Land-based wind: USD 30.165 (2019)[72]
Primary technology Wind turbine
Other energy applications Windmill, windpump

Air flow can be used to run wind turbines. Modern utility-scale wind turbines range from around 600 kW to 9 MW of rated power. The power available from the wind is a function of the cube of the wind speed, so as wind speed increases, power output increases up to the maximum output for the particular turbine.[73] Areas where winds are stronger and more constant, such as offshore and high-altitude sites, are preferred locations for wind farms. Typically, full load hours of wind turbines vary between 16 and 57 percent annually but might be higher in particularly favorable offshore sites.[74]

Wind-generated electricity met nearly 4% of global electricity demand in 2015, with nearly 63 GW of new wind power capacity installed. Wind energy was the leading source of new capacity in Europe, the US and Canada, and the second largest in China. In Denmark, wind energy met more than 40% of its electricity demand while Ireland, Portugal and Spain each met nearly 20%.[75]

Globally, the long-term technical potential of wind energy is believed to be five times total current global energy production, or 40 times current electricity demand, assuming all practical barriers needed were overcome. This would require wind turbines to be installed over large areas, particularly in areas of higher wind resources, such as offshore. As offshore wind speeds average ~90% greater than that of land, offshore resources can contribute substantially more energy than land-stationed turbines.[76]

Hydropower

Main articles: Hydroelectricity and Hydropower
 
The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in China
Global electricity power generation capacity 1,230.0 GW (2021)[77]
Global electricity power generation capacity annual growth rate 2.5% (2012-2021)[78]
Share of global electricity generation 16% (2018)[56]
Levelized cost per megawatt hour USD 65.581 (2019)[79]
Primary technology Dam
Other energy applications Pumped storage, mechanical power

Since water is about 800 times denser than air, even a slow flowing stream of water, or moderate sea swell, can yield considerable amounts of energy. Water can generate electricity with a conversion efficiency of about 90%, which is the highest rate in renewable energy.[80] There are many forms of water energy:

  • Historically, hydroelectric power came from constructing large hydroelectric dams and reservoirs, which are still popular in developing countries.[81] The largest of them are the Three Gorges Dam (2003) in China and the Itaipu Dam (1984) built by Brazil and Paraguay.
  • Small hydro systems are hydroelectric power installations that typically produce up to 50 MW of power. They are often used on small rivers or as a low-impact development on larger rivers. China is the largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world and has more than 45,000 small hydro installations.[82]
  • Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity plants derive energy from rivers without the creation of a large reservoir. The water is typically conveyed along the side of the river valley (using channels, pipes and/or tunnels) until it is high above the valley floor, whereupon it can be allowed to fall through a penstock to drive a turbine. A run-of-river plant may still produce a large amount of electricity, such as the Chief Joseph Dam on the Columbia River in the United States.[83] However many run-of-the-river hydro power plants are micro hydro or pico hydro plants.

Hydropower is produced in 150 countries, with the Asia-Pacific region generating 32 percent of global hydropower in 2010.[needs update] Of the top 50 countries by percentage of electricity generated from renewables, 46 are primarily hydroelectric.[84] There are now seven hydroelectricity stations larger than 10 GW (10,000 MW) worldwide, see table below.

Rank Station Country Location Capacity (MW)
1. Three Gorges Dam   China 30°49′15″N 111°00′08″E / 30.82083°N 111.00222°E / 30.82083; 111.00222 (Three Gorges Dam) 22,500
2. Baihetan Dam   China 27°13′23″N 102°54′11″E / 27.22306°N 102.90306°E / 27.22306; 102.90306 (Three Gorges Dam) 16,000
3. Itaipu Dam   Brazil
  Paraguay		 25°24′31″S 54°35′21″W / 25.40861°S 54.58917°W / -25.40861; -54.58917 (Itaipu Dam) 14,000
4. Xiluodu Dam   China 28°15′35″N 103°38′58″E / 28.25972°N 103.64944°E / 28.25972; 103.64944 (Xiluodu Dam) 13,860
5. Belo Monte Dam   Brazil 03°06′57″S 51°47′45″W / 3.11583°S 51.79583°W / -3.11583; -51.79583 (Belo Monte Dam) 11,233
6. Guri Dam   Venezuela 07°45′59″N 62°59′57″W / 7.76639°N 62.99917°W / 7.76639; -62.99917 (Guri Dam) 10,235
7. Wudongde Dam   China 26°20′2″N 102°37′48″E / 26.33389°N 102.63000°E / 26.33389; 102.63000 (Three Gorges Dam) 10,200

Much hydropower is flexible, thus complementing wind and solar.[85] Wave power, which captures the energy of ocean surface waves, and tidal power, converting the energy of tides, are two forms of hydropower with future potential; however, they are not yet widely employed commercially.[86] A demonstration project operated by the Ocean Renewable Power Company on the coast of Maine, and connected to the grid, harnesses tidal power from the Bay of Fundy, location of the world's highest tidal flow. Ocean thermal energy conversion, which uses the temperature difference between cooler deep and warmer surface waters, currently has no economic feasibility.[87][88]

Bioenergy

Main articles: Biomass, Biogas, and Biofuel
 
Sugarcane plantation to produce ethanol in Brazil
 
A CHP power station using wood to supply 30,000 households in France
Global electricity power generation capacity 143.4 GW (2021)[89]
Global electricity power generation capacity annual growth rate 7.1% (2012-2021)[90]
Share of global electricity generation 2% (2018)[56]
Levelized cost per megawatt hour USD 118.908 (2019)[91]
Primary technologies Biomass, biofuel
Other energy applications Heating, cooking, transportation fuels

Biomass is biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms. It most often refers to plants or plant-derived materials which are specifically called lignocellulosic biomass.[92] As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly via combustion to produce heat, or indirectly after converting it to various forms of biofuel. Conversion of biomass to biofuel can be achieved by different methods which are broadly classified into: thermal, chemical, and biochemical methods. Wood was the largest biomass energy source as of 2012;[93] examples include forest residues – such as dead trees, branches and tree stumps, yard clippings, wood chips and even municipal solid waste. In the second sense, biomass includes plant or animal matter that can be converted into fibers or other industrial chemicals, including biofuels. Industrial biomass can be grown from numerous types of plants, including miscanthus, switchgrass, hemp, corn, poplar, willow, sorghum, sugarcane, bamboo,[94] and a variety of tree species, ranging from eucalyptus to oil palm (palm oil).

Plant energy is produced by crops specifically grown for use as fuel that offer high biomass output per hectare with low input energy.[95] The grain can be used for liquid transportation fuels while the straw can be burned to produce heat or electricity. Plant biomass can also be degraded from cellulose to glucose through a series of chemical treatments, and the resulting sugar can then be used as a first-generation biofuel.

Biomass can be converted to other usable forms of energy such as methane gas[96] or transportation fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. Rotting garbage, and agricultural and human waste, all release methane gas – also called landfill gas or biogas. Crops, such as corn and sugarcane, can be fermented to produce the transportation fuel, ethanol. Biodiesel, another transportation fuel, can be produced from left-over food products such as vegetable oils and animal fats.[97] There is a great deal of research involving algal fuel or algae-derived biomass due to the fact that it is a non-food resource, grows around 20 times faster than other types of food crops, such as corn and soy, and can be grown almost anywhere.[98][99] Once harvested, it can be fermented to produce biofuels such as ethanol, butanol, and methane, as well as biodiesel and hydrogen. The biomass used for electricity generation varies by region. Forest by-products, such as wood residues, are common in the United States. Agricultural waste is common in Mauritius (sugar cane residue) and Southeast Asia (rice husks).

Biofuels include a wide range of fuels which are derived from biomass. The term covers solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels.[100] Liquid biofuels include bioalcohols, such as bioethanol, and oils, such as biodiesel. Gaseous biofuels include biogas, landfill gas and synthetic gas. Bioethanol is an alcohol made by fermenting the sugar components of plant materials and it is made mostly from sugar and starch crops. These include maize, sugarcane and, more recently, sweet sorghum. The latter crop is particularly suitable for growing in dryland conditions, and is being investigated by International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics for its potential to provide fuel, along with food and animal feed, in arid parts of Asia and Africa.[101]

With advanced technology being developed, cellulosic biomass, such as trees and grasses, are also used as feedstocks for ethanol production. Ethanol can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but it is usually used as a gasoline additive to increase octane and improve vehicle emissions. Bioethanol is widely used in the United States and in Brazil. The energy costs for producing bio-ethanol are almost equal to, the energy yields from bio-ethanol. However, according to the European Environment Agency, biofuels do not address global warming concerns.[102] Biodiesel is made from vegetable oils, animal fats or recycled greases. It can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, or more commonly as a diesel additive to reduce levels of particulates, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons from diesel-powered vehicles. Biodiesel is produced from oils or fats using transesterification and is the most common biofuel in Europe. Biofuels provided 2.7% of the world's transport fuel in 2010.[103][needs update]

Biomass, biogas and biofuels are burned to produce heat/power and in doing so harm the environment. Pollutants such as sulphurous oxides (SOx), nitrous oxides (NOx), and particulate matter (PM) are produced from the combustion of biomass. The World Health Organization estimates that 3.7 million prematurely died from outdoor air pollution in 2012 while indoor pollution from biomass burning effects over 3 billion people worldwide.[104][105]

Geothermal energy

Main articles: Geothermal energy, Geothermal power, and Renewable thermal energy
 
Steam rising from the Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Station in Iceland
Global electricity power generation capacity 15.6 GW (2021)[106]
Global electricity power generation capacity annual growth rate 4.5% (2012-2021)[107]
Share of global electricity generation <1% (2018)[56]
Levelized cost per megawatt hour USD 58.257 (2019)[108]
Primary technologies Dry steam, flash steam, and binary cycle power stations
Other energy applications Heating

High temperature geothermal energy is from thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth. Thermal energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter. Earth's geothermal energy originates from the original formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of minerals (in currently uncertain[109] but possibly roughly equal[110] proportions). The geothermal gradient, which is the difference in temperature between the core of the planet and its surface, drives a continuous conduction of thermal energy in the form of heat from the core to the surface. The adjective geothermal originates from the Greek roots geo, meaning earth, and thermos, meaning heat.

The heat that is used for geothermal energy can be from deep within the Earth, all the way down to Earth's core – 6,400 kilometres (4,000 mi) down. At the core, temperatures may reach over 5,000 °C (9,030 °F). Heat conducts from the core to the surrounding rock. Extremely high temperature and pressure cause some rock to melt, which is commonly known as magma. Magma convects upward since it is lighter than the solid rock. This magma then heats rock and water in the crust, sometimes up to 371 °C (700 °F).[111]

Low temperature geothermal[47] refers to the use of the outer crust of the Earth as a thermal battery to facilitate renewable thermal energy for heating and cooling buildings, and other refrigeration and industrial uses. In this form of geothermal, a geothermal heat pump and ground-coupled heat exchanger are used together to move heat energy into the Earth (for cooling) and out of the Earth (for heating) on a varying seasonal basis. Low-temperature geothermal (generally referred to as "GHP"[clarification needed]) is an increasingly important renewable technology because it both reduces total annual energy loads associated with heating and cooling, and it also flattens the electric demand curve eliminating the extreme summer and winter peak electric supply requirements. Thus low temperature geothermal/GHP is becoming an increasing national[clarification needed] priority with multiple tax credit support[112] and focus as part of the ongoing movement toward net zero energy.[48]

Emerging technologies

There are also other renewable energy technologies that are still under development, including cellulosic ethanol, hot-dry-rock geothermal power, and marine energy.[113] These technologies are not yet widely demonstrated or have limited commercialization. Many are on the horizon and may have potential comparable to other renewable energy technologies, but still depend on attracting sufficient attention and research, development and demonstration (RD&D) funding.[113]

There are numerous organizations within the academic, federal,[clarification needed] and commercial sectors conducting large-scale advanced research in the field of renewable energy. This research spans several areas of focus across the renewable energy spectrum. Most of the research is targeted at improving efficiency and increasing overall energy yields.[114] Multiple government supported research organizations have focused on renewable energy in recent years. Two of the most prominent of these labs are Sandia National Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), both of which are funded by the United States Department of Energy and supported by various corporate partners.[115]

Enhanced geothermal system

 
Enhanced geothermal system (see file description for details)
Main article: Enhanced geothermal systems

Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) are a new type of geothermal power technology that does not require natural convective hydrothermal resources. The vast majority of geothermal energy within drilling reach is in dry and non-porous rock.[116] EGS technologies "enhance" and/or create geothermal resources in this "hot dry rock (HDR)" through hydraulic fracturing. EGS and HDR technologies, such as hydrothermal geothermal, are expected to be baseload resources that produce power 24 hours a day like a fossil plant. Distinct from hydrothermal, HDR and EGS may be feasible anywhere in the world, depending on the economic limits of drill depth. Good locations are over deep granite covered by a thick (3–5 km or 1.9–3.1 mi) layer of insulating sediments which slow heat loss.[117] There are HDR and EGS systems currently being developed and tested in France, Australia, Japan, Germany, the U.S., and Switzerland. The largest EGS project in the world is a 25 megawatt demonstration plant currently being developed in the Cooper Basin, Australia. The Cooper Basin has the potential to generate 5,000–10,000 MW.

Marine energy

Main article: Marine energy

Marine energy (also sometimes referred to as ocean energy) is the energy carried by ocean waves, tides, salinity, and ocean temperature differences. The movement of water in the world's oceans creates a vast store of kinetic energy, or energy in motion. This energy can be harnessed to generate electricity to power homes, transport and industries. The term marine energy encompasses wave power – power from surface waves, marine current power - power from marine hydrokinetic streams (e.g., the Gulf Stream), and tidal power – obtained from the kinetic energy of large bodies of moving water. Reverse electrodialysis (RED) is a technology for generating electricity by mixing fresh river water and salty sea water in large power cells designed for this purpose; as of 2016, it is being tested at a small scale (50 kW). Offshore wind power is not a form of marine energy, as wind power is derived from the wind, even if the wind turbines are placed over water. The oceans have a tremendous amount of energy and are close to many if not most concentrated populations. Ocean energy has the potential of providing a substantial amount of new renewable energy around the world.[1][118][page needed]

 
Passive daytime radiative cooling can cool temperatures with zero energy consumption or pollution.[121]

Passive daytime radiative cooling

Main article: Passive daytime radiative cooling

Passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) uses the coldness of outer space as a renewable energy source to achieve daytime cooling that can be used in many applications,[122][123][124] such as indoor space cooling,[125][126] outdoor urban heat island mitigation,[127][128] and solar cell efficiency.[129][130] PDRC surfaces are designed to be high in solar reflectance to minimize heat gain and strong in longwave infrared (LWIR) thermal radiation heat transfer.[131] On a planetary scale, it has been proposed as a way to slow and reverse global warming.[121][132] PDRC applications are deployed as sky-facing surfaces, similar to other renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic systems and solar thermal collectors.[130] PDRC became possible with the ability to suppress solar heating using photonic metamaterials, first published in a study by Raman et al. to the scientific community in 2014.[133][134] PDRC applications for indoor space cooling is growing with an estimated "market size of ∼$27 billion in 2025."[135]

Artificial photosynthesis

Main article: Artificial photosynthesis

Artificial photosynthesis uses techniques including nanotechnology to store solar electromagnetic energy in chemical bonds by splitting water to produce hydrogen and then using carbon dioxide to make methanol.[136] Researchers in this field strived to design molecular mimics of photosynthesis that use a wider region of the solar spectrum, employ catalytic systems made from abundant, inexpensive materials that are robust, readily repaired, non-toxic, stable in a variety of environmental conditions and perform more efficiently allowing a greater proportion of photon energy to end up in the storage compounds, i.e., carbohydrates (rather than building and sustaining living cells).[137] However, prominent research faces hurdles, Sun Catalytix a MIT spin-off stopped scaling up their prototype fuel-cell in 2012, because it offers few savings over other ways to make hydrogen from sunlight.[138]

Earth infrared thermal radiation

Earth emits roughly 1017 W of infrared thermal radiation that flows toward the cold outer space. Solar energy hits the surface and atmosphere of the earth and produces heat. Using various theorized devices like emissive energy harvester (EEH) or thermoradiative diode, this energy flow can be converted into electricity. In theory, this technology can be used during nighttime.[139][140]

Others

Algae fuels

Main article: Algae fuels

Producing liquid fuels from oil-rich (fat-rich) varieties of algae is an ongoing research topic. Various microalgae grown in open or closed systems are being tried including some systems that can be set up in brownfield and desert lands.[141]

Water vapor

Collection of static electricity charges from water droplets on metal surfaces is an experimental technology that would be especially useful in low-income countries with relative air humidity over 60%.[142]

Crop wastes

AuREUS devices (Aurora Renewable Energy & UV Sequestration),[143] which are based on crop wastes can absorb ultraviolet light from the sun and turn it into renewable energy.[144][145]

Integration into the energy system and sector coupling

Main article: Variable renewable energy
 
Estimated power demand over a week in May 2012 and May 2020, Germany, showing the need for dispatchable generation rather than baseload generation in the grid.[clarification needed]

Renewable energy production from some sources such as wind and solar is more variable and more geographically spread than technology based on fossil fuels and nuclear. While integrating it into the wider energy system is feasible, it does lead to some additional challenges such as increased production volatility and decreased system inertia.[146] Implementation of energy storage, using a wide variety of renewable energy technologies, and implementing a smart grid in which energy is automatically used at the moment it is produced can reduce risks and costs of renewable energy implementation.[146][147]

Sector coupling of the power generation sector with other sectors may increase flexibility: for example the transport sector can be coupled by charging electric vehicles and sending electricity from vehicle to grid.[148] Similarly the industry sector can be coupled by hydrogen produced by electrolysis,[149] and the buildings sector by thermal energy storage for space heating and cooling.[150]

Electrical energy storage

Main articles: Energy storage and Grid energy storage

Electrical energy storage is a collection of methods used to store electrical energy. Electrical energy is stored during times when production (especially from intermittent sources such as wind power, tidal power, solar power) exceeds consumption, and returned to the grid when production falls below consumption. Pumped-storage hydroelectricity accounts for more than 85% of all grid power storage.[151] Batteries are increasingly being deployed for this[152] and for grid ancillary services[153] and for domestic storage.[154]

Market and industry trends

Main article: Renewable energy commercialization

Most new renewables are solar, followed by wind then hydro then bioenergy.[155]: 5  Investment in renewables, especially solar, tends to be more effective in creating jobs than coal, gas or oil.[156][157] Worldwide, renewables employ about 12 million people as of 2020, with solar PV being the technology employing the most at almost 4 million.[158]

Cost comparison

Installed[159]
TWp 		Growth
TW/yr[159]		 Production
per installed
capacity*[160]		 Energy
TWh/yr*[160]		 Growth
TWh/yr*[160]		 Levelized cost
US¢/KWh[161]		 Av. auction prices
US¢/KWh[162]		 Cost development
2010–2019[161]
Solar PV 0.580 0.098 13% 549 123 6.8 3.9 −82%
Solar CSP 0.006 0.0006 13% 6.3 0.5 18.2 7.5 −47%
Wind Offshore 0.028 0.0045 33% 68 11.5 11.5 8.2 −30%
Wind Onshore 0.594 0.05 25% 1194 118 5.3 4.3 −38%
Hydro 1.310 0.013 38% 4267 90 4.7 +27%
Bioenergy 0.12 0.006 51% 522 27 6.6 −13%
Geothermal 0.014 0.00007 74% 13.9 0.7 7.3 +49%

* = 2018. All other values for 2019.

Growth of renewables

Investment and sources
 
Investment: Companies, governments and households committed $501.3 billion to decarbonization in 2020, including renewable energy (solar, wind), electric vehicles and associated charging infrastructure, energy storage, energy-efficient heating systems, carbon capture and storage, and hydrogen.[163]
 
The countries most reliant on fossil fuels for electricity vary widely on how great a portion of that electricity is generated from renewables, leaving wide variation in renewables' growth potential.[164]
 
In 2020, renewables overtook fossil fuels as the European Union's main source of electricity for the first time.[165]
Pricing
 
A comparison of prices over time for energy from wind, solar and other sources. Over time, renewables benefit from learning curves and economies of scale.[166]
 
Levelized cost: With increasingly widespread implementation of renewable energy sources, costs have declined, most notably for energy generated by solar panels.[167]
Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) is a measure of the average net present cost of electricity generation for a generating plant over its lifetime.
 
Past costs of producing renewable energy declined significantly, with 62% of total renewable power generation added in 2020 having lower costs than the cheapest new fossil fuel option.[168]

The results of a recent review of the literature concluded that as greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters begin to be held liable for damages resulting from GHG emissions resulting in climate change, a high value for liability mitigation would provide powerful incentives for deployment of renewable energy technologies.[169]

In the decade of 2010–2019, worldwide investment in renewable energy capacity excluding large hydropower amounted to US$2.7 trillion, of which the top countries China contributed US$818 billion, the United States contributed US$392.3 billion, Japan contributed US$210.9 billion, Germany contributed US$183.4 billion, and the United Kingdom contributed US$126.5 billion.[170] This was an increase of over three and possibly four times the equivalent amount invested in the decade of 2000–2009 (no data is available for 2000–2003).[170]

Future projections

See also: Energy transition

A May 2022 report by the IEA predicted renewables to remain competitive in 2023 despite rising costs, as fossil fuel costs have risen much faster.[155] The report forecasts almost 200 GW of solar PV to be installed in 2023.[155]: 8  China and Europe are both expected to install more renewables than the US, due to uncertainty in US energy policy.[155]: 13  The report forecasts biofuel demand to increase in India and Indonesia in 2023, partly due to their transport policies.[155]: 22 

In June 2022 IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said that countries should invest more in renewables to "ease the pressure on consumers from high fossil fuel prices, make our energy systems more secure, and get the world on track to reach our climate goals.”[171]

China's five year plan to 2025 includes increasing direct heating by renewables such as geothermal and solar thermal.[172]

REPowerEU, the EU plan to escape dependence on fossil Russian gas, is expected to call for much more green hydrogen.[173]

 
Over 35% of EU firms are taking action on climate through onsite and offsite renewable energy generation.

Demand

In July 2014, WWF and the World Resources Institute convened a discussion among a number of major US companies who had declared their intention to increase their use of renewable energy. These discussions identified a number of "principles" which companies seeking greater access to renewable energy considered important market deliverables. These principles included choice (between suppliers and between products), cost competitiveness, longer term fixed price supplies, access to third-party financing vehicles, and collaboration.[174]

UK statistics released in September 2020 noted that "the proportion of demand met from renewables varies from a low of 3.4 per cent (for transport, mainly from biofuels) to highs of over 20 per cent for 'other final users', which is largely the service and commercial sectors that consume relatively large quantities of electricity, and industry".[175]

In some locations, individual households can opt to purchase renewable energy through a consumer green energy program.

Trends for individual technologies

Hydroelectricity

In 2020 the world renewable hydropower capacity was 1,330 GW.[176] Only a third of the world's estimated hydroelectric potential of 14,000 TWh/year has been developed.[176][177] New hydropower projects face opposition from local communities due to their large impact, including relocation of communities and flooding of wildlife habitats and farming land.[178] High cost and lead times from permission process, including environmental and risk assessments, with lack of environmental and social acceptance are therefore the primary challenges for new developments.[179] It is popular to repower old dams thereby increasing their efficiency and capacity as well as quicker responsiveness on the grid.[180] Where circumstances permit existing dams such as the Russell Dam built in 1985 may be updated with "pump back" facilities for pumped-storage which is useful for peak loads or to support intermittent wind and solar power. Because dispatchable power is more valuable than VRE[181][182] countries with large hydroelectric developments such as Canada and Norway are spending billions to expand their grids to trade with neighboring countries having limited hydro.[183]

Wind power development

Main article: Wind power by country
 
Worldwide growth of wind capacity (1996–2018)
 
Four offshore wind farms are in the Thames Estuary area: Kentish Flats, Gunfleet Sands, Thanet and London Array. The latter is the largest in the world as of April 2013.
Offshore wind is becoming more profitable [184]

Solar thermal

Main article: List of solar thermal power stations
 
The 377 MW Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System with all three towers under load, February 2014. Taken from I-15.
 
Solar towers of the PS10 and PS20 solar thermal plants in Spain

Solar thermal energy capacity has increased from 1.3 GW in 2012 to 5.0 GW in 2017.[185]

Spain is the world leader in solar thermal power deployment with 2.3 GW deployed.[185] The United States has 1.8 GW,[185] most of it in California where 1.4 GW of solar thermal power projects are operational.[186] Several power plants have been constructed in the Mojave Desert, Southwestern United States. As of 2017 only 4 other countries have deployments above 100 MW:[185] South Africa (300 MW) India (229 MW) Morocco (180 MW) and United Arab Emirates (100 MW).

The United States conducted much early research in photovoltaics and concentrated solar power. The U.S. is among the top countries in the world in electricity generated by the Sun and several of the world's largest utility-scale installations are located in the desert Southwest.

The oldest solar thermal power plant in the world is the 354 megawatt (MW) SEGS thermal power plant, in California.[187] The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is a solar thermal power project in the California Mojave Desert, 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Las Vegas, with a gross capacity of 377 MW.[188] The 280 MW Solana Generating Station is a solar power plant near Gila Bend, Arizona, about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Phoenix, completed in 2013. When commissioned it was the largest parabolic trough plant in the world and the first U.S. solar plant with molten salt thermal energy storage.[189]

In developing countries, three World Bank projects for integrated solar thermal/combined-cycle gas-turbine power plants in Egypt, Mexico, and Morocco have been approved.[190]

Photovoltaic development

Main articles: Growth of photovoltaics, Solar power by country, and List of photovoltaic power stations

Photovoltaics (PV) is rapidly-growing with global capacity increasing from 177 GW at the end of 2014 to 385 GW in 2017.[185]

PV uses solar cells assembled into solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity. PV systems range from small, residential and commercial rooftop or building integrated installations, to large utility-scale photovoltaic power station. The predominant PV technology is crystalline silicon, while thin-film solar cell technology accounts for about 10 percent of global photovoltaic deployment. In recent years, PV technology has improved its electricity generating efficiency, reduced the installation cost per watt as well as its energy payback time, and reached grid parity in at least 30 different markets by 2014.[191]Building-integrated photovoltaics or "onsite" PV systems use existing land and structures and generate power close to where it is consumed.[192]

Photovoltaics grew fastest in China, followed by Japan and the United States. Solar power is forecasted to become the world's largest source of electricity by 2050, with solar photovoltaics and concentrated solar power contributing 16% and 11%, respectively. This requires an increase of installed PV capacity to 4,600 GW, of which more than half is expected to be deployed in China and India.[193]

Commercial concentrated solar power plants were first developed in the 1980s. As the cost of solar electricity has fallen, the number of grid-connected solar PV systems has grown into the millions and utility-scale solar power stations with hundreds of megawatts are being built. Many solar photovoltaic power stations have been built, mainly in Europe, China and the United States.[194] The 1.5 GW Tengger Desert Solar Park, in China is the world's largest PV power station. Many of these plants are integrated with agriculture and some use tracking systems that follow the sun's daily path across the sky to generate more electricity than fixed-mounted systems.

Biofuel development

See also: Ethanol fuel, Sustainable biofuel, and Issues relating to biofuels
 
Brazil produces bioethanol made from sugarcane available throughout the country. A typical gas station with dual fuel service is marked "A" for alcohol (ethanol) and "G" for gasoline.

Bioenergy global capacity in 2017 was 109 GW.[185] Biofuels provided 4% of the world's transport fuel in 2017.[195]

Mandates for blending biofuels exist in 31 countries at the national level and in 29 states/provinces.[103]

Since the 1970s, Brazil has had an ethanol fuel program which has allowed the country to become the world's second largest producer of ethanol (after the United States) and the world's largest exporter.[196] Brazil's ethanol fuel program uses modern equipment and cheap sugarcane as feedstock, and the residual cane-waste (bagasse) is used to produce heat and power.[197] There are no longer light vehicles in Brazil running on pure gasoline.[198]

Biojet is expected to be important for short-term reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from long-haul flights.[199]

Geothermal development

See also: Geothermal energy in the United States
 
Geothermal plant at The Geysers, California, US

Global geothermal capacity in 2017 was 12.9 GW.[185]

Geothermal power is cost effective, reliable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly,[200] but has historically been limited to areas near tectonic plate boundaries. Recent technological advances have expanded the range and size of viable resources, especially for applications such as home heating, opening a potential for widespread exploitation. Geothermal wells release greenhouse gases trapped deep within the earth, but these emissions are usually much lower per energy unit than those of fossil fuels. As a result, geothermal power has the potential to help mitigate global warming if widely deployed in place of fossil fuels.

In 2017, the United States led the world in geothermal electricity production with 12.9 GW of installed capacity.[185] The largest group of geothermal power plants in the world is located at The Geysers, a geothermal field in California.[201] The Philippines follows the US as the second highest producer of geothermal power in the world, with 1.9 GW of capacity online.[185]

Developing countries

This section is an excerpt from Renewable energy in developing countries.[edit]
 
Wind farm in Xinjiang, China
 
Solar cookers use sunlight as energy source for outdoor cooking.

Renewable energy in developing countries is an increasingly used alternative to fossil fuel energy, as these countries scale up their energy supplies and address energy poverty. Renewable energy technology was once seen as unaffordable for developing countries.[202] However, since 2015, investment in non-hydro renewable energy has been higher in developing countries than in developed countries, and comprised 54% of global renewable energy investment in 2019.[203] The International Energy Agency forecasts that renewable energy will provide the majority of energy supply growth through 2030 in Africa and Central and South America, and 42% of supply growth in China.[204]

Most developing countries have abundant renewable energy resources, including solar energy, wind power, geothermal energy, and biomass, as well as the ability to manufacture the relatively labor-intensive systems that harness these. By developing such energy sources developing countries can reduce their dependence on oil and natural gas, creating energy portfolios that are less vulnerable to price rises. In many circumstances, these investments can be less expensive than fossil fuel energy systems.[205]

Policy

Policies to support renewable energy have been vital in their expansion. Where Europe dominated in establishing energy policy in the early 2000s, most countries around the world now have some form of energy policy.[206]

Policy trends

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organization for promoting the adoption of renewable energy worldwide. It aims to provide concrete policy advice and facilitate capacity building and technology transfer. IRENA was formed in 2009, with 75 countries signing the charter of IRENA.[207] As of April 2019, IRENA has 160 member states.[208] The then United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that renewable energy can lift the poorest nations to new levels of prosperity,[40] and in September 2011 he launched the UN Sustainable Energy for All initiative to improve energy access, efficiency and the deployment of renewable energy.[209]

The 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change motivated many countries to develop or improve renewable energy policies.[19] In 2017, a total of 121 countries adopted some form of renewable energy policy.[206] National targets that year existed in 176 countries.[19] In addition, there is also a wide range of policies at the state/provincial, and local levels.[103] Some public utilities help plan or install residential energy upgrades.

Many national, state and local governments have created green banks. A green bank is a quasi-public financial institution that uses public capital to leverage private investment in clean energy technologies.[210] Green banks use a variety of financial tools to bridge market gaps that hinder the deployment of clean energy.

Climate neutrality by the year 2050 is the main goal of the European Green Deal.[211] For the European Union to reach their target of climate neutrality, one goal is to decarbonise its energy system by aiming to achieve "net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050."[212]

Full renewable energy

These paragraphs are an excerpt from 100% renewable energy.[edit]

100% renewable energy means getting all energy from renewable resources. The endeavor to use 100% renewable energy for electricity, heating, cooling and transport is motivated by climate change, pollution and other environmental issues, as well as economic and energy security concerns. Shifting the total global primary energy supply to renewable sources requires a transition of the energy system, since most of today's energy is derived from non-renewable fossil fuels.

Research into this topic is fairly new, with very few studies published before 2009, but has gained increasing attention in recent years. The majority of studies show that a global transition to 100% renewable energy across all sectors – power, heat, transport and desalination – is feasible and economically viable.[213][214][215][216] A cross-sectoral, holistic approach is seen as an important feature of 100% renewable energy systems and is based on the assumption "that the best solutions can be found only if one focuses on the synergies between the sectors" of the energy system such as electricity, heat, transport or industry.[217]

The main barriers to the widespread implementation of large-scale renewable energy and low-carbon energy strategies are seen to be primarily social and political rather than technological or economic.[218] According to the 2013 Post Carbon Pathways report, which reviewed many international studies, the key roadblocks are: climate change denial, the fossil fuels lobby, political inaction, unsustainable energy consumption, outdated energy infrastructure, and financial constraints.[219]

Debate

Main articles: Renewable energy debate, Nuclear power proposed as renewable energy, Green job, and Intermittent power source
Further information: Climate change mitigation § Overviews, strategies and comparisons of measures
 
Most respondents to a climate survey conducted in 2021-2022 by the European Investment Bank say countries should back renewable energy to fight climate change. [220]

Renewable electricity generation by wind and solar is variable. This results in reduced capacity factor and may require keeping some gas-fired power plants or other dispatchable generation on standby[221][222][223] until there is enough energy storage, demand response, grid improvement, and/or base load power from non-intermittent sources like hydropower, nuclear power or bioenergy.

Solar power plants may compete with arable land,[224][225] while on-shore wind farms face opposition due to aesthetic concerns and noise, which is impacting both humans and wildlife.[226][227][228] In the United States, the Massachusetts Cape Wind project was delayed for years partly because of aesthetic concerns. However, residents in other areas have been more positive. According to a town councilor, the overwhelming majority of locals believe that the Ardrossan Wind Farm in Scotland has enhanced the area.[229] These concerns, when directed against renewable energy, are sometimes described as "not in my back yard" attitude (NIMBY).

A 2011 UK Government document states that "projects are generally more likely to succeed if they have broad public support and the consent of local communities. This means giving communities both a say and a stake".[230] In countries such as Germany and Denmark many renewable projects are owned by communities, particularly through cooperative structures, and contribute significantly to overall levels of renewable energy deployment.[231][232]

The market for renewable energy technologies has continued to grow. Climate change concerns and increasing in green jobs, coupled with high oil prices, peak oil, oil wars, oil spills, promotion of electric vehicles and renewable electricity, nuclear disasters and increasing government support, are driving increasing renewable energy legislation, incentives and commercialization.[25][better source needed] New government spending, regulation and policies helped the industry weather the 2009 economic crisis better than many other sectors.[35]

The International Energy Agency has stated that deployment of renewable technologies usually increases the diversity of electricity sources and, through local generation, contributes to the flexibility of the system and its resistance to central shocks.[233]

In October 2021, European Commissioner for Climate Action Frans Timmermans suggested "the best answer" to the 2021 global energy crisis is "to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels."[234] He said those blaming the European Green Deal were doing so "for perhaps ideological reasons or sometimes economic reasons in protecting their vested interests."[234] Some critics blamed the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and closure of nuclear plants for contributing to the energy crisis.[235][236][237] European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Europe is "too reliant" on natural gas and too dependent on natural gas imports. According to Von der Leyen, "The answer has to do with diversifying our suppliers ... and, crucially, with speeding up the transition to clean energy."[238]

Nuclear power proposed as renewable energy

 
The Leibstadt Nuclear Power Plant in Switzerland
This section is an excerpt from Nuclear power proposed as renewable energy.[edit]

Whether nuclear power should be considered a form of renewable energy is an ongoing subject of debate. Statutory definitions of renewable energy usually exclude many present nuclear energy technologies, with the notable exception of the state of Utah.[239] Dictionary-sourced definitions of renewable energy technologies often omit or explicitly exclude mention of nuclear energy sources, with an exception made for the natural nuclear decay heat generated within the Earth.[240][241]

The most common fuel used in conventional nuclear fission power stations, uranium-235 is "non-renewable" according to the Energy Information Administration, the organization however is silent on the recycled MOX fuel.[241] Similarly, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory does not mention nuclear power in its "energy basics" definition.[242]

In 1987, the Brundtland Commission (WCED) classified fission reactors that produce more fissile nuclear fuel than they consume (breeder reactors, and if developed, fusion power) among conventional renewable energy sources, such as solar power and hydropower.[243] The American Petroleum Institute does not consider conventional nuclear fission renewable, but considers breeder reactor nuclear fuel renewable and sustainable, and while conventional fission leads to waste streams that remain a concern for millennia, the waste from efficiently recycled spent fuel requires a more limited storage supervision period of about thousand years.[244][245][246] The monitoring and storage of radioactive waste products is also required upon the use of other renewable energy sources, such as geothermal energy.[247]

Geopolitics of renewable energy

See also: Russia in the European energy sector
 
A concept of a super grid.

From around 2010 onwards, the geopolitical impact of the growing use of renewable energy has been discussed.[248] Some argue that former fossil fuels exporters will experience a weakening of their position in international affairs, while countries with abundant renewable energy resources will be strengthened.[249] Also some countries rich in critical materials for renewable energy technologies are expected to rise in importance in international affairs.[250][251]

The GeGaLo index of geopolitical gains and losses assesses how the geopolitical position of 156 countries may change if the world fully transitions to renewable energy resources. Former fossil fuels exporters are expected to lose power, while the positions of former fossil fuel importers and countries rich in renewable energy resources is expected to strengthen.[252] Sourcing of required materials, ownership of key infrastructure assets and the design of grids all require geopolitics consideration.[253][254][255]

Transitions to renewable energy have many geopolitical implications such as the potential of revenue losses leading to political instability in insufficiently prepared fossil-fuel-exporting economies, albeit it is unclear whether the transition will increase or reduce conflict overall. In particular, a study hypothesizes that a "configuration emerges in which fossil fuel importers are better off decarbonizing, competitive fossil fuel exporters are better off flooding markets and uncompetitive fossil fuel producers—rather than benefitting from 'free-riding'—suffer from their exposure to stranded assets and lack of investment in decarbonization technologies".[256][257]

A study found that transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy systems reduces risks from mining, trade and political dependence because renewable energy systems don't need fuel – they depend on trade only for the acquisition of materials and components during construction.[258]

Nations rich in solar and wind energy could become major energy exporters.[259]

Trade in hydrogen could fundamentally redraw the geography of the global energy trade, and international governance and investments that seek to scale up the hydrogen economy could reduce "the risk of market fragmentation, carbon lock-in, and intensified geo-economic rivalry".[260][259][261] Electricity will overtake other energy carriers by 2050, accounting for almost 50% of total energy consumption (up from 22% in 2015). Given the limitations of using solely electricity, clean hydrogen has significant potential in a number of industries.[262][263] Hydrogen has the potential to be long-term stored in the electricity and heating industries.[264]

In 2019, oil and gas companies were listed by Forbes with sales of US$4.8 trillion, about 5% of the global GDP.[265] Net importers such as China and the EU would gain advantages from a transition to low-carbon technologies driven by technological development, energy efficiency or climate change policy, while Russia, the USA or Canada could see their fossil fuel industries nearly shut down.[266] On the other hand, countries with large areas such as Australia, Russia, China, the US, Canada and Brazil and also Africa and the Middle East have a potential for huge installations of renewable energy. The production of renewable energy technologies requires rare-earth elements with new supply chains.[267]

Health and environmental impact

Further information: Rare-earth element § Environmental considerations

Moving to modern renewable energy has very large health benefits due to reducing air pollution from fossil fuels.[268][269]

Renewable sources other than biomass such as wind power, photovoltaics, and hydroelectricity have the advantage of being able to conserve water, lower pollution[270] and reduce CO2 emissions.

Solar panels change the albedo of the surface, so if used on a very large scale (such as covering 20% of the Sahara Desert), could change global weather patterns.[271]

Biomass

Further information: Biomass § Environmental damage

The ability of biomass and biofuels to contribute to a reduction in CO2 emissions is limited because both biomass and biofuels emit large amounts of air pollution when burned and in some cases compete with food supply. Furthermore, biomass and biofuels consume large amounts of water[272] and land (sometimes land that could be used for food production).[273][274] Furthermore, there can be carbon leakage from biomass production.[274] Nevertheless, it could still help reduce carbon dioxide emissions[275] and play an important role as a method of dispatchable generation.[276][277][278][279][280]

Conservation areas, recycling and rare-earth elements

See also: Environmental footprint of electric cars

Installations used to produce wind, solar and hydropower are an increasing threat to key conservation areas, with facilities built in areas set aside for nature conservation and other environmentally sensitive areas. They are often much larger than fossil fuel power plants, needing areas of land up to 10 times greater than coal or gas to produce equivalent energy amounts.[281] More than 2000 renewable energy facilities are built, and more are under construction, in areas of environmental importance and threaten the habitats of plant and animal species across the globe. The authors' team emphasized that their work should not be interpreted as anti-renewables because renewable energy is crucial for reducing carbon emissions. The key is ensuring that renewable energy facilities are built in places where they do not damage biodiversity.[282]

The transition to renewable energy depends on non-renewable resources, such as mined metals.[224] Manufacturing of photovoltaic panels, wind turbines and batteries requires significant amounts of rare-earth elements[283] which has significant social and environmental impact if mined in forests and protected areas.[284] Due to co-occurrence of rare-earth and radioactive elements (thorium, uranium and radium), rare-earth mining results in production of low-level radioactive waste.[285]

In 2020 scientists published a world map of areas that contain renewable energy materials as well as estimations of their overlaps with "Key Biodiversity Areas", "Remaining Wilderness" and "Protected Areas". The authors assessed that careful strategic planning is needed.[286][287][288] Solar panels are recycled to reduce electronic waste and create a source for materials that would otherwise need to be mined,[289] but such business is still small and work is ongoing to improve and scale-up the process.[290][291][292]

History

Prior to the development of coal in the mid 19th century, nearly all energy used was renewable. The oldest known use of renewable energy, in the form of traditional biomass to fuel fires, dates from more than a million years ago. The use of biomass for fire did not become commonplace until many hundreds of thousands of years later.[293] Probably the second oldest usage of renewable energy is harnessing the wind in order to drive ships over water. This practice can be traced back some 7000 years, to ships in the Persian Gulf and on the Nile.[294] From hot springs, geothermal energy has been used for bathing since Paleolithic times and for space heating since ancient Roman times.[295] Moving into the time of recorded history, the primary sources of traditional renewable energy were human labor, animal power, water power, wind, in grain crushing windmills, and firewood, a traditional biomass.

In 1885, Werner von Siemens, commenting on the discovery of the photovoltaic effect in the solid state, wrote:

In conclusion, I would say that however great the scientific importance of this discovery may be, its practical value will be no less obvious when we reflect that the supply of solar energy is both without limit and without cost, and that it will continue to pour down upon us for countless ages after all the coal deposits of the earth have been exhausted and forgotten.[296]

Max Weber mentioned the end of fossil fuel in the concluding paragraphs of his Die protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus (The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism), published in 1905.[297] Development of solar engines continued until the outbreak of World War I. The importance of solar energy was recognized in a 1911 Scientific American article: "in the far distant future, natural fuels having been exhausted [solar power] will remain as the only means of existence of the human race".[298]

The theory of peak oil was published in 1956.[299] In the 1970s environmentalists promoted the development of renewable energy both as a replacement for the eventual depletion of oil, as well as for an escape from dependence on oil, and the first electricity-generating wind turbines appeared. Solar had long been used for heating and cooling, but solar panels were too costly to build solar farms until 1980.[300]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Renewable Energy Market Update 2021 / Renewable electricity / Renewables deployment geared up in 2020, establishing a "new normal" for capacity additions in 2021 and 2022". IEA.org. International Energy Agency. May 2021. from the original on 11 May 2021.
  2. ^ Ellabban, Omar; Abu-Rub, Haitham; Blaabjerg, Frede (2014). "Renewable energy resources: Current status, future prospects and their enabling technology". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 39: 748–764 [749]. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2014.07.113.
  3. ^ Timperly, Jocelyn (23 February 2017). "Biomass subsidies 'not fit for purpose', says Chatham House". Carbon Brief Ltd © 2020 - Company No. 07222041. from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  4. ^ Harvey, Chelsea; Heikkinen, Niina (23 March 2018). "Congress Says Biomass Is Carbon Neutral but Scientists Disagree - Using wood as fuel source could actually increase CO2 emissions". Scientific American. from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  5. ^ Alazraque-Cherni, Judith (1 April 2008). "Renewable Energy for Rural Sustainability in Developing Countries". Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society. 28 (2): 105–114. doi:10.1177/0270467607313956. S2CID 67817602. from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  6. ^ World Energy Assessment (2001). Renewable energy technologies 9 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine, p. 221.
  7. ^ Armaroli, Nicola; Balzani, Vincenzo (2011). "Towards an electricity-powered world". Energy and Environmental Science. 4 (9): 3193–3222. doi:10.1039/c1ee01249e.
  8. ^ Armaroli, Nicola; Balzani, Vincenzo (2016). "Solar Electricity and Solar Fuels: Status and Perspectives in the Context of the Energy Transition". Chemistry – A European Journal. 22 (1): 32–57. doi:10.1002/chem.201503580. PMID 26584653.
  9. ^ Volker Quaschning, Regenerative Energiesysteme. Technologie – Berechnung – Simulation. 8th. Edition. Hanser (Munich) 2013, p. 49.
  10. ^ "Renewables 2022 - Global Status Report" (renewable energies): 44. Retrieved 5 September 2022. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. ^ REN21 Renewables Global Status Report 2021.
  12. ^ "Renewables – Global Energy Review 2021 – Analysis". IEA. from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  13. ^ "Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review 2020". irena.org. from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  14. ^ "Global renewable energy trends". Deloitte Insights. from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  15. ^ "Renewable Energy Now Accounts for a Third of Global Power Capacity". irena.org. from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  16. ^ IEA (2020). Renewables 2020 Analysis and forecast to 2025 (Report). p. 12. from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  17. ^ Ritchie, Hannah; Roser, Max; Rosado, Pablo (28 November 2020). "Energy". Our World in Data.
  18. ^ Sensiba, Jennifer (28 October 2021). "Some Good News: 10 Countries Generate Almost 100% Renewable Electricity". CleanTechnica. from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  19. ^ a b c REN21 Renewables Global Futures Report 2017.
  20. ^ Bogdanov, Dmitrii; Gulagi, Ashish; Fasihi, Mahdi; Breyer, Christian (1 February 2021). "Full energy sector transition towards 100% renewable energy supply: Integrating power, heat, transport and industry sectors including desalination". Applied Energy. 283: 116273. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.116273. ISSN 0306-2619.
  21. ^ Teske, Sven, ed. (2019). Achieving the Paris Climate Agreement Goals. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-05843-2. ISBN 978-3-030-05842-5. S2CID 198078901.
  22. ^ Jacobson, Mark Z.; von Krauland, Anna-Katharina; Coughlin, Stephen J.; Dukas, Emily; Nelson, Alexander J. H.; Palmer, Frances C.; Rasmussen, Kylie R. (2022). "Low-cost solutions to global warming, air pollution, and energy insecurity for 145 countries". Energy & Environmental Science. 15 (8): 3343–3359. doi:10.1039/D2EE00722C. ISSN 1754-5692. S2CID 250126767.
  23. ^ a b International Energy Agency (2012). "Energy Technology Perspectives 2012". from the original on 28 May 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  24. ^ Timperley, Jocelyn (20 October 2021). "Why fossil fuel subsidies are so hard to kill". Nature. 598 (7881): 403–405. Bibcode:2021Natur.598..403T. doi:10.1038/d41586-021-02847-2. PMID 34671143. S2CID 239052649. from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  25. ^ a b c "Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2007: Analysis of Trends and Issues in the Financing of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in OECD and Developing Countries" (PDF). unep.org. United Nations Environment Programme. 2007. p. 3. (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  26. ^ Sütterlin, B.; Siegrist, Michael (2017). "Public acceptance of renewable energy technologies from an abstract versus concrete perspective and the positive imagery of solar power". Energy Policy. 106: 356–366. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2017.03.061.
  27. ^ "Renewable Power – Analysis". IEA. from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  28. ^ Friedlingstein, Pierre; Jones, Matthew W.; O'Sullivan, Michael; Andrew, Robbie M.; Hauck, Judith; Peters, Glen P.; Peters, Wouter; Pongratz, Julia; Sitch, Stephen; Le Quéré, Corinne; Bakker, Dorothee C. E. (2019). "Global Carbon Budget 2019". Earth System Science Data. 11 (4): 1783–1838. Bibcode:2019ESSD...11.1783F. doi:10.5194/essd-11-1783-2019. ISSN 1866-3508. from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  29. ^ IEA. Renewable Energy... ... into the Mainstream (PDF). IEA. 2002. p. 9. (PDF) from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  30. ^ "Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change" (PDF). Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  31. ^ Jacobson, Mark Z.; et al. (2015). "100% clean and renewable wind, water, and sunlight (WWS) all-sector energy roadmaps for the 50 United States". Energy and Environmental Science. 8 (7): 2093–2117. doi:10.1039/C5EE01283J.
  32. ^ Scovronick, Noah; Budolfson, Mark; Dennig, Francis; Errickson, Frank; Fleurbaey, Marc; Peng, Wei; Socolow, Robert H.; Spears, Dean; Wagner, Fabian (7 May 2019). "The impact of human health co-benefits on evaluations of global climate policy". Nature Communications. 10 (1): 2095. Bibcode:2019NatCo..10.2095S. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-09499-x. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 6504956. PMID 31064982.
  33. ^ Gallagher CL, Holloway T (2020). "Integrating Air Quality and Public Health Benefits in U.S. Decarbonization Strategies". Front Public Health. 8: 563358. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2020.563358. PMC 7717953. PMID 33330312.
  34. ^ Luderer, Gunnar; Pehl, Michaja; Arvesen, Anders; Gibon, Thomas; Bodirsky, Benjamin L.; de Boer, Harmen Sytze; Fricko, Oliver; Hejazi, Mohamad; Humpenöder, Florian; Iyer, Gokul; Mima, Silvana (19 November 2019). "Environmental co-benefits and adverse side-effects of alternative power sector decarbonization strategies". Nature Communications. 10 (1): 5229. Bibcode:2019NatCo..10.5229L. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-13067-8. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 6864079. PMID 31745077.
  35. ^ a b Clean Edge (2009). Clean Energy Trends 2009 18 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine pp. 1–4.
  36. ^ "Global energy transformation: A roadmap to 2050 (2019 edition)". /publications/2019/Apr/Global-energy-transformation-A-roadmap-to-2050-2019Edition. from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  37. ^ "Getting the most out of tomorrow's grid requires digitisation and demand response". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  38. ^ REN21 Renewables Global Status Report 2011, p. 14.
  39. ^ Makieła, Kamil; Mazur, Błażej; Głowacki, Jakub (30 June 2022). "The Impact of Renewable Energy Supply on Economic Growth and Productivity". Energies. 15 (13): 4808. doi:10.3390/en15134808. ISSN 1996-1073.
  40. ^ a b Leone, Steve (25 August 2011). "U.N. Secretary-General: Renewables Can End Energy Poverty". Renewable Energy World. from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  41. ^ "Renewable Energy by Country 2021". worldpopulationreview.com. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  42. ^ "Renewables 2021 Global Status Report". www.ren21.net. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  43. ^ Abnett, Kate (20 April 2022). "European Commission analysing higher 45% renewable energy target for 2030". Reuters. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  44. ^ REN21 Renewables Global Status Report 2010.
  45. ^ a b "Renewables 2021 Global Status Report". www.ren21.net. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  46. ^ "IEA SHC || Solar Heat Worldwide". www.iea-shc.org. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  47. ^ a b "Geothermal Heat Pumps - Department of Energy". energy.gov. from the original on 16 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  48. ^ a b "Net Zero Foundation". netzerofoundation.org. from the original on 22 February 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  49. ^ . Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  50. ^ "Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change". IPCC Sixth Assessment Report.
  51. ^ "Renewables 2022 Global Status Report". www.ren21.net. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  52. ^ Mishra, Twesh. "India to develop and build first indigenous Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vessel". The Economic Times. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  53. ^ "Global Solar Atlas". from the original on 27 November 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  54. ^ IRENA 2022, p. 20.
  55. ^ IRENA 2022, p. 20. Note: Compound annual growth rate 2012-2021.
  56. ^ a b c d e "Electricity". International Energy Agency. 2020. Data Browser section, Electricity Generation by Source indicator. from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  57. ^ NREL ATB 2021, Utility-Scale PV.
  58. ^ a b Philibert, Cédric (2011). Solar energy perspectives. International Energy Agency, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Paris: OECD/IEA. ISBN 978-92-64-12458-5. OCLC 778434303.
  59. ^ "Solar Fuels and Artificial Photosynthesis". Royal Society of Chemistry. 2012. from the original on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  60. ^ "Solar - Fuels & Technologies". IEA. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  61. ^ "Energy Sources: Solar". Department of Energy. from the original on 14 April 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  62. ^ NREL.gov U.S. Renewable Energy Technical Potentials: A GIS-Based Analysis 14 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine, July 2013 : iv 
  63. ^ thinkprogress.org National Renewable Energy Laboratory: Solar Has The Most Potential Of Any Renewable Energy Source 22 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine, 30 July 2013
  64. ^ "Renewable Energy". Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. 27 October 2021. from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  65. ^ "Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change". www.ipcc.ch. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  66. ^ "Clean Energy Australia Report 2021" (PDF). Clean Energy Australia. (PDF) from the original on 2 April 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  67. ^ "Solar energy". Australian Renewable Energy Agency. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  68. ^ "Wind energy generation by region". Our World in Data. from the original on 10 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  69. ^ "Global Wind Atlas". from the original on 18 January 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  70. ^ IRENA 2022, p. 13.
  71. ^ IRENA 2022, p. 13. Note: Compound annual growth rate 2012-2021.
  72. ^ NREL ATB 2021, Land-Based Wind.
  73. ^ "Analysis of Wind Energy in the EU-25" (PDF). European Wind Energy Association. (PDF) from the original on 12 March 2007. Retrieved 11 March 2007.
  74. ^ Martin Kaltschmitt, Wolfgang Streicher, Andreas Wiese (eds.): Erneuerbare Energien. Systemtechnik, Wirtschaftlichkeit, Umweltaspekte. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg 2013, p. 819.
  75. ^ "Electricity – from other renewable sources - The World Factbook". www.cia.gov. from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  76. ^ "Offshore stations experience mean wind speeds at 80 m that are 90% greater than over land on average." Evaluation of global wind power 25 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine "Overall, the researchers calculated winds at 80 meters [300 feet] above sea level traveled over the ocean at approximately 8.6 meters per second and at nearly 4.5 meters per second over land [20 and 10 miles per hour, respectively]." Global Wind Map Shows Best Wind Farm Locations 24 May 2005 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 30 January 2006.
  77. ^ IRENA 2022, p. 8. Note: Excludes pure pumped storage.
  78. ^ IRENA 2022, p. 8. Note: Excludes pure pumped storage. Compound annual growth rate 2012-2021.
  79. ^ NREL ATB 2021, Hydropower.
  80. ^ Ang, Tze-Zhang; Salem, Mohamed; Kamarol, Mohamad; Das, Himadry Shekhar; Nazari, Mohammad Alhuyi; Prabaharan, Natarajan (September 2022). "A comprehensive study of renewable energy sources: Classifications, challenges and suggestions". Energy Strategy Reviews. 43: 100939. doi:10.1016/j.esr.2022.100939. ISSN 2211-467X. S2CID 251889236. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  81. ^ Moran, Emilio F.; Lopez, Maria Claudia; Moore, Nathan; Müller, Norbert; Hyndman, David W. (2018). "Sustainable hydropower in the 21st century". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 115 (47): 11891–11898. Bibcode:2018PNAS..11511891M. doi:10.1073/pnas.1809426115. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 6255148. PMID 30397145.
  82. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 November 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  83. ^ Afework, Bethel (3 September 2018). "Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity". Energy Education. from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  84. ^ . Archived from the original on 28 November 2018.
  85. ^ "Net zero: International Hydropower Association". www.hydropower.org. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  86. ^ "Wave power - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  87. ^ "How Does Ocean Wave Power Work?". Energy Informative. from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  88. ^ Unwin, Jack (12 March 2019). "Top five trends in wave power". from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  89. ^ IRENA 2022, p. 27.
  90. ^ IRENA 2022, p. 27. Note: Compound annual growth rate 2012-2021.
  91. ^ NREL ATB 2021, Other Technologies (EIA).
  92. ^ . Biomassenergycentre.org.uk. Retrieved on 28 February 2012.
  93. ^ Scheck, Justin; Dugan, Ianthe Jeanne (23 July 2012). "Wood-Fired Plants Generate Violations". The Wall Street Journal. from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  94. ^ T.A. Volk; L.P. Abrahamson (January 2000). "Developing a Willow Biomass Crop Enterprise for Bioenergy and Bioproducts in the United States". North East Regional Biomass Program. from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  95. ^ . crops are grown specifically for use as fuel. BIOMASS Energy Centre. Archived from the original on 10 March 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  96. ^ Howard, Brian (28 January 2020). "Turning cow waste into clean power on a national scale". TheHill. from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  97. ^ Energy Kids 5 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Eia.doe.gov. Retrieved on 28 February 2012.
  98. ^ Ullah, Kifayat; Ahmad, Mushtaq; Sofia; Sharma, Vinod Kumar; Lu, Pengmei; et al. (August 2014). "Algal biomass as a global source of transport fuels: Overview and development perspectives". Progress in Natural Science: Materials International. 24 (4): 329–339. doi:10.1016/j.pnsc.2014.06.008. ISSN 1002-0071. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  99. ^ Zhu, Liandong; Li, Zhaohua; Hiltunen, Erkki (28 June 2018). "Microalgae Chlorella vulgaris biomass harvesting by natural flocculant: effects on biomass sedimentation, spent medium recycling and lipid extraction". Biotechnology for Biofuels. 11 (1): 183. doi:10.1186/s13068-018-1183-z. eISSN 1754-6834. PMC 6022341. PMID 29988300.
  100. ^ Demirbas, A. (2009). "Political, economic and environmental impacts of biofuels: A review". Applied Energy. 86: S108–S117. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2009.04.036.
  101. ^ Sweet sorghum for food, feed and fuel 4 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine New Agriculturalist, January 2008.
  102. ^ "Opinion of the EEA Scientific Committee on Greenhouse Gas Accounting in Relation to Bioenergy". from the original on 3 March 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  103. ^ a b c REN21 Renewables Global Status Report 2011, pp. 13–14.
  104. ^ . Archived from the original on 4 January 2016.
  105. ^ "WHO - Household air pollution and health". Who.int. from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  106. ^ IRENA 2022, p. 38.
  107. ^ IRENA 2022, p. 38. Note: Compound annual growth rate 2012-2021.
  108. ^ NREL ATB 2021, Geothermal.
  109. ^ Dye, S. T. (2012). "Geoneutrinos and the radioactive power of the Earth". Reviews of Geophysics. 50 (3): 3. arXiv:1111.6099. Bibcode:2012RvGeo..50.3007D. doi:10.1029/2012rg000400. S2CID 118667366.
  110. ^ Gando, A.; Dwyer, D. A.; McKeown, R. D.; Zhang, C. (2011). "Partial radiogenic heat model for Earth revealed by geoneutrino measurements" (PDF). Nature Geoscience. 4 (9): 647–651. Bibcode:2011NatGe...4..647K. doi:10.1038/ngeo1205. (PDF) from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  111. ^ Nemzer, J. . Archived from the original on 11 January 1998.
  112. ^ "Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency® - DSIRE". DSIRE. from the original on 22 February 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2006.
  113. ^ a b International Energy Agency (2007). Renewables in global energy supply: An IEA facts sheet (PDF), OECD, p. 3. 12 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  114. ^ S.C.E. Jupe; A. Michiorri; P.C. Taylor (2007). "Increasing the energy yield of generation from new and renewable energy sources". Renewable Energy. 14 (2): 37–62.
  115. ^ "Defense-scale supercomputing comes to renewable energy research". Sandia National Laboratories. from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  116. ^ Duchane, Dave; Brown, Don (December 2002). "Hot Dry Rock (HDR) Geothermal Energy Research and Development at Fenton Hill, New Mexico" (PDF). Geo-Heat Centre Quarterly Bulletin. Vol. 23, no. 4. Klamath Falls, Oregon: Oregon Institute of Technology. pp. 13–19. ISSN 0276-1084. (PDF) from the original on 17 June 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  117. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2015.
  118. ^ IRENA (2020), Innovation outlook: Ocean energy technologies, International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi. https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2020/Dec/IRENA_Innovation_Outlook_Ocean_Energy_2020.pdf
  119. ^ . Renewable Energy News and Articles. Archived from the original on 4 September 2015.
  120. ^ a b Tidal power (PDF), retrieved 20 March 2010[permanent dead link]
  121. ^ a b Chen, Meijie; Pang, Dan; Chen, Xingyu; Yan, Hongjie; Yang, Yuan (2022). "Passive daytime radiative cooling: Fundamentals, material designs, and applications". EcoMat. 4. doi:10.1002/eom2.12153. S2CID 240331557 – via Wiley. Passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) dissipates terrestrial heat to the extremely cold outer space without using any energy input or producing pollution. It has the potential to simultaneously alleviate the two major problems of energy crisis and global warming.
  122. ^ Yu, Xinxian; Yao, Fengju; Huang, Wenjie; Xu, Dongyan; Chen, Chun (July 2022). "Enhanced radiative cooling paint with broken glass bubbles". Renewable Energy. 194: 129–136. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2022.05.094. S2CID 248972097 – via Elsevier Science Direct. Radiative cooling does not consume external energy but rather harvests coldness from outer space as a new renewable energy source.
  123. ^ Ma, Hongchen (2021). "Flexible Daytime Radiative Cooling Enhanced by Enabling Three-Phase Composites with Scattering Interfaces between Silica Microspheres and Hierarchical Porous Coatings". Appl. Mater. Interfaces. 13 (16): 19282–19290. arXiv:2103.03902. doi:10.1021/acsami.1c02145. PMID 33866783. S2CID 232147880 – via ACS Publications. Daytime radiative cooling has attracted considerable attention recently due to its tremendous potential for passively exploiting the coldness of the universe as clean and renewable energy.
  124. ^ Bijarniya, Jay Prakash; Sarkar, Jahar; Maiti, Pralay (November 2020). "Review on passive daytime radiative cooling: Fundamentals, recent researches, challenges and opportunities". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 133: 110263. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2020.110263. S2CID 224874019 – via Elsevier Science Direct. Passive radiative cooling can be considered as a renewable energy source, which can pump heat to cold space and make the devices more efficient than ejecting heat at earth atmospheric temperature.
  125. ^ Bijarniya, Jay Prakash; Sarkar, Jahar; Maiti, Pralay (November 2020). "Review on passive daytime radiative cooling: Fundamentals, recent researches, challenges and opportunities". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 133: 110263. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2020.110263. S2CID 224874019 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
  126. ^ Benmoussa, Youssef; Ezziani, Maria; Djire, All-Fousseni; Amine, Zaynab; Khaldoun, Asmae; Limami, Houssame (September 2022). "Simulation of an energy-efficient cool roof with cellulose-based daytime radiative cooling material". Materials Today: Proceedings. doi:10.1016/j.matpr.2022.08.411. S2CID 252136357 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
  127. ^ Khan, Ansar; Carlosena, Laura; Feng, Jie; Khorat, Samiran; Khatun, Rupali; Doan, Quang-Van; Santamouris, Mattheos (January 2022). "Optically Modulated Passive Broadband Daytime Radiative Cooling Materials Can Cool Cities in Summer and Heat Cities in Winter". Sustainability. 14 – via MDPI.
  128. ^ Anand, Jyothis; Sailor, David J.; Baniassadi, Amir (February 2021). "The relative role of solar reflectance and thermal emittance for passive daytime radiative cooling technologies applied to rooftops". Sustainable Cities and Society. 65: 102612. doi:10.1016/j.scs.2020.102612. S2CID 229476136 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
  129. ^ Heo, Se-Yeon; Ju Lee, Gil; Song, Young Min (June 2022). "Heat-shedding with photonic structures: radiative cooling and its potential". Journal of Materials Chemistry C. 10 (27): 9915–9937. doi:10.1039/D2TC00318J. S2CID 249695930 – via Royal Society of Chemistry.
  130. ^ a b Ahmed, Salman; Li, Zhenpeng; Javed, Muhammad Shahzad; Ma, Tao (September 2021). "A review on the integration of radiative cooling and solar energy harvesting". Materials Today: Energy. 21: 100776. doi:10.1016/j.mtener.2021.100776 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
  131. ^ Wang, Tong; Wu, Yi; Shi, Lan; Hu, Xinhua; Chen, Min; Wu, Limin (2021). "A structural polymer for highly efficient all-day passive radiative cooling". Nature Communications. 12 (365): 365. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-20646-7. PMC 7809060. PMID 33446648. Accordingly, designing and fabricating efficient PDRC with sufficiently high solar reflectance (𝜌¯solar) (λ ~ 0.3–2.5 μm) to minimize solar heat gain and simultaneously strong LWIR thermal emittance (ε¯LWIR) to maximize radiative heat loss is highly desirable. When the incoming radiative heat from the Sun is balanced by the outgoing radiative heat emission, the temperature of the Earth can reach its steady state.
  132. ^ Munday, Jeremy (2019). "Tackling Climate Change through Radiative Cooling". Joule. 3 (9): 2057–2060. doi:10.1016/j.joule.2019.07.010. S2CID 201590290. from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022 – via ScienceDirect. By covering the Earth with a small fraction of thermally emitting materials, the heat flow away from the Earth can be increased, and the net radiative flux can be reduced to zero (or even made negative), thus stabilizing (or cooling) the Earth.
  133. ^ Heo, Se-Yeon; Ju Lee, Gil; Song, Young Min (June 2022). "Heat-shedding with photonic structures: radiative cooling and its potential". Journal of Materials Chemistry C. 10 (27): 9915–9937. doi:10.1039/D2TC00318J. S2CID 249695930 – via Royal Society of Chemistry.
  134. ^ Raman, Aaswath P.; Anoma, Marc Abou; Zhu, Linxiao; Raphaeli, Eden; Fan, Shanhui (2014). "Passive Radiative Cooling Below Ambient air Temperature under Direct Sunlight". Nature. 515 (7528): 540–544. Bibcode:2014Natur.515..540R. doi:10.1038/nature13883. PMID 25428501. S2CID 4382732 – via nature.com.
  135. ^ Yang, Yuan; Zhang, Yifan (2020). "Passive daytime radiative cooling: Principle, application, and economic analysis". MRS Energy & Sustainability. 7 (18). doi:10.1557/mre.2020.18. S2CID 220008145. from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  136. ^ Collings AF and Critchley C (eds). Artificial Photosynthesis – From Basic Biology to Industrial Application (Wiley-VCH Weinheim 2005) p ix.
  137. ^ Faunce, Thomas A.; Lubitz, Wolfgang; Rutherford, A. W. (Bill); MacFarlane, Douglas; Moore, Gary F.; Yang, Peidong; Nocera, Daniel G.; Moore, Tom A.; Gregory, Duncan H.; Fukuzumi, Shunichi; Yoon, Kyung Byung; Armstrong, Fraser A.; Wasielewski, Michael R.; Styring, Stenbjorn (2013). "Energy and environment policy case for a global project on artificial photosynthesis". Energy & Environmental Science. RSC Publishing. 6 (3): 695. doi:10.1039/C3EE00063J.
  138. ^ jobs (23 May 2012). "'Artificial leaf' faces economic hurdle: Nature News & Comment". Nature News. Nature.com. doi:10.1038/nature.2012.10703. S2CID 211729746. from the original on 1 December 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  139. ^ "Major infrared breakthrough could lead to solar power at night". 17 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  140. ^ Byrnes, Steven; Blanchard, Romain; Capasso, Federico (2014). "Harvesting renewable energy from Earth's mid-infrared emissions". PNAS. 111 (11): 3927–3932. Bibcode:2014PNAS..111.3927B. doi:10.1073/pnas.1402036111. PMC 3964088. PMID 24591604.
  141. ^ "In bloom: growing algae for biofuel". 9 October 2008. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  142. ^ "Water vapor in the atmosphere may be prime renewable energy source". techxplore.com. from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  143. ^ "Mapua's Carvey Maigue shortlisted in James Dyson Award for solar device". Good News Pilipinas. 11 November 2020. from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  144. ^ "AuREUS Aurora Renewable Energy UV Sequestration". James Dyson Award. from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  145. ^ "Mapua student wins international design award for invention made from crop waste". CNN. 20 November 2020. from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  146. ^ a b Olauson, Jon; Ayob, Mohd Nasir; Bergkvist, Mikael; Carpman, Nicole; Castellucci, Valeria; Goude, Anders; Lingfors, David; Waters, Rafael; Widén, Joakim (December 2016). "Net load variability in Nordic countries with a highly or fully renewable power system". Nature Energy. 1 (12): 16175. doi:10.1038/nenergy.2016.175. ISSN 2058-7546. from the original on 4 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  147. ^ IPCC 2011, pp. 15–16.
  148. ^ Ramsebner, Jasmine; Haas, Reinhard; Ajanovic, Amela; Wietschel, Martin (July 2021). "The sector coupling concept: A critical review". WIREs Energy and Environment. 10 (4). doi:10.1002/wene.396. ISSN 2041-8396. S2CID 234026069.
  149. ^ "4 questions on sector coupling". Wartsila.com. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  150. ^ "Intelligent, flexible Sector Coupling in cities can double the potential for Wind and Solar". Energy Post. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  151. ^ "Hydropower Special Market Report – Analysis". IEA. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  152. ^ "What role is large-scale battery storage playing on the grid today?". Energy Storage News. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  153. ^ Zhou, Chen; Liu, Rao; Ba, Yu; Wang, Haixia; Ju, Rongbin; Song, Minggang; Zou, Nan; Li, Weidong (28 May 2021). "Study on the optimization of the day-ahead addition space for large-scale energy storage participation in auxiliary services". 2021 2nd International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Information Systems. ICAIIS 2021. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery: 1–6. doi:10.1145/3469213.3471362. ISBN 978-1-4503-9020-0. S2CID 237206056.
  154. ^ Heilweil, Rebecca (5 May 2022). "These batteries work from home". Vox. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  155. ^ a b c d e "Renewable Energy Market Update - May 2022 – Analysis". IEA. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  156. ^ Gunter, Linda Pentz (5 February 2017). "Trump Is Foolish to Ignore the Flourishing Renewable Energy Sector". Truthout. from the original on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  157. ^ Jaeger, Joel; Walls, Ginette; Clarke, Ella; Altamirano, Juan-Carlos; Harsono, Arya; Mountford, Helen; Burrow, Sharan; Smith, Samantha; Tate, Alison (18 October 2021). "The Green Jobs Advantage: How Climate-friendly Investments Are Better Job Creators". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  158. ^ "Renewable Energy Employment by Country". /Statistics/View-Data-by-Topic/Benefits/Renewable-Energy-Employment-by-Country. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  159. ^ a b IRENA RE Capacity 2020
  160. ^ a b c IRENA RE Statistics 2020 PROD(GWh)/(CAP(GW)*8760h)
  161. ^ a b IRENA RE Costs 2020, p. 13
  162. ^ IRENA RE Costs 2020, p. 14
  163. ^ "Energy Transition Investment Hit $500 Billion in 2020 – For First Time". BloombergNEF. (Bloomberg New Energy Finance). 19 January 2021. from the original on 19 January 2021.
  164. ^ Data: BP Statistical Review of World Energy, and Ember Climate (3 November 2021). "Electricity consumption from fossil fuels, nuclear and renewables, 2020". OurWorldInData.org. Our World in Data consolidated data from BP and Ember. from the original on 3 November 2021.
  165. ^ "The European Power Sector in 2020 / Up-to-Date Analysis on the Electricity Transition" (PDF). ember-climate.org. Ember and Agora Energiewende. 25 January 2021. (PDF) from the original on 25 January 2021.
  166. ^ "Why did renewables become so cheap so fast?". Our World in Data. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  167. ^ Chrobak, Ula (28 January 2021). "Solar power got cheap. So why aren't we using it more?". Popular Science. Infographics by Sara Chodosh. from the original on 29 January 2021. Chodosh's graphic is derived from data in "Lazard's Levelized Cost of Energy Version 14.0" (PDF). Lazard.com. Lazard. 19 October 2020. (PDF) from the original on 28 January 2021.
  168. ^ "Majority of New Renewables Undercut Cheapest Fossil Fuel on Cost". IRENA.org. International Renewable Energy Agency. 22 June 2021. from the original on 22 June 2021. ● Infographic (with numerical data) and
  169. ^ Heidari, Negin; Pearce, Joshua M. (2016). "A Review of Greenhouse Gas Emission Liabilities as the Value of Renewable Energy for Mitigating Lawsuits for Climate Change Related Damages". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 55C: 899–908. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2015.11.025. S2CID 111165822. from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  170. ^ a b "Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2020". Capacity4dev / European Commission. Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance; BloombergNEF. 2020. from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  171. ^ "Record clean energy spending is set to help global energy investment grow by 8% in 2022 - News". IEA. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  172. ^ "China's New Plan for Renewable Energy Development Focuses on Consumption". www.fitchratings.com. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  173. ^ Claeys, Bram; Rosenow, Jan; Anderson, Megan (27 June 2022). "Is REPowerEU the right energy policy recipe to move away from Russian gas?". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  174. ^ WWF and World Resources Institute, Corporate Renewable Energy Buyers Principles 11 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine, published July 2014, accessed 12 July 2021
  175. ^   This article incorporates text published under the British Open Government Licence: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Aggregated energy balances showing proportion of renewables in supply and demand, published 24 September 2020, accessed 12 July 2021
  176. ^ a b "Hydropower Status Report". International Hydropower Association. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  177. ^ Energy Technology Perspectives: Scenarios and Strategies to 2050. Paris: International Energy Agency. 2006. p. 124. ISBN 926410982X. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  178. ^ "Environmental Impacts of Hydroelectric Power | Union of Concerned Scientists". www.ucsusa.org. from the original on 15 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  179. ^ "Hydropower Special Market Report" (PDF). IEA. pp. 34–36. (PDF) from the original on 7 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  180. ^ L. Lia; T. Jensen; K.E. Stensbyand; G. Holm; A.M. Ruud. "The current status of hydropower development and dam construction in Norway" (PDF). Ntnu.no. from the original on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  181. ^ "How Norway became Europe's biggest power exporter". Power Technology. 19 April 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  182. ^ "Trade surplus soars on energy exports | Norway's News in English — www.newsinenglish.no". 17 January 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  183. ^ "New Transmission Line Reaches Milestone". Vpr.net. from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  184. ^ "Succeeding in the global offshore wind market | McKinsey". www.mckinsey.com. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  185. ^ a b c d e f g h i . Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  186. ^ "Solar Energy Projects in California". energy.ca.gov. from the original on 14 July 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  187. ^ . Fplenergy.com. Archived from the original on 5 August 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  188. ^ . ivanpahsolar.com. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  189. ^ Mearian, Lucas. U.S. flips switch on massive solar power array that also stores electricity: The array is first large U.S. solar plant with a thermal energy storage system 2 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine, 10 October 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  190. ^ REN21 Renewables Global Status Report 2008, p. 12.
  191. ^ "Crossing the Chasm" (PDF). Deutsche Bank Markets Research. 27 February 2015. (PDF) from the original on 30 March 2015.
  192. ^ . Jcwinnie.biz. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  193. ^ IEA (2014). (PDF). iea.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  194. ^ Denis Lenardic. Large-scale photovoltaic power plants ranking 1 - 50 1 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine PVresources.com, 2010.
  195. ^ "Transport – Analysis". Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  196. ^ . Renewable Fuels Association. Archived from the original on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  197. ^ M. Macedo Isaias; Lima Verde Leal; J. Azevedo Ramos da Silva (2004). (PDF). Secretariat of the Environment, Government of the State of São Paulo. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 9 May 2008.
  198. ^ Daniel Budny and Paulo Sotero, ed. (April 2007). (PDF). Brazil Institute of the Woodrow Wilson Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 3 May 2008.
  199. ^ "Japan to create bio jet fuel supply chain in clean energy push". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  200. ^ William E. Glassley. Geothermal Energy: Renewable Energy and the Environment 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine CRC Press, 2010.
  201. ^ Khan, M. Ali (2007). (PDF). Annual Forum of the Groundwater Protection Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
  202. ^ "Developing Countries Lack Means To Acquire More Efficient Technologies". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  203. ^ Frankfurt School-UNEP Centre/BNEF. Global trends in renewable energy investment 2020, p. 42.
  204. ^ "Changes in primary energy demand by fuel and region in the Stated Policies Scenario, 2019-2030 – Charts – Data & Statistics". IEA. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  205. ^ Energy for Development: The Potential Role of Renewable Energy in Meeting the Millennium Development Goals pp. 7-9.
  206. ^ a b "Policies". www.iea.org. from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  207. ^ Signatory States 26 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  208. ^ . /irenamembership. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  209. ^ Tran, Mark (2 November 2011). "UN calls for universal access to renewable energy". The Guardian. London. from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  210. ^ Ken Berlin, Reed Hundt, Marko Muro, and Devashree Saha. "State Clean Energy Banks: New Investment Facilities for Clean Energy Deployment"
  211. ^ "Putin promises gas to a Europe struggling with soaring prices". Politico. 13 October 2021. from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  212. ^ Simon, Frédéric (12 December 2019). "The EU releases its Green Deal. Here are the key points". Climate Home News. from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  213. ^ Bogdanov, Dmitrii; Gulagi, Ashish; Fasihi, Mahdi; Breyer, Christian (1 February 2021). "Full energy sector transition towards 100% renewable energy supply: Integrating power, heat, transport and industry sectors including desalination". Applied Energy. 283: 116273. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.116273. ISSN 0306-2619.
  214. ^ Teske, Sven, ed. (2019). Achieving the Paris Climate Agreement Goals. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-05843-2. ISBN 978-3-030-05842-5. S2CID 198078901.
  215. ^ "Cheap, safe 100% renewable energy possible before 2050, says Finnish uni study". Yle Uutiset. 12 April 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  216. ^ Gulagi, Ashish; Alcanzare, Myron; Bogdanov, Dmitrii; Esparcia, Eugene; Ocon, Joey; Breyer, Christian (1 July 2021). "Transition pathway towards 100% renewable energy across the sectors of power, heat, transport, and desalination for the Philippines". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 144: 110934. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2021.110934. ISSN 1364-0321.
  217. ^ Hansen, Kenneth; et al. (2019). "Status and perspectives on 100% renewable energy systems". Energy. 175: 471–480. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2019.03.092. The great majority of all publications highlights the technical feasibility and economic viability of 100% RE systems.
  218. ^ Koumoundouros, Tessa (27 December 2019). "Stanford Researchers Have an Exciting Plan to Tackle The Climate Emergency Worldwide". ScienceAlert. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  219. ^ Wiseman, John; et al. (April 2013). "Post Carbon Pathways" (PDF). University of Melbourne.
  220. ^ Bank, European Investment (20 April 2022). The EIB Climate Survey 2021-2022 - Citizens call for green recovery. European Investment Bank. ISBN 978-92-861-5223-8.
  221. ^ "Phasing out fossil gas power stations in Europe by 2030 | Airclim". www.airclim.org. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  222. ^ Swartz, Kristi E. (8 December 2021). "Can U.S. phase out natural gas? Lessons from the Southeast". E&E News. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  223. ^ "Climate change: phase out gas power by 2035, say businesses including Nestle, Thames Water, Co-op". Sky News. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  224. ^ a b van Zalk, John; Behrens, Paul (1 December 2018). "The spatial extent of renewable and non-renewable power generation: A review and meta-analysis of power densities and their application in the U.S." Energy Policy. 123: 83–91. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2018.08.023. ISSN 0301-4215.
  225. ^ Leake, Jonathan. "UK's largest solar farm 'will destroy north Kent landscape'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. from the original on 20 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  226. ^ McGwin, Kevin (20 April 2018). "Sámi mount new challenge to legality of Norway's largest wind farm". ArcticToday. from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  227. ^ "Why do so many people in France hate wind farms?". The Local. France. 7 August 2018. from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  228. ^ "Norway's public backlash against onshore wind threatens sector growth". Reuters. 25 September 2019. from the original on 23 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  229. ^ Gourlay, Simon (12 August 2008). "Wind farms are not only beautiful, they're absolutely necessary". The Guardian. UK. from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  230. ^ Department of Energy & Climate Change (2011). UK Renewable Energy Roadmap (PDF) 10 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine p. 35.
  231. ^ DTI, Co-operative Energy: Lessons from Denmark and Sweden[permanent dead link], Report of a DTI Global Watch Mission, October 2004
  232. ^ Morris C & Pehnt M, German Energy Transition: Arguments for a Renewable Energy Future 3 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Heinrich Böll Foundation, November 2012
  233. ^ International Energy Agency (2007). Contribution of Renewables to Energy Security IEA Information Paper, p. 5. 18 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  234. ^ a b "EU countries look to Brussels for help with 'unprecedented' energy crisis". Politico. 6 October 2021. from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  235. ^ "European Energy Crisis Fuels Carbon Trading Expansion Concerns". Bloomberg. 6 October 2021. from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  236. ^ "The Green Brief: East-West EU split again over climate". Euractiv. 20 October 2021. from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  237. ^ "In Global Energy Crisis, Anti-Nuclear Chickens Come Home to Roost". Foreign Policy. 8 October 2021. from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  238. ^ "Europe's energy crisis: Continent 'too reliant on gas,' says von der Leyen". Euronews. 20 October 2021. from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  239. ^ Utah House Bill 430, Session 198
  240. ^ "Renewable energy: Definitions from Dictionary.com". Dictionary.com website. Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. Retrieved 25 August 2007.
  241. ^ a b "Renewable and Alternative Fuels Basics 101". Energy Information Administration. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  242. ^ . National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Archived from the original on 11 January 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  243. ^ Brundtland, Gro Harlem (20 March 1987). "Chapter 7: Energy: Choices for Environment and Development". Our Common Future: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development. Oslo. Retrieved 27 March 2013. Today's primary sources of energy are mainly non-renewable: natural gas, oil, coal, peat, and conventional nuclear power. There are also renewable sources, including wood, plants, dung, falling water, geothermal sources, solar, tidal, wind, and wave energy, as well as human and animal muscle-power. Nuclear reactors that produce their own fuel ('breeders') and eventually fusion reactors are also in this category
  244. ^ American Petroleum Institute. "Key Characteristics of Nonrenewable Resources". Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  245. ^
  246. ^ MIT spent fuel radioactivity comparison, table 4.3
  247. ^ http://www.epa.gov/radiation/tenorm/geothermal.html Geothermal Energy Production Waste.
  248. ^ "The Geopolitics of Renewable Energy". ResearchGate. from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  249. ^ "Future Petroleum Geopolitics: Consequences of Climate Policy and Unconventional Oil and Gas". ResearchGate. from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  250. ^ Overland, Indra (1 March 2019). "The geopolitics of renewable energy: Debunking four emerging myths". Energy Research & Social Science. 49: 36–40. doi:10.1016/j.erss.2018.10.018. ISSN 2214-6296.
  251. ^ "The transition to clean energy will mint new commodity superpowers". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  252. ^ Overland, Indra; Bazilian, Morgan; Ilimbek Uulu, Talgat; Vakulchuk, Roman; Westphal, Kirsten (2019). "The GeGaLo index: Geopolitical gains and losses after energy transition". Energy Strategy Reviews. 26: 100406. doi:10.1016/j.esr.2019.100406.
  253. ^ Vakulchuk, Roman; Overland, Indra; Scholten, Daniel (1 April 2020). "Renewable energy and geopolitics: A review". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 122: 109547. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2019.109547. ISSN 1364-0321. S2CID 213515030.
  254. ^ "The Geopolitics of Renewable Energy" (PDF). pp. 19–21. (PDF) from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  255. ^ "The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions" (PDF). International Energy Agency. (PDF) from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  256. ^ Watts, Jonathan; Kirk, Ashley; McIntyre, Niamh; Gutiérrez, Pablo; Kommenda, Niko. "Half world's fossil fuel assets could become worthless by 2036 in net zero transition". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  257. ^ Mercure, J.-F.; Salas, P.; Vercoulen, P.; Semieniuk, G.; Lam, A.; Pollitt, H.; Holden, P. B.; Vakilifard, N.; Chewpreecha, U.; Edwards, N. R.; Vinuales, J. E. (4 November 2021). "Reframing incentives for climate policy action". Nature Energy. 6 (12): 1133–1143. Bibcode:2021NatEn...6.1133M. doi:10.1038/s41560-021-00934-2. ISSN 2058-7546. S2CID 243792305.
  258. ^ Krane, Jim; Idel, Robert (1 December 2021). "More transitions, less risk: How renewable energy reduces risks from mining, trade and political dependence". Energy Research & Social Science. 82: 102311. doi:10.1016/j.erss.2021.102311. ISSN 2214-6296. S2CID 244187364.
  259. ^ a b "In-depth Q&A: Does the world need hydrogen to solve climate change?". Carbon Brief. 30 November 2020. from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  260. ^ Van de Graaf, Thijs; Overland, Indra; Scholten, Daniel; Westphal, Kirsten (1 December 2020). "The new oil? The geopolitics and international governance of hydrogen". Energy Research & Social Science. 70: 101667. doi:10.1016/j.erss.2020.101667. ISSN 2214-6296. PMC 7326412. PMID 32835007.
  261. ^ "The New Geopolitics of a Decarbonizing World | Wilson Center". www.wilsoncenter.org. from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  262. ^ "Here are the clean energy innovations that will beat climate change". European Investment Bank. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  263. ^ "Action on clean hydrogen is needed to deliver net-zero by 2050. Here's how". World Economic Forum.

January 09, 2023
renewable, energy, journal, renewable, energy, journal, energy, that, collected, from, renewable, resources, that, naturally, replenished, human, timescale, includes, sources, such, sunlight, wind, movement, water, geothermal, heat, although, most, renewable, . For the journal see Renewable Energy journal Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale It includes sources such as sunlight wind the movement of water and geothermal heat 2 Although most renewable energy sources are sustainable some are not For example some biomass sources are considered unsustainable at current rates of exploitation 3 4 Renewable energy often provides energy for electricity generation to a grid air and water heating cooling and stand alone power systems Renewable energy technology projects are typically large scale but they are also suited to rural and remote areas and developing countries where energy is often crucial in human development 5 6 Renewable energy is often deployed together with further electrification which has several benefits electricity can move heat or objects efficiently and is clean at the point of consumption 7 8 In addition electrification with renewable energy is more efficient and therefore leads to significant reductions in primary energy requirements 9 Renewable energy capacity additions in 2020 expanded by more than 45 from 2019 including 90 more new wind power green and a 23 expansion of new solar photovoltaic installations yellow 1 From 2011 to 2021 renewable energy has grown from 20 to 28 of global electricity supply Fossil energy shrunk from 68 to 62 and nuclear from 12 to 10 The share of hydropower decreased from 16 to 15 while power from sun and wind increased from 2 to 10 Biomass and geothermal energy grew from 2 to 3 There are 3 146 gigawatts installed in 135 countries while 156 countries have laws regulating the renewable energy sector 10 11 In 2021 China accounted for almost half of the global increase in renewable electricity 12 Globally there are over 10 million jobs associated with the renewable energy industries with solar photovoltaics being the largest renewable employer 13 Renewable energy systems are rapidly becoming more efficient and cheaper and their share of total energy consumption is increasing 14 with a large majority of worldwide newly installed electricity capacity being renewable 15 In most countries photovoltaic solar or onshore wind are the cheapest new build electricity 16 Many nations around the world already have renewable energy contributing more than 20 of their total energy supply with some generating over half their electricity from renewables 17 A few countries generate all their electricity using renewable energy 18 National renewable energy markets are projected to continue to grow strongly in the 2020s and beyond 19 Studies have shown that a global transition to 100 renewable energy across all sectors power heat transport and desalination is feasible and economically viable 20 21 22 Renewable energy resources exist over wide geographical areas in contrast to fossil fuels which are concentrated in a limited number of countries Deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies is resulting in significant energy security climate change mitigation and economic benefits 23 However renewables are being hindered by hundreds of billions of dollars of fossil fuel subsidies 24 In international public opinion surveys there is strong support for renewables such as solar power and wind power 25 26 But the International Energy Agency said in 2021 that to reach net zero carbon emissions more effort is needed to increase renewables and called for generation to increase by about 12 a year to 2030 27 Contents 1 Overview 1 1 Definition 1 2 Drivers and benefits 1 3 Scale 1 4 Uses 1 4 1 Power generation 1 4 2 Heating and cooling 1 4 3 Transportation 2 Mainstream technologies 2 1 Solar energy 2 2 Wind power 2 3 Hydropower 2 4 Bioenergy 2 5 Geothermal energy 3 Emerging technologies 3 1 Enhanced geothermal system 3 2 Marine energy 3 3 Passive daytime radiative cooling 3 4 Artificial photosynthesis 3 5 Earth infrared thermal radiation 3 6 Others 3 6 1 Algae fuels 3 6 2 Water vapor 3 6 3 Crop wastes 4 Integration into the energy system and sector coupling 4 1 Electrical energy storage 5 Market and industry trends 5 1 Cost comparison 5 2 Growth of renewables 5 2 1 Future projections 5 3 Demand 5 4 Trends for individual technologies 5 4 1 Hydroelectricity 5 4 2 Wind power development 5 4 3 Solar thermal 5 4 4 Photovoltaic development 5 4 5 Biofuel development 5 4 6 Geothermal development 5 5 Developing countries 6 Policy 6 1 Policy trends 6 2 Full renewable energy 7 Debate 7 1 Nuclear power proposed as renewable energy 8 Geopolitics of renewable energy 9 Health and environmental impact 9 1 Biomass 9 2 Conservation areas recycling and rare earth elements 10 History 11 Gallery 12 See also 13 References 13 1 Sources 13 1 1 IRENA 14 External linksOverview EditSee also Outline of solar energy and Lists of renewable energy topics Coal oil and natural gas remain the primary global energy sources even as renewables have begun rapidly increasing 28 PlanetSolar the world s largest solar powered boat and the first ever solar electric vehicle to circumnavigate the globe in 2012 Definition Edit See also Sustainable energy Renewable energy flows involve natural phenomena such as sunlight wind tides plant growth and geothermal heat as the International Energy Agency explains 29 Renewable energy is derived from natural processes that are replenished constantly In its various forms it derives directly from the sun or from heat generated deep within the earth Included in the definition is electricity and heat generated from solar wind ocean hydropower biomass geothermal resources and biofuels and hydrogen derived from renewable resources Drivers and benefits Edit Renewable energy stands in contrast to fossil fuels which are being used far more quickly than they are being replenished Renewable energy resources and significant opportunities for energy efficiency exist over wide geographical areas in contrast to other energy sources which are concentrated in a limited number of countries Rapid deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency and technological diversification of energy sources would result in significant energy security and economic benefits 23 Solar and wind power have got much cheaper 30 In some cases it will be cheaper to transition to these sources as opposed to continuing to use the current inefficient fossil fuels It would also reduce environmental pollution such as air pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels and improve public health reduce premature mortalities due to pollution and save associated health costs that could amount to trillions of dollars annually 31 32 Multiple analyses of decarbonization strategies have found that quantified health benefits can significantly offset the costs of implementing these strategies 33 34 Climate change concerns coupled with the continuing fall in the costs of some renewable energy equipment such as wind turbines and solar panels are driving increased use of renewables 25 New government spending regulation and policies helped the industry weather the global financial crisis better than many other sectors 35 As of 2019 update however according to the International Renewable Energy Agency renewables overall share in the energy mix including power heat and transport needs to grow six times faster in order to keep the rise in average global temperatures well below 2 0 C 3 6 F during the present century compared to pre industrial levels 36 Scale Edit Main article Renewable energy Market and industry trends Main article Renewable energy commercialization A household s solar panels and batteries if they have them can often either be used for just that household or if connected to an electrical grid can be aggregated with millions of others 37 Over 44 million households use biogas made in household scale digesters for lighting and or cooking and more than 166 million households rely on a new generation of more efficient biomass cookstoves 38 needs update According to the research a nation must reach a certain point in its growth before it can take use of more renewable energy In our words its addition changed how crucial input factors labor and capital connect to one another lowering their overall elasticity and increasing the apparent economies of scale 39 United Nations eighth Secretary General Ban Ki moon has said that renewable energy has the ability to lift the poorest nations to new levels of prosperity 40 At the national level at least 30 nations around the world already have renewable energy contributing more than 20 of energy supply 41 Although many countries have various policy targets for longer term shares of renewable energy these tend to be only for the power sector 42 including a 40 target of all electricity generated for the European Union by 2030 43 Uses Edit Renewable energy often displaces conventional fuels in four areas electricity generation hot water space heating transportation and rural off grid energy services 44 Power generation Edit More than a quarter of electricity is generated from renewables as of 2021 45 Heating and cooling Edit Solar water heating makes an important contribution to renewable heat in many countries most notably in China which now has 70 of the global total 180 GWth Most of these systems are installed on multi family apartment buildings 46 and meet a portion of the hot water needs of an estimated 50 60 million households in China Worldwide total installed solar water heating systems meet a portion of the water heating needs of over 70 million households In Sweden national use of biomass energy has surpassed that of oil Heat pumps provide both heating and cooling and also flatten the electric demand curve and are thus an increasing priority 47 48 Renewable thermal energy is also growing rapidly 49 About 10 of heating and cooling energy is from renewables 45 Transportation Edit A bus fueled by biodiesel One of the efforts to decarbonize transportation is the increased use of electric vehicles EVs 50 Despite that and the use of biofuels such as biojet less than 4 of transport energy is from renewables 51 Occasionally hydrogen fuel cells are used for heavy transport 52 Mainstream technologies EditSolar energy Edit Main articles Solar energy and Solar power Satellite image of the Bhadla Solar Park in India the largest solar park in the world Global map of horizontal irradiation 53 Global electricity power generation capacity 849 5 GW 2021 54 Global electricity power generation capacity annual growth rate 26 2012 2021 55 Share of global electricity generation 2 2018 56 Levelized cost per megawatt hour Utility scale photovoltaics USD 38 343 2019 57 Primary technologies Photovoltaics concentrated solar power solar thermal collectorOther energy applications Water heating heating ventilation and air conditioning HVAC cooking process heat water treatmentSolar energy radiant light and heat from the sun is harnessed using a range of ever evolving technologies such as solar heating photovoltaics concentrated solar power CSP concentrator photovoltaics CPV solar architecture and artificial photosynthesis 58 59 Most new renewable energy is solar 60 Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on the way they capture convert and distribute solar energy Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light dispersing properties and designing spaces that naturally circulate air Active solar technologies encompass solar thermal energy using solar collectors for heating and solar power converting sunlight into electricity either directly using photovoltaics PV or indirectly using concentrated solar power CSP A photovoltaic system converts light into electrical direct current DC by taking advantage of the photoelectric effect 61 Solar PV has turned into a multi billion fast growing industry continues to improve its cost effectiveness and has the most potential of any renewable technologies together with CSP 62 63 Concentrated solar power CSP systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam Commercial concentrated solar power plants were first developed in the 1980s CSP Stirling has by far the highest efficiency among all solar energy technologies In 2011 the International Energy Agency said that the development of affordable inexhaustible and clean solar energy technologies will have huge longer term benefits It will increase countries energy security through reliance on an indigenous inexhaustible and mostly import independent resource enhance sustainability reduce pollution lower the costs of mitigating climate change and keep fossil fuel prices lower than otherwise These advantages are global Hence the additional costs of the incentives for early deployment should be considered learning investments they must be wisely spent and need to be widely shared 58 Solar power accounts for 505 GW annually which is about 2 of the world s electricity Solar energy can be harnessed anywhere that receives sunlight however the amount of solar energy that can be harnessed for electricity generation is influenced by weather conditions geographic location and time of day 64 According to chapter 6 of the IPCC 2022 climate mitigation report the global potential of direct solar energy far exceeds that of any other renewable energy resource It is well beyond the total amount of energy needed in order to support mitigation over the current century 65 Australia has the largest proportion of solar electricity in the world supplying 9 9 of the country s electrical demand in 2020 66 More than 30 per cent of Australian households now have rooftop solar PV with a combined capacity exceeding 11 GW 67 Wind power Edit Main article Wind power Wind energy generation by region over time 68 Global map of wind power density potential 69 Global electricity power generation capacity 824 9 GW 2021 70 Global electricity power generation capacity annual growth rate 13 2012 2021 71 Share of global electricity generation 5 2018 56 Levelized cost per megawatt hour Land based wind USD 30 165 2019 72 Primary technology Wind turbineOther energy applications Windmill windpumpAir flow can be used to run wind turbines Modern utility scale wind turbines range from around 600 kW to 9 MW of rated power The power available from the wind is a function of the cube of the wind speed so as wind speed increases power output increases up to the maximum output for the particular turbine 73 Areas where winds are stronger and more constant such as offshore and high altitude sites are preferred locations for wind farms Typically full load hours of wind turbines vary between 16 and 57 percent annually but might be higher in particularly favorable offshore sites 74 Wind generated electricity met nearly 4 of global electricity demand in 2015 with nearly 63 GW of new wind power capacity installed Wind energy was the leading source of new capacity in Europe the US and Canada and the second largest in China In Denmark wind energy met more than 40 of its electricity demand while Ireland Portugal and Spain each met nearly 20 75 Globally the long term technical potential of wind energy is believed to be five times total current global energy production or 40 times current electricity demand assuming all practical barriers needed were overcome This would require wind turbines to be installed over large areas particularly in areas of higher wind resources such as offshore As offshore wind speeds average 90 greater than that of land offshore resources can contribute substantially more energy than land stationed turbines 76 Hydropower Edit Main articles Hydroelectricity and Hydropower The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in China Global electricity power generation capacity 1 230 0 GW 2021 77 Global electricity power generation capacity annual growth rate 2 5 2012 2021 78 Share of global electricity generation 16 2018 56 Levelized cost per megawatt hour USD 65 581 2019 79 Primary technology DamOther energy applications Pumped storage mechanical powerSince water is about 800 times denser than air even a slow flowing stream of water or moderate sea swell can yield considerable amounts of energy Water can generate electricity with a conversion efficiency of about 90 which is the highest rate in renewable energy 80 There are many forms of water energy Historically hydroelectric power came from constructing large hydroelectric dams and reservoirs which are still popular in developing countries 81 The largest of them are the Three Gorges Dam 2003 in China and the Itaipu Dam 1984 built by Brazil and Paraguay Small hydro systems are hydroelectric power installations that typically produce up to 50 MW of power They are often used on small rivers or as a low impact development on larger rivers China is the largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world and has more than 45 000 small hydro installations 82 Run of the river hydroelectricity plants derive energy from rivers without the creation of a large reservoir The water is typically conveyed along the side of the river valley using channels pipes and or tunnels until it is high above the valley floor whereupon it can be allowed to fall through a penstock to drive a turbine A run of river plant may still produce a large amount of electricity such as the Chief Joseph Dam on the Columbia River in the United States 83 However many run of the river hydro power plants are micro hydro or pico hydro plants Hydropower is produced in 150 countries with the Asia Pacific region generating 32 percent of global hydropower in 2010 needs update Of the top 50 countries by percentage of electricity generated from renewables 46 are primarily hydroelectric 84 There are now seven hydroelectricity stations larger than 10 GW 10 000 MW worldwide see table below Rank Station Country Location Capacity MW 1 Three Gorges Dam China 30 49 15 N 111 00 08 E 30 82083 N 111 00222 E 30 82083 111 00222 Three Gorges Dam 22 5002 Baihetan Dam China 27 13 23 N 102 54 11 E 27 22306 N 102 90306 E 27 22306 102 90306 Three Gorges Dam 16 0003 Itaipu Dam Brazil Paraguay 25 24 31 S 54 35 21 W 25 40861 S 54 58917 W 25 40861 54 58917 Itaipu Dam 14 0004 Xiluodu Dam China 28 15 35 N 103 38 58 E 28 25972 N 103 64944 E 28 25972 103 64944 Xiluodu Dam 13 8605 Belo Monte Dam Brazil 03 06 57 S 51 47 45 W 3 11583 S 51 79583 W 3 11583 51 79583 Belo Monte Dam 11 2336 Guri Dam Venezuela 07 45 59 N 62 59 57 W 7 76639 N 62 99917 W 7 76639 62 99917 Guri Dam 10 2357 Wudongde Dam China 26 20 2 N 102 37 48 E 26 33389 N 102 63000 E 26 33389 102 63000 Three Gorges Dam 10 200Much hydropower is flexible thus complementing wind and solar 85 Wave power which captures the energy of ocean surface waves and tidal power converting the energy of tides are two forms of hydropower with future potential however they are not yet widely employed commercially 86 A demonstration project operated by the Ocean Renewable Power Company on the coast of Maine and connected to the grid harnesses tidal power from the Bay of Fundy location of the world s highest tidal flow Ocean thermal energy conversion which uses the temperature difference between cooler deep and warmer surface waters currently has no economic feasibility 87 88 Bioenergy Edit Main articles Biomass Biogas and Biofuel Sugarcane plantation to produce ethanol in Brazil A CHP power station using wood to supply 30 000 households in France Global electricity power generation capacity 143 4 GW 2021 89 Global electricity power generation capacity annual growth rate 7 1 2012 2021 90 Share of global electricity generation 2 2018 56 Levelized cost per megawatt hour USD 118 908 2019 91 Primary technologies Biomass biofuelOther energy applications Heating cooking transportation fuelsBiomass is biological material derived from living or recently living organisms It most often refers to plants or plant derived materials which are specifically called lignocellulosic biomass 92 As an energy source biomass can either be used directly via combustion to produce heat or indirectly after converting it to various forms of biofuel Conversion of biomass to biofuel can be achieved by different methods which are broadly classified into thermal chemical and biochemical methods Wood was the largest biomass energy source as of 2012 93 examples include forest residues such as dead trees branches and tree stumps yard clippings wood chips and even municipal solid waste In the second sense biomass includes plant or animal matter that can be converted into fibers or other industrial chemicals including biofuels Industrial biomass can be grown from numerous types of plants including miscanthus switchgrass hemp corn poplar willow sorghum sugarcane bamboo 94 and a variety of tree species ranging from eucalyptus to oil palm palm oil Plant energy is produced by crops specifically grown for use as fuel that offer high biomass output per hectare with low input energy 95 The grain can be used for liquid transportation fuels while the straw can be burned to produce heat or electricity Plant biomass can also be degraded from cellulose to glucose through a series of chemical treatments and the resulting sugar can then be used as a first generation biofuel Biomass can be converted to other usable forms of energy such as methane gas 96 or transportation fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel Rotting garbage and agricultural and human waste all release methane gas also called landfill gas or biogas Crops such as corn and sugarcane can be fermented to produce the transportation fuel ethanol Biodiesel another transportation fuel can be produced from left over food products such as vegetable oils and animal fats 97 There is a great deal of research involving algal fuel or algae derived biomass due to the fact that it is a non food resource grows around 20 times faster than other types of food crops such as corn and soy and can be grown almost anywhere 98 99 Once harvested it can be fermented to produce biofuels such as ethanol butanol and methane as well as biodiesel and hydrogen The biomass used for electricity generation varies by region Forest by products such as wood residues are common in the United States Agricultural waste is common in Mauritius sugar cane residue and Southeast Asia rice husks Biofuels include a wide range of fuels which are derived from biomass The term covers solid liquid and gaseous fuels 100 Liquid biofuels include bioalcohols such as bioethanol and oils such as biodiesel Gaseous biofuels include biogas landfill gas and synthetic gas Bioethanol is an alcohol made by fermenting the sugar components of plant materials and it is made mostly from sugar and starch crops These include maize sugarcane and more recently sweet sorghum The latter crop is particularly suitable for growing in dryland conditions and is being investigated by International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics for its potential to provide fuel along with food and animal feed in arid parts of Asia and Africa 101 With advanced technology being developed cellulosic biomass such as trees and grasses are also used as feedstocks for ethanol production Ethanol can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form but it is usually used as a gasoline additive to increase octane and improve vehicle emissions Bioethanol is widely used in the United States and in Brazil The energy costs for producing bio ethanol are almost equal to the energy yields from bio ethanol However according to the European Environment Agency biofuels do not address global warming concerns 102 Biodiesel is made from vegetable oils animal fats or recycled greases It can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form or more commonly as a diesel additive to reduce levels of particulates carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons from diesel powered vehicles Biodiesel is produced from oils or fats using transesterification and is the most common biofuel in Europe Biofuels provided 2 7 of the world s transport fuel in 2010 103 needs update Biomass biogas and biofuels are burned to produce heat power and in doing so harm the environment Pollutants such as sulphurous oxides SOx nitrous oxides NOx and particulate matter PM are produced from the combustion of biomass The World Health Organization estimates that 3 7 million prematurely died from outdoor air pollution in 2012 while indoor pollution from biomass burning effects over 3 billion people worldwide 104 105 Geothermal energy Edit Main articles Geothermal energy Geothermal power and Renewable thermal energy Steam rising from the Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Station in Iceland Global electricity power generation capacity 15 6 GW 2021 106 Global electricity power generation capacity annual growth rate 4 5 2012 2021 107 Share of global electricity generation lt 1 2018 56 Levelized cost per megawatt hour USD 58 257 2019 108 Primary technologies Dry steam flash steam and binary cycle power stationsOther energy applications HeatingHigh temperature geothermal energy is from thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth Thermal energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter Earth s geothermal energy originates from the original formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of minerals in currently uncertain 109 but possibly roughly equal 110 proportions The geothermal gradient which is the difference in temperature between the core of the planet and its surface drives a continuous conduction of thermal energy in the form of heat from the core to the surface The adjective geothermal originates from the Greek roots geo meaning earth and thermos meaning heat The heat that is used for geothermal energy can be from deep within the Earth all the way down to Earth s core 6 400 kilometres 4 000 mi down At the core temperatures may reach over 5 000 C 9 030 F Heat conducts from the core to the surrounding rock Extremely high temperature and pressure cause some rock to melt which is commonly known as magma Magma convects upward since it is lighter than the solid rock This magma then heats rock and water in the crust sometimes up to 371 C 700 F 111 Low temperature geothermal 47 refers to the use of the outer crust of the Earth as a thermal battery to facilitate renewable thermal energy for heating and cooling buildings and other refrigeration and industrial uses In this form of geothermal a geothermal heat pump and ground coupled heat exchanger are used together to move heat energy into the Earth for cooling and out of the Earth for heating on a varying seasonal basis Low temperature geothermal generally referred to as GHP clarification needed is an increasingly important renewable technology because it both reduces total annual energy loads associated with heating and cooling and it also flattens the electric demand curve eliminating the extreme summer and winter peak electric supply requirements Thus low temperature geothermal GHP is becoming an increasing national clarification needed priority with multiple tax credit support 112 and focus as part of the ongoing movement toward net zero energy 48 Emerging technologies EditThere are also other renewable energy technologies that are still under development including cellulosic ethanol hot dry rock geothermal power and marine energy 113 These technologies are not yet widely demonstrated or have limited commercialization Many are on the horizon and may have potential comparable to other renewable energy technologies but still depend on attracting sufficient attention and research development and demonstration RD amp D funding 113 There are numerous organizations within the academic federal clarification needed and commercial sectors conducting large scale advanced research in the field of renewable energy This research spans several areas of focus across the renewable energy spectrum Most of the research is targeted at improving efficiency and increasing overall energy yields 114 Multiple government supported research organizations have focused on renewable energy in recent years Two of the most prominent of these labs are Sandia National Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory NREL both of which are funded by the United States Department of Energy and supported by various corporate partners 115 Enhanced geothermal system Edit Enhanced geothermal system see file description for details Main article Enhanced geothermal systems Enhanced geothermal systems EGS are a new type of geothermal power technology that does not require natural convective hydrothermal resources The vast majority of geothermal energy within drilling reach is in dry and non porous rock 116 EGS technologies enhance and or create geothermal resources in this hot dry rock HDR through hydraulic fracturing EGS and HDR technologies such as hydrothermal geothermal are expected to be baseload resources that produce power 24 hours a day like a fossil plant Distinct from hydrothermal HDR and EGS may be feasible anywhere in the world depending on the economic limits of drill depth Good locations are over deep granite covered by a thick 3 5 km or 1 9 3 1 mi layer of insulating sediments which slow heat loss 117 There are HDR and EGS systems currently being developed and tested in France Australia Japan Germany the U S and Switzerland The largest EGS project in the world is a 25 megawatt demonstration plant currently being developed in the Cooper Basin Australia The Cooper Basin has the potential to generate 5 000 10 000 MW Marine energy Edit Rance Tidal Power Station France Main article Marine energy Marine energy also sometimes referred to as ocean energy is the energy carried by ocean waves tides salinity and ocean temperature differences The movement of water in the world s oceans creates a vast store of kinetic energy or energy in motion This energy can be harnessed to generate electricity to power homes transport and industries The term marine energy encompasses wave power power from surface waves marine current power power from marine hydrokinetic streams e g the Gulf Stream and tidal power obtained from the kinetic energy of large bodies of moving water Reverse electrodialysis RED is a technology for generating electricity by mixing fresh river water and salty sea water in large power cells designed for this purpose as of 2016 it is being tested at a small scale 50 kW Offshore wind power is not a form of marine energy as wind power is derived from the wind even if the wind turbines are placed over water The oceans have a tremendous amount of energy and are close to many if not most concentrated populations Ocean energy has the potential of providing a substantial amount of new renewable energy around the world 1 118 page needed Station Country Location Capacity Refs1 Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station South Korea 37 18 47 N 126 36 46 E 37 31306 N 126 61278 E 37 31306 126 61278 Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station 254 MW 119 2 Rance Tidal Power Station France 48 37 05 N 02 01 24 W 48 61806 N 2 02333 W 48 61806 2 02333 Rance Tidal Power Station 240 MW 120 3 Annapolis Royal Generating Station Canada 44 45 07 N 65 30 40 W 44 75194 N 65 51111 W 44 75194 65 51111 Annapolis Royal Generating Station 20 MW 120 Passive daytime radiative cooling can cool temperatures with zero energy consumption or pollution 121 Passive daytime radiative cooling Edit Main article Passive daytime radiative cooling Passive daytime radiative cooling PDRC uses the coldness of outer space as a renewable energy source to achieve daytime cooling that can be used in many applications 122 123 124 such as indoor space cooling 125 126 outdoor urban heat island mitigation 127 128 and solar cell efficiency 129 130 PDRC surfaces are designed to be high in solar reflectance to minimize heat gain and strong in longwave infrared LWIR thermal radiation heat transfer 131 On a planetary scale it has been proposed as a way to slow and reverse global warming 121 132 PDRC applications are deployed as sky facing surfaces similar to other renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic systems and solar thermal collectors 130 PDRC became possible with the ability to suppress solar heating using photonic metamaterials first published in a study by Raman et al to the scientific community in 2014 133 134 PDRC applications for indoor space cooling is growing with an estimated market size of 27 billion in 2025 135 Artificial photosynthesis Edit Main article Artificial photosynthesis Artificial photosynthesis uses techniques including nanotechnology to store solar electromagnetic energy in chemical bonds by splitting water to produce hydrogen and then using carbon dioxide to make methanol 136 Researchers in this field strived to design molecular mimics of photosynthesis that use a wider region of the solar spectrum employ catalytic systems made from abundant inexpensive materials that are robust readily repaired non toxic stable in a variety of environmental conditions and perform more efficiently allowing a greater proportion of photon energy to end up in the storage compounds i e carbohydrates rather than building and sustaining living cells 137 However prominent research faces hurdles Sun Catalytix a MIT spin off stopped scaling up their prototype fuel cell in 2012 because it offers few savings over other ways to make hydrogen from sunlight 138 Earth infrared thermal radiation Edit Earth emits roughly 1017 W of infrared thermal radiation that flows toward the cold outer space Solar energy hits the surface and atmosphere of the earth and produces heat Using various theorized devices like emissive energy harvester EEH or thermoradiative diode this energy flow can be converted into electricity In theory this technology can be used during nighttime 139 140 Others Edit Algae fuels Edit Main article Algae fuels Producing liquid fuels from oil rich fat rich varieties of algae is an ongoing research topic Various microalgae grown in open or closed systems are being tried including some systems that can be set up in brownfield and desert lands 141 Water vapor Edit Collection of static electricity charges from water droplets on metal surfaces is an experimental technology that would be especially useful in low income countries with relative air humidity over 60 142 Crop wastes Edit AuREUS devices Aurora Renewable Energy amp UV Sequestration 143 which are based on crop wastes can absorb ultraviolet light from the sun and turn it into renewable energy 144 145 Integration into the energy system and sector coupling EditMain article Variable renewable energy Estimated power demand over a week in May 2012 and May 2020 Germany showing the need for dispatchable generation rather than baseload generation in the grid clarification needed Renewable energy production from some sources such as wind and solar is more variable and more geographically spread than technology based on fossil fuels and nuclear While integrating it into the wider energy system is feasible it does lead to some additional challenges such as increased production volatility and decreased system inertia 146 Implementation of energy storage using a wide variety of renewable energy technologies and implementing a smart grid in which energy is automatically used at the moment it is produced can reduce risks and costs of renewable energy implementation 146 147 Sector coupling of the power generation sector with other sectors may increase flexibility for example the transport sector can be coupled by charging electric vehicles and sending electricity from vehicle to grid 148 Similarly the industry sector can be coupled by hydrogen produced by electrolysis 149 and the buildings sector by thermal energy storage for space heating and cooling 150 Electrical energy storage Edit Main articles Energy storage and Grid energy storage Electrical energy storage is a collection of methods used to store electrical energy Electrical energy is stored during times when production especially from intermittent sources such as wind power tidal power solar power exceeds consumption and returned to the grid when production falls below consumption Pumped storage hydroelectricity accounts for more than 85 of all grid power storage 151 Batteries are increasingly being deployed for this 152 and for grid ancillary services 153 and for domestic storage 154 Market and industry trends EditMain article Renewable energy commercialization Most new renewables are solar followed by wind then hydro then bioenergy 155 5 Investment in renewables especially solar tends to be more effective in creating jobs than coal gas or oil 156 157 Worldwide renewables employ about 12 million people as of 2020 with solar PV being the technology employing the most at almost 4 million 158 Cost comparison Edit Installed 159 TWp GrowthTW yr 159 Productionper installedcapacity 160 EnergyTWh yr 160 GrowthTWh yr 160 Levelized costUS KWh 161 Av auction pricesUS KWh 162 Cost development2010 2019 161 Solar PV 0 580 0 098 13 549 123 6 8 3 9 82 Solar CSP 0 006 0 0006 13 6 3 0 5 18 2 7 5 47 Wind Offshore 0 028 0 0045 33 68 11 5 11 5 8 2 30 Wind Onshore 0 594 0 05 25 1194 118 5 3 4 3 38 Hydro 1 310 0 013 38 4267 90 4 7 27 Bioenergy 0 12 0 006 51 522 27 6 6 13 Geothermal 0 014 0 00007 74 13 9 0 7 7 3 49 2018 All other values for 2019 Growth of renewables Edit Investment and sources Investment Companies governments and households committed 501 3 billion to decarbonization in 2020 including renewable energy solar wind electric vehicles and associated charging infrastructure energy storage energy efficient heating systems carbon capture and storage and hydrogen 163 The countries most reliant on fossil fuels for electricity vary widely on how great a portion of that electricity is generated from renewables leaving wide variation in renewables growth potential 164 In 2020 renewables overtook fossil fuels as the European Union s main source of electricity for the first time 165 Pricing A comparison of prices over time for energy from wind solar and other sources Over time renewables benefit from learning curves and economies of scale 166 Levelized cost With increasingly widespread implementation of renewable energy sources costs have declined most notably for energy generated by solar panels 167 Levelized cost of energy LCOE is a measure of the average net present cost of electricity generation for a generating plant over its lifetime Past costs of producing renewable energy declined significantly with 62 of total renewable power generation added in 2020 having lower costs than the cheapest new fossil fuel option 168 The results of a recent review of the literature concluded that as greenhouse gas GHG emitters begin to be held liable for damages resulting from GHG emissions resulting in climate change a high value for liability mitigation would provide powerful incentives for deployment of renewable energy technologies 169 In the decade of 2010 2019 worldwide investment in renewable energy capacity excluding large hydropower amounted to US 2 7 trillion of which the top countries China contributed US 818 billion the United States contributed US 392 3 billion Japan contributed US 210 9 billion Germany contributed US 183 4 billion and the United Kingdom contributed US 126 5 billion 170 This was an increase of over three and possibly four times the equivalent amount invested in the decade of 2000 2009 no data is available for 2000 2003 170 Future projections Edit See also Energy transition A May 2022 report by the IEA predicted renewables to remain competitive in 2023 despite rising costs as fossil fuel costs have risen much faster 155 The report forecasts almost 200 GW of solar PV to be installed in 2023 155 8 China and Europe are both expected to install more renewables than the US due to uncertainty in US energy policy 155 13 The report forecasts biofuel demand to increase in India and Indonesia in 2023 partly due to their transport policies 155 22 In June 2022 IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said that countries should invest more in renewables to ease the pressure on consumers from high fossil fuel prices make our energy systems more secure and get the world on track to reach our climate goals 171 China s five year plan to 2025 includes increasing direct heating by renewables such as geothermal and solar thermal 172 REPowerEU the EU plan to escape dependence on fossil Russian gas is expected to call for much more green hydrogen 173 Over 35 of EU firms are taking action on climate through onsite and offsite renewable energy generation Demand Edit In July 2014 WWF and the World Resources Institute convened a discussion among a number of major US companies who had declared their intention to increase their use of renewable energy These discussions identified a number of principles which companies seeking greater access to renewable energy considered important market deliverables These principles included choice between suppliers and between products cost competitiveness longer term fixed price supplies access to third party financing vehicles and collaboration 174 UK statistics released in September 2020 noted that the proportion of demand met from renewables varies from a low of 3 4 per cent for transport mainly from biofuels to highs of over 20 per cent for other final users which is largely the service and commercial sectors that consume relatively large quantities of electricity and industry 175 In some locations individual households can opt to purchase renewable energy through a consumer green energy program Trends for individual technologies Edit Hydroelectricity Edit In 2020 the world renewable hydropower capacity was 1 330 GW 176 Only a third of the world s estimated hydroelectric potential of 14 000 TWh year has been developed 176 177 New hydropower projects face opposition from local communities due to their large impact including relocation of communities and flooding of wildlife habitats and farming land 178 High cost and lead times from permission process including environmental and risk assessments with lack of environmental and social acceptance are therefore the primary challenges for new developments 179 It is popular to repower old dams thereby increasing their efficiency and capacity as well as quicker responsiveness on the grid 180 Where circumstances permit existing dams such as the Russell Dam built in 1985 may be updated with pump back facilities for pumped storage which is useful for peak loads or to support intermittent wind and solar power Because dispatchable power is more valuable than VRE 181 182 countries with large hydroelectric developments such as Canada and Norway are spending billions to expand their grids to trade with neighboring countries having limited hydro 183 Wind power development Edit Main article Wind power by countryThis section needs expansion You can help by adding to it June 2022 Worldwide growth of wind capacity 1996 2018 Four offshore wind farms are in the Thames Estuary area Kentish Flats Gunfleet Sands Thanet and London Array The latter is the largest in the world as of April 2013 Offshore wind is becoming more profitable 184 Solar thermal Edit Main article List of solar thermal power stations The 377 MW Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System with all three towers under load February 2014 Taken from I 15 Solar towers of the PS10 and PS20 solar thermal plants in Spain Solar thermal energy capacity has increased from 1 3 GW in 2012 to 5 0 GW in 2017 185 Spain is the world leader in solar thermal power deployment with 2 3 GW deployed 185 The United States has 1 8 GW 185 most of it in California where 1 4 GW of solar thermal power projects are operational 186 Several power plants have been constructed in the Mojave Desert Southwestern United States As of 2017 only 4 other countries have deployments above 100 MW 185 South Africa 300 MW India 229 MW Morocco 180 MW and United Arab Emirates 100 MW The United States conducted much early research in photovoltaics and concentrated solar power The U S is among the top countries in the world in electricity generated by the Sun and several of the world s largest utility scale installations are located in the desert Southwest The oldest solar thermal power plant in the world is the 354 megawatt MW SEGS thermal power plant in California 187 The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is a solar thermal power project in the California Mojave Desert 40 miles 64 km southwest of Las Vegas with a gross capacity of 377 MW 188 The 280 MW Solana Generating Station is a solar power plant near Gila Bend Arizona about 70 miles 110 km southwest of Phoenix completed in 2013 When commissioned it was the largest parabolic trough plant in the world and the first U S solar plant with molten salt thermal energy storage 189 In developing countries three World Bank projects for integrated solar thermal combined cycle gas turbine power plants in Egypt Mexico and Morocco have been approved 190 Photovoltaic development Edit This section needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information April 2019 Main articles Growth of photovoltaics Solar power by country and List of photovoltaic power stations Photovoltaics PV is rapidly growing with global capacity increasing from 177 GW at the end of 2014 to 385 GW in 2017 185 PV uses solar cells assembled into solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity PV systems range from small residential and commercial rooftop or building integrated installations to large utility scale photovoltaic power station The predominant PV technology is crystalline silicon while thin film solar cell technology accounts for about 10 percent of global photovoltaic deployment In recent years PV technology has improved its electricity generating efficiency reduced the installation cost per watt as well as its energy payback time and reached grid parity in at least 30 different markets by 2014 191 Building integrated photovoltaics or onsite PV systems use existing land and structures and generate power close to where it is consumed 192 Photovoltaics grew fastest in China followed by Japan and the United States Solar power is forecasted to become the world s largest source of electricity by 2050 with solar photovoltaics and concentrated solar power contributing 16 and 11 respectively This requires an increase of installed PV capacity to 4 600 GW of which more than half is expected to be deployed in China and India 193 Solar panels at the 550 MW Topaz Solar Farm Commercial concentrated solar power plants were first developed in the 1980s As the cost of solar electricity has fallen the number of grid connected solar PV systems has grown into the millions and utility scale solar power stations with hundreds of megawatts are being built Many solar photovoltaic power stations have been built mainly in Europe China and the United States 194 The 1 5 GW Tengger Desert Solar Park in China is the world s largest PV power station Many of these plants are integrated with agriculture and some use tracking systems that follow the sun s daily path across the sky to generate more electricity than fixed mounted systems Biofuel development Edit See also Ethanol fuel Sustainable biofuel and Issues relating to biofuels Brazil produces bioethanol made from sugarcane available throughout the country A typical gas station with dual fuel service is marked A for alcohol ethanol and G for gasoline Bioenergy global capacity in 2017 was 109 GW 185 Biofuels provided 4 of the world s transport fuel in 2017 195 Mandates for blending biofuels exist in 31 countries at the national level and in 29 states provinces 103 Since the 1970s Brazil has had an ethanol fuel program which has allowed the country to become the world s second largest producer of ethanol after the United States and the world s largest exporter 196 Brazil s ethanol fuel program uses modern equipment and cheap sugarcane as feedstock and the residual cane waste bagasse is used to produce heat and power 197 There are no longer light vehicles in Brazil running on pure gasoline 198 Biojet is expected to be important for short term reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from long haul flights 199 Geothermal development Edit See also Geothermal energy in the United States Geothermal plant at The Geysers California US Global geothermal capacity in 2017 was 12 9 GW 185 Geothermal power is cost effective reliable sustainable and environmentally friendly 200 but has historically been limited to areas near tectonic plate boundaries Recent technological advances have expanded the range and size of viable resources especially for applications such as home heating opening a potential for widespread exploitation Geothermal wells release greenhouse gases trapped deep within the earth but these emissions are usually much lower per energy unit than those of fossil fuels As a result geothermal power has the potential to help mitigate global warming if widely deployed in place of fossil fuels In 2017 the United States led the world in geothermal electricity production with 12 9 GW of installed capacity 185 The largest group of geothermal power plants in the world is located at The Geysers a geothermal field in California 201 The Philippines follows the US as the second highest producer of geothermal power in the world with 1 9 GW of capacity online 185 Developing countries Edit This section is an excerpt from Renewable energy in developing countries edit Wind farm in Xinjiang China Solar cookers use sunlight as energy source for outdoor cooking Renewable energy in developing countries is an increasingly used alternative to fossil fuel energy as these countries scale up their energy supplies and address energy poverty Renewable energy technology was once seen as unaffordable for developing countries 202 However since 2015 investment in non hydro renewable energy has been higher in developing countries than in developed countries and comprised 54 of global renewable energy investment in 2019 203 The International Energy Agency forecasts that renewable energy will provide the majority of energy supply growth through 2030 in Africa and Central and South America and 42 of supply growth in China 204 Most developing countries have abundant renewable energy resources including solar energy wind power geothermal energy and biomass as well as the ability to manufacture the relatively labor intensive systems that harness these By developing such energy sources developing countries can reduce their dependence on oil and natural gas creating energy portfolios that are less vulnerable to price rises In many circumstances these investments can be less expensive than fossil fuel energy systems 205 Policy EditPolicies to support renewable energy have been vital in their expansion Where Europe dominated in establishing energy policy in the early 2000s most countries around the world now have some form of energy policy 206 Policy trends Edit The International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA is an intergovernmental organization for promoting the adoption of renewable energy worldwide It aims to provide concrete policy advice and facilitate capacity building and technology transfer IRENA was formed in 2009 with 75 countries signing the charter of IRENA 207 As of April 2019 IRENA has 160 member states 208 The then United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki moon has said that renewable energy can lift the poorest nations to new levels of prosperity 40 and in September 2011 he launched the UN Sustainable Energy for All initiative to improve energy access efficiency and the deployment of renewable energy 209 The 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change motivated many countries to develop or improve renewable energy policies 19 In 2017 a total of 121 countries adopted some form of renewable energy policy 206 National targets that year existed in 176 countries 19 In addition there is also a wide range of policies at the state provincial and local levels 103 Some public utilities help plan or install residential energy upgrades Many national state and local governments have created green banks A green bank is a quasi public financial institution that uses public capital to leverage private investment in clean energy technologies 210 Green banks use a variety of financial tools to bridge market gaps that hinder the deployment of clean energy Climate neutrality by the year 2050 is the main goal of the European Green Deal 211 For the European Union to reach their target of climate neutrality one goal is to decarbonise its energy system by aiming to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 212 Full renewable energy Edit These paragraphs are an excerpt from 100 renewable energy edit 100 renewable energy means getting all energy from renewable resources The endeavor to use 100 renewable energy for electricity heating cooling and transport is motivated by climate change pollution and other environmental issues as well as economic and energy security concerns Shifting the total global primary energy supply to renewable sources requires a transition of the energy system since most of today s energy is derived from non renewable fossil fuels Research into this topic is fairly new with very few studies published before 2009 but has gained increasing attention in recent years The majority of studies show that a global transition to 100 renewable energy across all sectors power heat transport and desalination is feasible and economically viable 213 214 215 216 A cross sectoral holistic approach is seen as an important feature of 100 renewable energy systems and is based on the assumption that the best solutions can be found only if one focuses on the synergies between the sectors of the energy system such as electricity heat transport or industry 217 The main barriers to the widespread implementation of large scale renewable energy and low carbon energy strategies are seen to be primarily social and political rather than technological or economic 218 According to the 2013 Post Carbon Pathways report which reviewed many international studies the key roadblocks are climate change denial the fossil fuels lobby political inaction unsustainable energy consumption outdated energy infrastructure and financial constraints 219 Debate EditMain articles Renewable energy debate Nuclear power proposed as renewable energy Green job and Intermittent power source Further information Climate change mitigation Overviews strategies and comparisons of measures Most respondents to a climate survey conducted in 2021 2022 by the European Investment Bank say countries should back renewable energy to fight climate change 220 Renewable electricity generation by wind and solar is variable This results in reduced capacity factor and may require keeping some gas fired power plants or other dispatchable generation on standby 221 222 223 until there is enough energy storage demand response grid improvement and or base load power from non intermittent sources like hydropower nuclear power or bioenergy Solar power plants may compete with arable land 224 225 while on shore wind farms face opposition due to aesthetic concerns and noise which is impacting both humans and wildlife 226 227 228 In the United States the Massachusetts Cape Wind project was delayed for years partly because of aesthetic concerns However residents in other areas have been more positive According to a town councilor the overwhelming majority of locals believe that the Ardrossan Wind Farm in Scotland has enhanced the area 229 These concerns when directed against renewable energy are sometimes described as not in my back yard attitude NIMBY A 2011 UK Government document states that projects are generally more likely to succeed if they have broad public support and the consent of local communities This means giving communities both a say and a stake 230 In countries such as Germany and Denmark many renewable projects are owned by communities particularly through cooperative structures and contribute significantly to overall levels of renewable energy deployment 231 232 The market for renewable energy technologies has continued to grow Climate change concerns and increasing in green jobs coupled with high oil prices peak oil oil wars oil spills promotion of electric vehicles and renewable electricity nuclear disasters and increasing government support are driving increasing renewable energy legislation incentives and commercialization 25 better source needed New government spending regulation and policies helped the industry weather the 2009 economic crisis better than many other sectors 35 The International Energy Agency has stated that deployment of renewable technologies usually increases the diversity of electricity sources and through local generation contributes to the flexibility of the system and its resistance to central shocks 233 In October 2021 European Commissioner for Climate Action Frans Timmermans suggested the best answer to the 2021 global energy crisis is to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels 234 He said those blaming the European Green Deal were doing so for perhaps ideological reasons or sometimes economic reasons in protecting their vested interests 234 Some critics blamed the European Union Emissions Trading System EU ETS and closure of nuclear plants for contributing to the energy crisis 235 236 237 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Europe is too reliant on natural gas and too dependent on natural gas imports According to Von der Leyen The answer has to do with diversifying our suppliers and crucially with speeding up the transition to clean energy 238 Nuclear power proposed as renewable energy Edit The Leibstadt Nuclear Power Plant in Switzerland This section is an excerpt from Nuclear power proposed as renewable energy edit Whether nuclear power should be considered a form of renewable energy is an ongoing subject of debate Statutory definitions of renewable energy usually exclude many present nuclear energy technologies with the notable exception of the state of Utah 239 Dictionary sourced definitions of renewable energy technologies often omit or explicitly exclude mention of nuclear energy sources with an exception made for the natural nuclear decay heat generated within the Earth 240 241 The most common fuel used in conventional nuclear fission power stations uranium 235 is non renewable according to the Energy Information Administration the organization however is silent on the recycled MOX fuel 241 Similarly the National Renewable Energy Laboratory does not mention nuclear power in its energy basics definition 242 In 1987 the Brundtland Commission WCED classified fission reactors that produce more fissile nuclear fuel than they consume breeder reactors and if developed fusion power among conventional renewable energy sources such as solar power and hydropower 243 The American Petroleum Institute does not consider conventional nuclear fission renewable but considers breeder reactor nuclear fuel renewable and sustainable and while conventional fission leads to waste streams that remain a concern for millennia the waste from efficiently recycled spent fuel requires a more limited storage supervision period of about thousand years 244 245 246 The monitoring and storage of radioactive waste products is also required upon the use of other renewable energy sources such as geothermal energy 247 Geopolitics of renewable energy EditSee also Russia in the European energy sector A concept of a super grid From around 2010 onwards the geopolitical impact of the growing use of renewable energy has been discussed 248 Some argue that former fossil fuels exporters will experience a weakening of their position in international affairs while countries with abundant renewable energy resources will be strengthened 249 Also some countries rich in critical materials for renewable energy technologies are expected to rise in importance in international affairs 250 251 The GeGaLo index of geopolitical gains and losses assesses how the geopolitical position of 156 countries may change if the world fully transitions to renewable energy resources Former fossil fuels exporters are expected to lose power while the positions of former fossil fuel importers and countries rich in renewable energy resources is expected to strengthen 252 Sourcing of required materials ownership of key infrastructure assets and the design of grids all require geopolitics consideration 253 254 255 Transitions to renewable energy have many geopolitical implications such as the potential of revenue losses leading to political instability in insufficiently prepared fossil fuel exporting economies albeit it is unclear whether the transition will increase or reduce conflict overall In particular a study hypothesizes that a configuration emerges in which fossil fuel importers are better off decarbonizing competitive fossil fuel exporters are better off flooding markets and uncompetitive fossil fuel producers rather than benefitting from free riding suffer from their exposure to stranded assets and lack of investment in decarbonization technologies 256 257 A study found that transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy systems reduces risks from mining trade and political dependence because renewable energy systems don t need fuel they depend on trade only for the acquisition of materials and components during construction 258 Nations rich in solar and wind energy could become major energy exporters 259 Trade in hydrogen could fundamentally redraw the geography of the global energy trade and international governance and investments that seek to scale up the hydrogen economy could reduce the risk of market fragmentation carbon lock in and intensified geo economic rivalry 260 259 261 Electricity will overtake other energy carriers by 2050 accounting for almost 50 of total energy consumption up from 22 in 2015 Given the limitations of using solely electricity clean hydrogen has significant potential in a number of industries 262 263 Hydrogen has the potential to be long term stored in the electricity and heating industries 264 In 2019 oil and gas companies were listed by Forbes with sales of US 4 8 trillion about 5 of the global GDP 265 Net importers such as China and the EU would gain advantages from a transition to low carbon technologies driven by technological development energy efficiency or climate change policy while Russia the USA or Canada could see their fossil fuel industries nearly shut down 266 On the other hand countries with large areas such as Australia Russia China the US Canada and Brazil and also Africa and the Middle East have a potential for huge installations of renewable energy The production of renewable energy technologies requires rare earth elements with new supply chains 267 Health and environmental impact EditFurther information Rare earth element Environmental considerations Moving to modern renewable energy has very large health benefits due to reducing air pollution from fossil fuels 268 269 Renewable sources other than biomass such as wind power photovoltaics and hydroelectricity have the advantage of being able to conserve water lower pollution 270 and reduce CO2 emissions Solar panels change the albedo of the surface so if used on a very large scale such as covering 20 of the Sahara Desert could change global weather patterns 271 Biomass Edit Further information Biomass Environmental damage The ability of biomass and biofuels to contribute to a reduction in CO2 emissions is limited because both biomass and biofuels emit large amounts of air pollution when burned and in some cases compete with food supply Furthermore biomass and biofuels consume large amounts of water 272 and land sometimes land that could be used for food production 273 274 Furthermore there can be carbon leakage from biomass production 274 Nevertheless it could still help reduce carbon dioxide emissions 275 and play an important role as a method of dispatchable generation 276 277 278 279 280 Conservation areas recycling and rare earth elements Edit See also Environmental footprint of electric cars Installations used to produce wind solar and hydropower are an increasing threat to key conservation areas with facilities built in areas set aside for nature conservation and other environmentally sensitive areas They are often much larger than fossil fuel power plants needing areas of land up to 10 times greater than coal or gas to produce equivalent energy amounts 281 More than 2000 renewable energy facilities are built and more are under construction in areas of environmental importance and threaten the habitats of plant and animal species across the globe The authors team emphasized that their work should not be interpreted as anti renewables because renewable energy is crucial for reducing carbon emissions The key is ensuring that renewable energy facilities are built in places where they do not damage biodiversity 282 The transition to renewable energy depends on non renewable resources such as mined metals 224 Manufacturing of photovoltaic panels wind turbines and batteries requires significant amounts of rare earth elements 283 which has significant social and environmental impact if mined in forests and protected areas 284 Due to co occurrence of rare earth and radioactive elements thorium uranium and radium rare earth mining results in production of low level radioactive waste 285 In 2020 scientists published a world map of areas that contain renewable energy materials as well as estimations of their overlaps with Key Biodiversity Areas Remaining Wilderness and Protected Areas The authors assessed that careful strategic planning is needed 286 287 288 Solar panels are recycled to reduce electronic waste and create a source for materials that would otherwise need to be mined 289 but such business is still small and work is ongoing to improve and scale up the process 290 291 292 History EditPrior to the development of coal in the mid 19th century nearly all energy used was renewable The oldest known use of renewable energy in the form of traditional biomass to fuel fires dates from more than a million years ago The use of biomass for fire did not become commonplace until many hundreds of thousands of years later 293 Probably the second oldest usage of renewable energy is harnessing the wind in order to drive ships over water This practice can be traced back some 7000 years to ships in the Persian Gulf and on the Nile 294 From hot springs geothermal energy has been used for bathing since Paleolithic times and for space heating since ancient Roman times 295 Moving into the time of recorded history the primary sources of traditional renewable energy were human labor animal power water power wind in grain crushing windmills and firewood a traditional biomass In 1885 Werner von Siemens commenting on the discovery of the photovoltaic effect in the solid state wrote In conclusion I would say that however great the scientific importance of this discovery may be its practical value will be no less obvious when we reflect that the supply of solar energy is both without limit and without cost and that it will continue to pour down upon us for countless ages after all the coal deposits of the earth have been exhausted and forgotten 296 Max Weber mentioned the end of fossil fuel in the concluding paragraphs of his Die protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism published in 1905 297 Development of solar engines continued until the outbreak of World War I The importance of solar energy was recognized in a 1911 Scientific American article in the far distant future natural fuels having been exhausted solar power will remain as the only means of existence of the human race 298 The theory of peak oil was published in 1956 299 In the 1970s environmentalists promoted the development of renewable energy both as a replacement for the eventual depletion of oil as well as for an escape from dependence on oil and the first electricity generating wind turbines appeared Solar had long been used for heating and cooling but solar panels were too costly to build solar farms until 1980 300 Gallery Edit Burbo NW England Sunrise at the Fenton Wind Farm in Minnesota US The CSP station Andasol in Andalusia Spain Ivanpah solar plant in the Mojave Desert California United States Three Gorges Dam and Gezhouba Dam China Shop selling PV panels in Ouagadougou Burkina Faso Stump harvesting increases recovery of biomass from forests A small roof top mounted PV system in Bonn Germany The community owned Westmill Solar Park in South East England Komekurayama photovoltaic power station in Kofu Japan Krafla a geothermal power station in IcelandSee also Edit Environment portal Renewable energy portal Society portalDistributed generation Efficient energy use Energy harvesting Energy security Energy storage Energy poverty Fossil fuel phase out Mass production in renewable energy sector List of renewable energy topics by country and territory Energy transition Thermal energy storageReferences Edit a b Renewable Energy Market Update 2021 Renewable electricity Renewables deployment geared up in 2020 establishing a new normal for capacity additions in 2021 and 2022 IEA org International Energy Agency May 2021 Archived from the original on 11 May 2021 Ellabban Omar Abu Rub Haitham Blaabjerg Frede 2014 Renewable energy resources Current status future prospects and their enabling technology Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39 748 764 749 doi 10 1016 j rser 2014 07 113 Timperly Jocelyn 23 February 2017 Biomass subsidies not fit for purpose says Chatham House Carbon Brief Ltd c 2020 Company No 07222041 Archived from the original on 6 November 2020 Retrieved 31 October 2020 Harvey Chelsea Heikkinen Niina 23 March 2018 Congress Says Biomass Is Carbon Neutral but Scientists Disagree Using wood as fuel source could actually increase CO2 emissions Scientific American Archived from the original on 1 November 2020 Retrieved 31 October 2020 Alazraque Cherni Judith 1 April 2008 Renewable Energy for Rural Sustainability in Developing Countries Bulletin of Science Technology amp Society 28 2 105 114 doi 10 1177 0270467607313956 S2CID 67817602 Archived from the original on 19 March 2021 Retrieved 2 December 2020 World Energy Assessment 2001 Renewable energy technologies Archived 9 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine p 221 Armaroli Nicola Balzani Vincenzo 2011 Towards an electricity powered world Energy and Environmental Science 4 9 3193 3222 doi 10 1039 c1ee01249e Armaroli Nicola Balzani Vincenzo 2016 Solar Electricity and Solar Fuels Status and Perspectives in the Context of the Energy Transition Chemistry A European Journal 22 1 32 57 doi 10 1002 chem 201503580 PMID 26584653 Volker Quaschning Regenerative Energiesysteme Technologie Berechnung Simulation 8th Edition Hanser Munich 2013 p 49 Renewables 2022 Global Status Report renewable energies 44 Retrieved 5 September 2022 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help REN21 Renewables Global Status Report 2021 Renewables Global Energy Review 2021 Analysis IEA Archived from the original on 23 November 2021 Retrieved 22 November 2021 Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2020 irena org Archived from the original on 6 December 2020 Retrieved 2 December 2020 Global renewable energy trends Deloitte Insights Archived from the original on 29 January 2019 Retrieved 28 January 2019 Renewable Energy Now Accounts for a Third of Global Power Capacity irena org Archived from the original on 2 April 2019 Retrieved 2 December 2020 IEA 2020 Renewables 2020 Analysis and forecast to 2025 Report p 12 Archived from the original on 26 April 2021 Retrieved 27 April 2021 Ritchie Hannah Roser Max Rosado Pablo 28 November 2020 Energy Our World in Data Sensiba Jennifer 28 October 2021 Some Good News 10 Countries Generate Almost 100 Renewable Electricity CleanTechnica Archived from the original on 17 November 2021 Retrieved 22 November 2021 a b c REN21 Renewables Global Futures Report 2017 Bogdanov Dmitrii Gulagi Ashish Fasihi Mahdi Breyer Christian 1 February 2021 Full energy sector transition towards 100 renewable energy supply Integrating power heat transport and industry sectors including desalination Applied Energy 283 116273 doi 10 1016 j apenergy 2020 116273 ISSN 0306 2619 Teske Sven ed 2019 Achieving the Paris Climate Agreement Goals doi 10 1007 978 3 030 05843 2 ISBN 978 3 030 05842 5 S2CID 198078901 Jacobson Mark Z von Krauland Anna Katharina Coughlin Stephen J Dukas Emily Nelson Alexander J H Palmer Frances C Rasmussen Kylie R 2022 Low cost solutions to global warming air pollution and energy insecurity for 145 countries Energy amp Environmental Science 15 8 3343 3359 doi 10 1039 D2EE00722C ISSN 1754 5692 S2CID 250126767 a b International Energy Agency 2012 Energy Technology Perspectives 2012 Archived from the original on 28 May 2020 Retrieved 2 December 2020 Timperley Jocelyn 20 October 2021 Why fossil fuel subsidies are so hard to kill Nature 598 7881 403 405 Bibcode 2021Natur 598 403T doi 10 1038 d41586 021 02847 2 PMID 34671143 S2CID 239052649 Archived from the original on 17 November 2021 Retrieved 22 November 2021 a b c Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2007 Analysis of Trends and Issues in the Financing of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in OECD and Developing Countries PDF unep org United Nations Environment Programme 2007 p 3 Archived PDF from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 13 October 2014 Sutterlin B Siegrist Michael 2017 Public acceptance of renewable energy technologies from an abstract versus concrete perspective and the positive imagery of solar power Energy Policy 106 356 366 doi 10 1016 j enpol 2017 03 061 Renewable Power Analysis IEA Archived from the original on 22 November 2021 Retrieved 22 November 2021 Friedlingstein Pierre Jones Matthew W O Sullivan Michael Andrew Robbie M Hauck Judith Peters Glen P Peters Wouter Pongratz Julia Sitch Stephen Le Quere Corinne Bakker Dorothee C E 2019 Global Carbon Budget 2019 Earth System Science Data 11 4 1783 1838 Bibcode 2019ESSD 11 1783F doi 10 5194 essd 11 1783 2019 ISSN 1866 3508 Archived from the original on 6 May 2021 Retrieved 15 February 2021 IEA Renewable Energy into the Mainstream PDF IEA 2002 p 9 Archived PDF from the original on 19 March 2021 Retrieved 9 December 2020 Climate Change 2022 Mitigation of Climate Change PDF Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 4 April 2022 Retrieved 4 April 2022 Jacobson Mark Z et al 2015 100 clean and renewable wind water and sunlight WWS all sector energy roadmaps for the 50 United States Energy and Environmental Science 8 7 2093 2117 doi 10 1039 C5EE01283J Scovronick Noah Budolfson Mark Dennig Francis Errickson Frank Fleurbaey Marc Peng Wei Socolow Robert H Spears Dean Wagner Fabian 7 May 2019 The impact of human health co benefits on evaluations of global climate policy Nature Communications 10 1 2095 Bibcode 2019NatCo 10 2095S doi 10 1038 s41467 019 09499 x ISSN 2041 1723 PMC 6504956 PMID 31064982 Gallagher CL Holloway T 2020 Integrating Air Quality and Public Health Benefits in U S Decarbonization Strategies Front Public Health 8 563358 doi 10 3389 fpubh 2020 563358 PMC 7717953 PMID 33330312 Luderer Gunnar Pehl Michaja Arvesen Anders Gibon Thomas Bodirsky Benjamin L de Boer Harmen Sytze Fricko Oliver Hejazi Mohamad Humpenoder Florian Iyer Gokul Mima Silvana 19 November 2019 Environmental co benefits and adverse side effects of alternative power sector decarbonization strategies Nature Communications 10 1 5229 Bibcode 2019NatCo 10 5229L doi 10 1038 s41467 019 13067 8 ISSN 2041 1723 PMC 6864079 PMID 31745077 a b Clean Edge 2009 Clean Energy Trends 2009 Archived 18 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine pp 1 4 Global energy transformation A roadmap to 2050 2019 edition publications 2019 Apr Global energy transformation A roadmap to 2050 2019Edition Archived from the original on 18 April 2019 Retrieved 9 December 2020 Getting the most out of tomorrow s grid requires digitisation and demand response The Economist ISSN 0013 0613 Retrieved 24 June 2022 REN21 Renewables Global Status Report 2011 p 14 Makiela Kamil Mazur Blazej Glowacki Jakub 30 June 2022 The Impact of Renewable Energy Supply on Economic Growth and Productivity Energies 15 13 4808 doi 10 3390 en15134808 ISSN 1996 1073 a b Leone Steve 25 August 2011 U N Secretary General Renewables Can End Energy Poverty Renewable Energy World Archived from the original on 28 September 2013 Retrieved 27 August 2011 Renewable Energy by Country 2021 worldpopulationreview com Retrieved 27 December 2021 Renewables 2021 Global Status Report www ren21 net Retrieved 29 April 2022 Abnett Kate 20 April 2022 European Commission analysing higher 45 renewable energy target for 2030 Reuters Retrieved 29 April 2022 REN21 Renewables Global Status Report 2010 a b Renewables 2021 Global Status Report www ren21 net Retrieved 25 April 2022 IEA SHC Solar Heat Worldwide www iea shc org Retrieved 24 June 2022 a b Geothermal Heat Pumps Department of Energy energy gov Archived from the original on 16 January 2016 Retrieved 14 January 2016 a b Net Zero Foundation netzerofoundation org Archived from the original on 22 February 2021 Retrieved 23 November 2021 Fast Growth for Copper Based Geothermal Heating amp Cooling Archived from the original on 26 April 2019 Retrieved 26 April 2019 Climate Change 2022 Mitigation of Climate Change IPCC Sixth Assessment Report Renewables 2022 Global Status Report www ren21 net Retrieved 20 June 2022 Mishra Twesh India to develop and build first indigenous Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vessel The Economic Times Retrieved 9 May 2022 Global Solar Atlas Archived from the original on 27 November 2018 Retrieved 14 June 2019 IRENA 2022 p 20 IRENA 2022 p 20 Note Compound annual growth rate 2012 2021 a b c d e Electricity International Energy Agency 2020 Data Browser section Electricity Generation by Source indicator Archived from the original on 7 June 2021 Retrieved 17 July 2021 NREL ATB 2021 Utility Scale PV a b Philibert Cedric 2011 Solar energy perspectives International Energy Agency Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development Paris OECD IEA ISBN 978 92 64 12458 5 OCLC 778434303 Solar Fuels and Artificial Photosynthesis Royal Society of Chemistry 2012 Archived from the original on 2 August 2014 Retrieved 11 March 2013 Solar Fuels amp Technologies IEA Retrieved 27 June 2022 Energy Sources Solar Department of Energy Archived from the original on 14 April 2011 Retrieved 19 April 2011 NREL gov U S Renewable Energy Technical Potentials A GIS Based Analysis Archived 14 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine July 2013 iv thinkprogress org National Renewable Energy Laboratory Solar Has The Most Potential Of Any Renewable Energy Source Archived 22 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine 30 July 2013 Renewable Energy Center for Climate and Energy Solutions 27 October 2021 Archived from the original on 18 November 2021 Retrieved 22 November 2021 Climate Change 2022 Mitigation of Climate Change www ipcc ch Retrieved 6 April 2022 Clean Energy Australia Report 2021 PDF Clean Energy Australia Archived PDF from the original on 2 April 2021 Retrieved 2 April 2021 Solar energy Australian Renewable Energy Agency Retrieved 15 August 2022 Wind energy generation by region Our World in Data Archived from the original on 10 March 2020 Retrieved 5 March 2020 Global Wind Atlas Archived from the original on 18 January 2019 Retrieved 14 June 2019 IRENA 2022 p 13 IRENA 2022 p 13 Note Compound annual growth rate 2012 2021 NREL ATB 2021 Land Based Wind Analysis of Wind Energy in the EU 25 PDF European Wind Energy Association Archived PDF from the original on 12 March 2007 Retrieved 11 March 2007 Martin Kaltschmitt Wolfgang Streicher Andreas Wiese eds Erneuerbare Energien Systemtechnik Wirtschaftlichkeit Umweltaspekte Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2013 p 819 Electricity from other renewable sources The World Factbook www cia gov Archived from the original on 27 October 2021 Retrieved 27 October 2021 Offshore stations experience mean wind speeds at 80 m that are 90 greater than over land on average Evaluation of global wind power Archived 25 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine Overall the researchers calculated winds at 80 meters 300 feet above sea level traveled over the ocean at approximately 8 6 meters per second and at nearly 4 5 meters per second over land 20 and 10 miles per hour respectively Global Wind Map Shows Best Wind Farm Locations Archived 24 May 2005 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 30 January 2006 IRENA 2022 p 8 Note Excludes pure pumped storage IRENA 2022 p 8 Note Excludes pure pumped storage Compound annual growth rate 2012 2021 NREL ATB 2021 Hydropower Ang Tze Zhang Salem Mohamed Kamarol Mohamad Das Himadry Shekhar Nazari Mohammad Alhuyi Prabaharan Natarajan September 2022 A comprehensive study of renewable energy sources Classifications challenges and suggestions Energy Strategy Reviews 43 100939 doi 10 1016 j esr 2022 100939 ISSN 2211 467X S2CID 251889236 Retrieved 14 October 2022 Moran Emilio F Lopez Maria Claudia Moore Nathan Muller Norbert Hyndman David W 2018 Sustainable hydropower in the 21st century Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115 47 11891 11898 Bibcode 2018PNAS 11511891M doi 10 1073 pnas 1809426115 ISSN 0027 8424 PMC 6255148 PMID 30397145 DocHdl2OnPN PRINTRDY 01tmpTarget PDF Archived from the original PDF on 9 November 2018 Retrieved 26 March 2019 Afework Bethel 3 September 2018 Run of the river hydroelectricity Energy Education Archived from the original on 27 April 2019 Retrieved 27 April 2019 Renewable Electricity Capacity and Generation Statistics June 2018 Archived from the original on 28 November 2018 Net zero International Hydropower Association www hydropower org Retrieved 24 June 2022 Wave power U S Energy Information Administration EIA www eia gov Retrieved 10 December 2021 How Does Ocean Wave Power Work Energy Informative Archived from the original on 27 April 2019 Retrieved 27 April 2019 Unwin Jack 12 March 2019 Top five trends in wave power Archived from the original on 27 April 2019 Retrieved 27 April 2019 IRENA 2022 p 27 IRENA 2022 p 27 Note Compound annual growth rate 2012 2021 NREL ATB 2021 Other Technologies EIA Biomass Energy Center Biomassenergycentre org uk Retrieved on 28 February 2012 Scheck Justin Dugan Ianthe Jeanne 23 July 2012 Wood Fired Plants Generate Violations The Wall Street Journal Archived from the original on 25 July 2021 Retrieved 18 July 2021 T A Volk L P Abrahamson January 2000 Developing a Willow Biomass Crop Enterprise for Bioenergy and Bioproducts in the United States North East Regional Biomass Program Archived from the original on 28 July 2020 Retrieved 4 June 2015 Energy crops crops are grown specifically for use as fuel BIOMASS Energy Centre Archived from the original on 10 March 2013 Retrieved 6 April 2013 Howard Brian 28 January 2020 Turning cow waste into clean power on a national scale TheHill Archived from the original on 29 January 2020 Retrieved 30 January 2020 Energy Kids Archived 5 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine Eia doe gov Retrieved on 28 February 2012 Ullah Kifayat Ahmad Mushtaq Sofia Sharma Vinod Kumar Lu Pengmei et al August 2014 Algal biomass as a global source of transport fuels Overview and development perspectives Progress in Natural Science Materials International 24 4 329 339 doi 10 1016 j pnsc 2014 06 008 ISSN 1002 0071 Retrieved 12 August 2022 Zhu Liandong Li Zhaohua Hiltunen Erkki 28 June 2018 Microalgae Chlorella vulgaris biomass harvesting by natural flocculant effects on biomass sedimentation spent medium recycling and lipid extraction Biotechnology for Biofuels 11 1 183 doi 10 1186 s13068 018 1183 z eISSN 1754 6834 PMC 6022341 PMID 29988300 Demirbas A 2009 Political economic and environmental impacts of biofuels A review Applied Energy 86 S108 S117 doi 10 1016 j apenergy 2009 04 036 Sweet sorghum for food feed and fuel Archived 4 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine New Agriculturalist January 2008 Opinion of the EEA Scientific Committee on Greenhouse Gas Accounting in Relation to Bioenergy Archived from the original on 3 March 2019 Retrieved 1 November 2012 a b c REN21 Renewables Global Status Report 2011 pp 13 14 WHO Ambient outdoor air quality and health Archived from the original on 4 January 2016 WHO Household air pollution and health Who int Archived from the original on 20 April 2018 Retrieved 26 March 2019 IRENA 2022 p 38 IRENA 2022 p 38 Note Compound annual growth rate 2012 2021 NREL ATB 2021 Geothermal Dye S T 2012 Geoneutrinos and the radioactive power of the Earth Reviews of Geophysics 50 3 3 arXiv 1111 6099 Bibcode 2012RvGeo 50 3007D doi 10 1029 2012rg000400 S2CID 118667366 Gando A Dwyer D A McKeown R D Zhang C 2011 Partial radiogenic heat model for Earth revealed by geoneutrino measurements PDF Nature Geoscience 4 9 647 651 Bibcode 2011NatGe 4 647K doi 10 1038 ngeo1205 Archived PDF from the original on 16 August 2017 Retrieved 20 April 2018 Nemzer J Geothermal heating and cooling Archived from the original on 11 January 1998 Database of State Incentives for Renewables amp Efficiency DSIRE DSIRE Archived from the original on 22 February 2021 Retrieved 1 October 2006 a b International Energy Agency 2007 Renewables in global energy supply An IEA facts sheet PDF OECD p 3 Archived 12 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine S C E Jupe A Michiorri P C Taylor 2007 Increasing the energy yield of generation from new and renewable energy sources Renewable Energy 14 2 37 62 Defense scale supercomputing comes to renewable energy research Sandia National Laboratories Archived from the original on 28 August 2016 Retrieved 16 April 2012 Duchane Dave Brown Don December 2002 Hot Dry Rock HDR Geothermal Energy Research and Development at Fenton Hill New Mexico PDF Geo Heat Centre Quarterly Bulletin Vol 23 no 4 Klamath Falls Oregon Oregon Institute of Technology pp 13 19 ISSN 0276 1084 Archived PDF from the original on 17 June 2010 Retrieved 5 May 2009 Australia s Renewable Energy Future inc Cooper Basin amp geothermal map of Australia Retrieved 15 August 2015 PDF Archived from the original PDF on 27 March 2015 IRENA 2020 Innovation outlook Ocean energy technologies International Renewable Energy Agency Abu Dhabi https www irena org media Files IRENA Agency Publication 2020 Dec IRENA Innovation Outlook Ocean Energy 2020 pdf Sihwa Tidal Power Plant Renewable Energy News and Articles Archived from the original on 4 September 2015 a b Tidal power PDF retrieved 20 March 2010 permanent dead link a b Chen Meijie Pang Dan Chen Xingyu Yan Hongjie Yang Yuan 2022 Passive daytime radiative cooling Fundamentals material designs and applications EcoMat 4 doi 10 1002 eom2 12153 S2CID 240331557 via Wiley Passive daytime radiative cooling PDRC dissipates terrestrial heat to the extremely cold outer space without using any energy input or producing pollution It has the potential to simultaneously alleviate the two major problems of energy crisis and global warming Yu Xinxian Yao Fengju Huang Wenjie Xu Dongyan Chen Chun July 2022 Enhanced radiative cooling paint with broken glass bubbles Renewable Energy 194 129 136 doi 10 1016 j renene 2022 05 094 S2CID 248972097 via Elsevier Science Direct Radiative cooling does not consume external energy but rather harvests coldness from outer space as a new renewable energy source Ma Hongchen 2021 Flexible Daytime Radiative Cooling Enhanced by Enabling Three Phase Composites with Scattering Interfaces between Silica Microspheres and Hierarchical Porous Coatings Appl Mater Interfaces 13 16 19282 19290 arXiv 2103 03902 doi 10 1021 acsami 1c02145 PMID 33866783 S2CID 232147880 via ACS Publications Daytime radiative cooling has attracted considerable attention recently due to its tremendous potential for passively exploiting the coldness of the universe as clean and renewable energy Bijarniya Jay Prakash Sarkar Jahar Maiti Pralay November 2020 Review on passive daytime radiative cooling Fundamentals recent researches challenges and opportunities Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 133 110263 doi 10 1016 j rser 2020 110263 S2CID 224874019 via Elsevier Science Direct Passive radiative cooling can be considered as a renewable energy source which can pump heat to cold space and make the devices more efficient than ejecting heat at earth atmospheric temperature Bijarniya Jay Prakash Sarkar Jahar Maiti Pralay November 2020 Review on passive daytime radiative cooling Fundamentals recent researches challenges and opportunities Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 133 110263 doi 10 1016 j rser 2020 110263 S2CID 224874019 via Elsevier Science Direct Benmoussa Youssef Ezziani Maria Djire All Fousseni Amine Zaynab Khaldoun Asmae Limami Houssame September 2022 Simulation of an energy efficient cool roof with cellulose based daytime radiative cooling material Materials Today Proceedings doi 10 1016 j matpr 2022 08 411 S2CID 252136357 via Elsevier Science Direct Khan Ansar Carlosena Laura Feng Jie Khorat Samiran Khatun Rupali Doan Quang Van Santamouris Mattheos January 2022 Optically Modulated Passive Broadband Daytime Radiative Cooling Materials Can Cool Cities in Summer and Heat Cities in Winter Sustainability 14 via MDPI Anand Jyothis Sailor David J Baniassadi Amir February 2021 The relative role of solar reflectance and thermal emittance for passive daytime radiative cooling technologies applied to rooftops Sustainable Cities and Society 65 102612 doi 10 1016 j scs 2020 102612 S2CID 229476136 via Elsevier Science Direct Heo Se Yeon Ju Lee Gil Song Young Min June 2022 Heat shedding with photonic structures radiative cooling and its potential Journal of Materials Chemistry C 10 27 9915 9937 doi 10 1039 D2TC00318J S2CID 249695930 via Royal Society of Chemistry a b Ahmed Salman Li Zhenpeng Javed Muhammad Shahzad Ma Tao September 2021 A review on the integration of radiative cooling and solar energy harvesting Materials Today Energy 21 100776 doi 10 1016 j mtener 2021 100776 via Elsevier Science Direct Wang Tong Wu Yi Shi Lan Hu Xinhua Chen Min Wu Limin 2021 A structural polymer for highly efficient all day passive radiative cooling Nature Communications 12 365 365 doi 10 1038 s41467 020 20646 7 PMC 7809060 PMID 33446648 Accordingly designing and fabricating efficient PDRC with sufficiently high solar reflectance 𝜌 solar l 0 3 2 5 mm to minimize solar heat gain and simultaneously strong LWIR thermal emittance e LWIR to maximize radiative heat loss is highly desirable When the incoming radiative heat from the Sun is balanced by the outgoing radiative heat emission the temperature of the Earth can reach its steady state Munday Jeremy 2019 Tackling Climate Change through Radiative Cooling Joule 3 9 2057 2060 doi 10 1016 j joule 2019 07 010 S2CID 201590290 Archived from the original on 22 February 2022 Retrieved 27 September 2022 via ScienceDirect By covering the Earth with a small fraction of thermally emitting materials the heat flow away from the Earth can be increased and the net radiative flux can be reduced to zero or even made negative thus stabilizing or cooling the Earth Heo Se Yeon Ju Lee Gil Song Young Min June 2022 Heat shedding with photonic structures radiative cooling and its potential Journal of Materials Chemistry C 10 27 9915 9937 doi 10 1039 D2TC00318J S2CID 249695930 via Royal Society of Chemistry Raman Aaswath P Anoma Marc Abou Zhu Linxiao Raphaeli Eden Fan Shanhui 2014 Passive Radiative Cooling Below Ambient air Temperature under Direct Sunlight Nature 515 7528 540 544 Bibcode 2014Natur 515 540R doi 10 1038 nature13883 PMID 25428501 S2CID 4382732 via nature com Yang Yuan Zhang Yifan 2020 Passive daytime radiative cooling Principle application and economic analysis MRS Energy amp Sustainability 7 18 doi 10 1557 mre 2020 18 S2CID 220008145 Archived from the original on 27 September 2022 Retrieved 27 September 2022 Collings AF and Critchley C eds Artificial Photosynthesis From Basic Biology to Industrial Application Wiley VCH Weinheim 2005 p ix Faunce Thomas A Lubitz Wolfgang Rutherford A W Bill MacFarlane Douglas Moore Gary F Yang Peidong Nocera Daniel G Moore Tom A Gregory Duncan H Fukuzumi Shunichi Yoon Kyung Byung Armstrong Fraser A Wasielewski Michael R Styring Stenbjorn 2013 Energy and environment policy case for a global project on artificial photosynthesis Energy amp Environmental Science RSC Publishing 6 3 695 doi 10 1039 C3EE00063J jobs 23 May 2012 Artificial leaf faces economic hurdle Nature News amp Comment Nature News Nature com doi 10 1038 nature 2012 10703 S2CID 211729746 Archived from the original on 1 December 2012 Retrieved 7 November 2012 Major infrared breakthrough could lead to solar power at night 17 May 2022 Retrieved 21 May 2022 Byrnes Steven Blanchard Romain Capasso Federico 2014 Harvesting renewable energy from Earth s mid infrared emissions PNAS 111 11 3927 3932 Bibcode 2014PNAS 111 3927B doi 10 1073 pnas 1402036111 PMC 3964088 PMID 24591604 In bloom growing algae for biofuel 9 October 2008 Retrieved 31 December 2021 Water vapor in the atmosphere may be prime renewable energy source techxplore com Archived from the original on 9 June 2020 Retrieved 9 June 2020 Mapua s Carvey Maigue shortlisted in James Dyson Award for solar device Good News Pilipinas 11 November 2020 Archived from the original on 6 December 2020 Retrieved 23 November 2020 AuREUS Aurora Renewable Energy UV Sequestration James Dyson Award Archived from the original on 23 November 2020 Retrieved 23 November 2020 Mapua student wins international design award for invention made from crop waste CNN 20 November 2020 Archived from the original on 21 November 2020 Retrieved 23 November 2020 a b Olauson Jon Ayob Mohd Nasir Bergkvist Mikael Carpman Nicole Castellucci Valeria Goude Anders Lingfors David Waters Rafael Widen Joakim December 2016 Net load variability in Nordic countries with a highly or fully renewable power system Nature Energy 1 12 16175 doi 10 1038 nenergy 2016 175 ISSN 2058 7546 Archived from the original on 4 October 2021 Retrieved 4 October 2021 IPCC 2011 pp 15 16 Ramsebner Jasmine Haas Reinhard Ajanovic Amela Wietschel Martin July 2021 The sector coupling concept A critical review WIREs Energy and Environment 10 4 doi 10 1002 wene 396 ISSN 2041 8396 S2CID 234026069 4 questions on sector coupling Wartsila com Retrieved 15 May 2022 Intelligent flexible Sector Coupling in cities can double the potential for Wind and Solar Energy Post 16 December 2021 Retrieved 15 May 2022 Hydropower Special Market Report Analysis IEA Retrieved 31 January 2022 What role is large scale battery storage playing on the grid today Energy Storage News 5 May 2022 Retrieved 9 May 2022 Zhou Chen Liu Rao Ba Yu Wang Haixia Ju Rongbin Song Minggang Zou Nan Li Weidong 28 May 2021 Study on the optimization of the day ahead addition space for large scale energy storage participation in auxiliary services 2021 2nd International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Information Systems ICAIIS 2021 New York NY USA Association for Computing Machinery 1 6 doi 10 1145 3469213 3471362 ISBN 978 1 4503 9020 0 S2CID 237206056 Heilweil Rebecca 5 May 2022 These batteries work from home Vox Retrieved 9 May 2022 a b c d e Renewable Energy Market Update May 2022 Analysis IEA Retrieved 27 June 2022 Gunter Linda Pentz 5 February 2017 Trump Is Foolish to Ignore the Flourishing Renewable Energy Sector Truthout Archived from the original on 6 February 2017 Retrieved 6 February 2017 Jaeger Joel Walls Ginette Clarke Ella Altamirano Juan Carlos Harsono Arya Mountford Helen Burrow Sharan Smith Samantha Tate Alison 18 October 2021 The Green Jobs Advantage How Climate friendly Investments Are Better Job Creators a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Renewable Energy Employment by Country Statistics View Data by Topic Benefits Renewable Energy Employment by Country Retrieved 29 April 2022 a b IRENA RE Capacity 2020 a b c IRENA RE Statistics 2020 PROD GWh CAP GW 8760h a b IRENA RE Costs 2020 p 13 IRENA RE Costs 2020 p 14 Energy Transition Investment Hit 500 Billion in 2020 For First Time BloombergNEF Bloomberg New Energy Finance 19 January 2021 Archived from the original on 19 January 2021 Data BP Statistical Review of World Energy and Ember Climate 3 November 2021 Electricity consumption from fossil fuels nuclear and renewables 2020 OurWorldInData org Our World in Data consolidated data from BP and Ember Archived from the original on 3 November 2021 The European Power Sector in 2020 Up to Date Analysis on the Electricity Transition PDF ember climate org Ember and Agora Energiewende 25 January 2021 Archived PDF from the original on 25 January 2021 Why did renewables become so cheap so fast Our World in Data Retrieved 4 June 2022 Chrobak Ula 28 January 2021 Solar power got cheap So why aren t we using it more Popular Science Infographics by Sara Chodosh Archived from the original on 29 January 2021 Chodosh s graphic is derived from data in Lazard s Levelized Cost of Energy Version 14 0 PDF Lazard com Lazard 19 October 2020 Archived PDF from the original on 28 January 2021 Majority of New Renewables Undercut Cheapest Fossil Fuel on Cost IRENA org International Renewable Energy Agency 22 June 2021 Archived from the original on 22 June 2021 Infographic with numerical data and archive thereof Heidari Negin Pearce Joshua M 2016 A Review of Greenhouse Gas Emission Liabilities as the Value of Renewable Energy for Mitigating Lawsuits for Climate Change Related Damages Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 55C 899 908 doi 10 1016 j rser 2015 11 025 S2CID 111165822 Archived from the original on 28 July 2020 Retrieved 26 February 2016 a b Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2020 Capacity4dev European Commission Frankfurt School UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate amp Sustainable Energy Finance BloombergNEF 2020 Archived from the original on 11 May 2021 Retrieved 16 February 2021 Record clean energy spending is set to help global energy investment grow by 8 in 2022 News IEA Retrieved 27 June 2022 China s New Plan for Renewable Energy Development Focuses on Consumption www fitchratings com Retrieved 27 June 2022 Claeys Bram Rosenow Jan Anderson Megan 27 June 2022 Is REPowerEU the right energy policy recipe to move away from Russian gas www euractiv com Retrieved 27 June 2022 WWF and World Resources Institute Corporate Renewable Energy Buyers Principles Archived 11 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine published July 2014 accessed 12 July 2021 This article incorporates text published under the British Open Government Licence Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy Aggregated energy balances showing proportion of renewables in supply and demand published 24 September 2020 accessed 12 July 2021 a b Hydropower Status Report International Hydropower Association 11 June 2021 Retrieved 30 May 2022 Energy Technology Perspectives Scenarios and Strategies to 2050 Paris International Energy Agency 2006 p 124 ISBN 926410982X Retrieved 30 May 2022 Environmental Impacts of Hydroelectric Power Union of Concerned Scientists www ucsusa org Archived from the original on 15 July 2021 Retrieved 9 July 2021 Hydropower Special Market Report PDF IEA pp 34 36 Archived PDF from the original on 7 July 2021 Retrieved 9 July 2021 L Lia T Jensen K E Stensbyand G Holm A M Ruud The current status of hydropower development and dam construction in Norway PDF Ntnu no Archived from the original on 25 May 2017 Retrieved 26 March 2019 How Norway became Europe s biggest power exporter Power Technology 19 April 2021 Retrieved 27 June 2022 Trade surplus soars on energy exports Norway s News in English www newsinenglish no 17 January 2022 Retrieved 27 June 2022 New Transmission Line Reaches Milestone Vpr net Archived from the original on 3 February 2017 Retrieved 3 February 2017 Succeeding in the global offshore wind market McKinsey www mckinsey com Retrieved 27 June 2022 a b c d e f g h i Renewable Electricity Capacity And Generation Statistics June 2018 Archived from the original on 28 November 2018 Retrieved 27 November 2018 Solar Energy Projects in California energy ca gov Archived from the original on 14 July 2016 Retrieved 3 January 2019 Segs Iii Iv V Vi Vii Viii amp Ix Fplenergy com Archived from the original on 5 August 2014 Retrieved 31 January 2012 Brightsource Ivanpah ivanpahsolar com Archived from the original on 11 January 2013 Retrieved 16 May 2014 Mearian Lucas U S flips switch on massive solar power array that also stores electricity The array is first large U S solar plant with a thermal energy storage system Archived 2 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine 10 October 2013 Retrieved 18 October 2013 REN21 Renewables Global Status Report 2008 p 12 Crossing the Chasm PDF Deutsche Bank Markets Research 27 February 2015 Archived PDF from the original on 30 March 2015 Solar Integrated in New Jersey Jcwinnie biz Archived from the original on 19 July 2013 Retrieved 20 August 2013 IEA 2014 Technology Roadmap Solar Photovoltaic Energy PDF iea org Archived from the original PDF on 1 October 2014 Retrieved 7 October 2014 Denis Lenardic Large scale photovoltaic power plants ranking 1 50 Archived 1 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine PVresources com 2010 Transport Analysis Retrieved 4 November 2022 Industry Statistics Annual World Ethanol Production by Country Renewable Fuels Association Archived from the original on 8 April 2008 Retrieved 2 May 2008 M Macedo Isaias Lima Verde Leal J Azevedo Ramos da Silva 2004 Assessment of greenhouse gas emissions in the production and use of fuel ethanol in Brazil PDF Secretariat of the Environment Government of the State of Sao Paulo Archived from the original PDF on 28 May 2008 Retrieved 9 May 2008 Daniel Budny and Paulo Sotero ed April 2007 Brazil Institute Special Report The Global Dynamics of Biofuels PDF Brazil Institute of the Woodrow Wilson Center Archived from the original PDF on 28 May 2008 Retrieved 3 May 2008 Japan to create bio jet fuel supply chain in clean energy push Nikkei Asia Retrieved 26 April 2022 William E Glassley Geothermal Energy Renewable Energy and the Environment Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine CRC Press 2010 Khan M Ali 2007 The Geysers Geothermal Field an Injection Success Story PDF Annual Forum of the Groundwater Protection Council Archived from the original PDF on 26 July 2011 Retrieved 25 January 2010 Developing Countries Lack Means To Acquire More Efficient Technologies ScienceDaily Retrieved 29 November 2020 Frankfurt School UNEP Centre BNEF Global trends in renewable energy investment 2020 p 42 Changes in primary energy demand by fuel and region in the Stated Policies Scenario 2019 2030 Charts Data amp Statistics IEA Retrieved 29 November 2020 Energy for Development The Potential Role of Renewable Energy in Meeting the Millennium Development Goals pp 7 9 a b Policies www iea org Archived from the original on 8 April 2019 Retrieved 8 April 2019 Signatory States Archived 26 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine IRENA Membership irenamembership Archived from the original on 6 April 2019 Retrieved 8 April 2019 Tran Mark 2 November 2011 UN calls for universal access to renewable energy The Guardian London Archived from the original on 8 April 2016 Retrieved 13 December 2016 Ken Berlin Reed Hundt Marko Muro and Devashree Saha State Clean Energy Banks New Investment Facilities for Clean Energy Deployment Putin promises gas to a Europe struggling with soaring prices Politico 13 October 2021 Archived from the original on 23 October 2021 Retrieved 23 October 2021 Simon Frederic 12 December 2019 The EU releases its Green Deal Here are the key points Climate Home News Archived from the original on 23 October 2021 Retrieved 23 October 2021 Bogdanov Dmitrii Gulagi Ashish Fasihi Mahdi Breyer Christian 1 February 2021 Full energy sector transition towards 100 renewable energy supply Integrating power heat transport and industry sectors including desalination Applied Energy 283 116273 doi 10 1016 j apenergy 2020 116273 ISSN 0306 2619 Teske Sven ed 2019 Achieving the Paris Climate Agreement Goals doi 10 1007 978 3 030 05843 2 ISBN 978 3 030 05842 5 S2CID 198078901 Cheap safe 100 renewable energy possible before 2050 says Finnish uni study Yle Uutiset 12 April 2019 Retrieved 18 June 2021 Gulagi Ashish Alcanzare Myron Bogdanov Dmitrii Esparcia Eugene Ocon Joey Breyer Christian 1 July 2021 Transition pathway towards 100 renewable energy across the sectors of power heat transport and desalination for the Philippines Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 144 110934 doi 10 1016 j rser 2021 110934 ISSN 1364 0321 Hansen Kenneth et al 2019 Status and perspectives on 100 renewable energy systems Energy 175 471 480 doi 10 1016 j energy 2019 03 092 The great majority of all publications highlights the technical feasibility and economic viability of 100 RE systems Koumoundouros Tessa 27 December 2019 Stanford Researchers Have an Exciting Plan to Tackle The Climate Emergency Worldwide ScienceAlert Retrieved 5 January 2020 Wiseman John et al April 2013 Post Carbon Pathways PDF University of Melbourne Bank European Investment 20 April 2022 The EIB Climate Survey 2021 2022 Citizens call for green recovery European Investment Bank ISBN 978 92 861 5223 8 Phasing out fossil gas power stations in Europe by 2030 Airclim www airclim org Retrieved 2 May 2022 Swartz Kristi E 8 December 2021 Can U S phase out natural gas Lessons from the Southeast E amp E News Retrieved 2 May 2022 Climate change phase out gas power by 2035 say businesses including Nestle Thames Water Co op Sky News Retrieved 2 May 2022 a b van Zalk John Behrens Paul 1 December 2018 The spatial extent of renewable and non renewable power generation A review and meta analysis of power densities and their application in the U S Energy Policy 123 83 91 doi 10 1016 j enpol 2018 08 023 ISSN 0301 4215 Leake Jonathan UK s largest solar farm will destroy north Kent landscape The Times ISSN 0140 0460 Archived from the original on 20 June 2020 Retrieved 21 June 2020 McGwin Kevin 20 April 2018 Sami mount new challenge to legality of Norway s largest wind farm ArcticToday Archived from the original on 28 July 2020 Retrieved 21 June 2020 Why do so many people in France hate wind farms The Local France 7 August 2018 Archived from the original on 25 July 2021 Retrieved 25 July 2021 Norway s public backlash against onshore wind threatens sector growth Reuters 25 September 2019 Archived from the original on 23 June 2020 Retrieved 21 June 2020 Gourlay Simon 12 August 2008 Wind farms are not only beautiful they re absolutely necessary The Guardian UK Archived from the original on 5 October 2013 Retrieved 17 January 2012 Department of Energy amp Climate Change 2011 UK Renewable Energy Roadmap PDF Archived 10 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine p 35 DTI Co operative Energy Lessons from Denmark and Sweden permanent dead link Report of a DTI Global Watch Mission October 2004 Morris C amp Pehnt M German Energy Transition Arguments for a Renewable Energy Future Archived 3 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine Heinrich Boll Foundation November 2012 International Energy Agency 2007 Contribution of Renewables to Energy Security IEA Information Paper p 5 Archived 18 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine a b EU countries look to Brussels for help with unprecedented energy crisis Politico 6 October 2021 Archived from the original on 21 October 2021 Retrieved 23 October 2021 European Energy Crisis Fuels Carbon Trading Expansion Concerns Bloomberg 6 October 2021 Archived from the original on 22 October 2021 Retrieved 23 October 2021 The Green Brief East West EU split again over climate Euractiv 20 October 2021 Archived from the original on 20 October 2021 Retrieved 23 October 2021 In Global Energy Crisis Anti Nuclear Chickens Come Home to Roost Foreign Policy 8 October 2021 Archived from the original on 22 October 2021 Retrieved 23 October 2021 Europe s energy crisis Continent too reliant on gas says von der Leyen Euronews 20 October 2021 Archived from the original on 24 October 2021 Retrieved 23 October 2021 Utah House Bill 430 Session 198 Renewable energy Definitions from Dictionary com Dictionary com website Lexico Publishing Group LLC Retrieved 25 August 2007 a b Renewable and Alternative Fuels Basics 101 Energy Information Administration Retrieved 17 December 2007 Renewable Energy Basics National Renewable Energy Laboratory Archived from the original on 11 January 2008 Retrieved 17 December 2007 Brundtland Gro Harlem 20 March 1987 Chapter 7 Energy Choices for Environment and Development Our Common Future Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development Oslo Retrieved 27 March 2013 Today s primary sources of energy are mainly non renewable natural gas oil coal peat and conventional nuclear power There are also renewable sources including wood plants dung falling water geothermal sources solar tidal wind and wave energy as well as human and animal muscle power Nuclear reactors that produce their own fuel breeders and eventually fusion reactors are also in this category American Petroleum Institute Key Characteristics of Nonrenewable Resources Retrieved 21 February 2010 pg 15 see SV g chart without TRU or trans uranics being present the radioactivity of the waste decays to levels similar to the original uranium ore in about 300 400 years MIT spent fuel radioactivity comparison table 4 3 http www epa gov radiation tenorm geothermal html Geothermal Energy Production Waste The Geopolitics of Renewable Energy ResearchGate Archived from the original on 28 July 2020 Retrieved 26 June 2019 Future Petroleum Geopolitics Consequences of Climate Policy and Unconventional Oil and Gas ResearchGate Archived from the original on 18 June 2018 Retrieved 26 June 2019 Overland Indra 1 March 2019 The geopolitics of renewable energy Debunking four emerging myths Energy Research amp Social Science 49 36 40 doi 10 1016 j erss 2018 10 018 ISSN 2214 6296 The transition to clean energy will mint new commodity superpowers The Economist ISSN 0013 0613 Retrieved 2 May 2022 Overland Indra Bazilian Morgan Ilimbek Uulu Talgat Vakulchuk Roman Westphal Kirsten 2019 The GeGaLo index Geopolitical gains and losses after energy transition Energy Strategy Reviews 26 100406 doi 10 1016 j esr 2019 100406 Vakulchuk Roman Overland Indra Scholten Daniel 1 April 2020 Renewable energy and geopolitics A review Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 122 109547 doi 10 1016 j rser 2019 109547 ISSN 1364 0321 S2CID 213515030 The Geopolitics of Renewable Energy PDF pp 19 21 Archived PDF from the original on 23 October 2021 Retrieved 6 November 2021 The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions PDF International Energy Agency Archived PDF from the original on 7 May 2021 Retrieved 6 November 2021 Watts Jonathan Kirk Ashley McIntyre Niamh Gutierrez Pablo Kommenda Niko Half world s fossil fuel assets could become worthless by 2036 in net zero transition The Guardian Retrieved 11 December 2021 Mercure J F Salas P Vercoulen P Semieniuk G Lam A Pollitt H Holden P B Vakilifard N Chewpreecha U Edwards N R Vinuales J E 4 November 2021 Reframing incentives for climate policy action Nature Energy 6 12 1133 1143 Bibcode 2021NatEn 6 1133M doi 10 1038 s41560 021 00934 2 ISSN 2058 7546 S2CID 243792305 Krane Jim Idel Robert 1 December 2021 More transitions less risk How renewable energy reduces risks from mining trade and political dependence Energy Research amp Social Science 82 102311 doi 10 1016 j erss 2021 102311 ISSN 2214 6296 S2CID 244187364 a b In depth Q amp A Does the world need hydrogen to solve climate change Carbon Brief 30 November 2020 Archived from the original on 1 December 2020 Retrieved 10 November 2021 Van de Graaf Thijs Overland Indra Scholten Daniel Westphal Kirsten 1 December 2020 The new oil The geopolitics and international governance of hydrogen Energy Research amp Social Science 70 101667 doi 10 1016 j erss 2020 101667 ISSN 2214 6296 PMC 7326412 PMID 32835007 The New Geopolitics of a Decarbonizing World Wilson Center www wilsoncenter org Archived from the original on 10 November 2021 Retrieved 10 November 2021 Here are the clean energy innovations that will beat climate change European Investment Bank Retrieved 26 September 2022 Action on clean hydrogen is needed to deliver net zero by 2050 Here s how World Economic Forum, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.