Renewable energy systems are rapidly becoming more efficient and cheaper. As a result, their share of the global energy consumption is increasing. A large majority of worldwide newly installed electricity capacity is now renewable. In most countries, photovoltaic solar or onshore wind are the cheapest new-build electricity. Renewable energy can help reduce energy poverty in rural and remote areas of developing countries, where lack of energy access is often hindering economic development. Renewable energy resources exist all over the world. This is in contrast to fossil fuels resources which are concentrated in a limited number of countries.
From 2011 to 2021, renewable energy grew from 20% to 28% of global electricity supply. Use of fossil energy shrank 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%. In 2022, renewables accounted for 30% of global electricity generation, up from 21% in 1985.
Many countries around the world already have renewable energy contributing more than 20% of their total energy supply. Some countries generate over half their electricity from renewables. A few countries generate all their electricity from renewable energy. National renewable energy markets are projected to continue to grow strongly in the 2020s and beyond.
The deployment of renewable energy is being hindered by massive fossil fuel subsidies. In 2022 the International Energy Agency (IEA) requested all countries to reduce their policy, regulatory, permitting and financing obstacles for renewables. This would increase the chances of the world reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050. According to the IEA, to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, 90% of global electricity generation will need to be produced from renewable sources.
There are also ongoing debates around the renewable energy topic. For example, whether nuclear power should be grouped under the renewable energy category or not. There are also debates around geopolitics, the metal and mineral extraction needed for solar panels and batteries, possible installations in conservation areas and the need to recycle solar panels. Although most renewable energy sources are sustainable, some are not. For example, some biomass sources are unsustainable at current rates of exploitation. (Full article...)
The dam was built by the Alaska-Gastineau Mining Company to meet the electrical energy needs for mining operations. The dam continues to be fully functional for hydroelectric generation, as one of the drinking water sources to Juneau city and for aquaculture and fishing. When built, adoption of the constant arch design for the dam reduced costs by 20% because less concrete was needed to construct the dam. Of the two hydroelectric power stations built at the initial stage (one at the upper level and the other at the lower level) – the latter one is still in use after a new powerhouse was built adjoining the old one – it produces 10% of the energy needs of Juneau city. When built, the dam and its two power plants were considered engineering wonders. Both are operated and maintained by the Alaska Electric Light & Power (AEL&P). (Full article...)
"Perhaps the quickest, easiest, and most profitable way to reduce electricity use worldwide — thus cutting carbon emissions — is simply to change light bulbs. Replacing the inefficient incandescent light bulbs that are still widely used today with new compact fluorescents (CFLs) can reduce electricity use by three fourths. The energy saved by replacing a 100-watt incandescent bulb with an equivalent CFL over its lifetime is sufficient to drive a Toyota Prius hybrid car from New York to San Francisco."
"Over its lifetime, each standard (13 watt) CFL will reduce electricity bills by roughly $30. And though a CFL may cost twice as much as an incandescent, it lasts 10 times as long. Since it uses less energy, it also means fewer CO2 emissions. Each one reduces energy use by the equivalent of 200 pounds of coal over its lifetime."
John Ingle Yellott (October 25, 1908 – December 30, 1986) was an American engineer recognized as a pioneer in passive solar energy, and an inventor with many patents to his credit. In his honor the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Solar Division confers a biannual "John I. Yellott Award" which "recognizes ASME members who have demonstrated sustained leadership within the Solar Energy Division, have a reputation for performing high-quality solar energy research and have made significant contributions to solar engineering through education, state or federal government service or in the private sector." (Full article...)
... that the Cragsidecountry house in Northumberland, England was the first house in the world to be lit using hydroelectric power? In 1870, water from one of the estate's lakes was used to drive a Siemensdynamo in what was the world's first hydroelectric power station. The resultant electricity was used to power an arc lamp installed in the Gallery in 1878.
The following are images from various renewable energy-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1Global map of wind power density potential (from Wind power)
Image 2Global map of wind speed at 100 meters on land and around coasts. (from Wind power)
Image 3Krafla Geothermal Station in northeast Iceland (from Geothermal energy)
Image 4Greenhouse gas emissions per energy source. Wind energy is one of the sources with the least greenhouse gas emissions. (from Wind power)
Image 5A panoramic view of the United Kingdom's Whitelee Wind Farm with Lochgoin Reservoir in the foreground. (from Wind power)
Image 6Distribution of wind speed (red) and energy (blue) for all of 2002 at the Lee Ranch facility in Colorado. The histogram shows measured data, while the curve is the Rayleigh model distribution for the same average wind speed. (from Wind power)
Image 7Electricity generation at Wairakei, New Zealand (from Geothermal energy)
Image 8Cost development of solar PV modules per watt (from Solar energy)
Image 9Share of electricity production from hydropower, 2022 (from Hydroelectricity)
Image 11Wind turbines such as these, in Cumbria, England, have been opposed for a number of reasons, including aesthetics, by some sectors of the population. (from Wind power)
Image 13Enhanced geothermal system 1:Reservoir 2:Pump house 3:Heat exchanger 4:Turbine hall 5:Production well 6:Injection well 7:Hot water to district heating 8:Porous sediments 9:Observation well 10:Crystalline bedrock (from Geothermal energy)
Image 14Parabolic dish produces steam for cooking, in Auroville, India. (from Solar energy)
Image 16Geothermal power station in the Philippines (from Geothermal energy)
Image 17A turbine blade convoy passing through Edenfield in the U.K. (2008). Even longer 2-piece blades are now manufactured, and then assembled on-site to reduce difficulties in transportation. (from Wind power)
Image 19Share of electricity production from wind, 2022 (from Wind power)
Image 20Hydro generation by country, 2021 (from Hydroelectricity)
Image 21Seasonal cycle of capacity factors for wind and photovoltaics in Europe under idealized assumptions. The figure illustrates the balancing effects of wind and solar energy at the seasonal scale (Kaspar et al., 2019). (from Wind power)
Image 25Acceptance of wind and solar facilities in one's community is stronger among U.S. Democrats (blue), while acceptance of nuclear power plants is stronger among U.S. Republicans (red). (from Wind power)
Image 26Yearly hydro generation by continent (from Hydroelectricity)
Image 29Electricity generation at Poihipi, New Zealand (from Geothermal energy)
Image 30Electricity production by source (from Wind power)
Image 31Typical components of a wind turbine (gearbox, rotor shaft and brake assembly) being lifted into position (from Wind power)
Image 32Concentrated solar panels are getting a power boost. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) will be testing a new concentrated solar power system – one that can help natural gas power plants reduce their fuel usage by up to 20 percent.[needs update] (from Solar energy)
Image 33Greenhouses like these in the Westland municipality of the Netherlands grow vegetables, fruits and flowers. (from Solar energy)
Image 46The Warwick Castle water-powered generator house, used for the generation of electricity for the castle from 1894 until 1940 (from Hydroelectricity)
Image 47The oldest known pool fed by a hot spring, built in the Qin dynasty in the 3rd century BCE (from Geothermal energy)
Image 51The Hoover Dam in the United States is a large conventional dammed-hydro facility, with an installed capacity of 2,080 MW. (from Hydroelectricity)
Image 54Electricity generation at Ohaaki, New Zealand (from Geothermal energy)
Image 55Wind turbine floating off France (from Wind power)
Image 56Installed geothermal energy capacity, 2022 (from Geothermal energy)
Image 57Merowe Dam in Sudan. Hydroelectric power stations that use dams submerge large areas of land due to the requirement of a reservoir. These changes to land color or albedo, alongside certain projects that concurrently submerge rainforests, can in these specific cases result in the global warming impact, or equivalent life-cycle greenhouse gases of hydroelectricity projects, to potentially exceed that of coal power stations. (from Hydroelectricity)
Image 58Global geothermal electric capacity. Upper red line is installed capacity; lower green line is realized production. (from Geothermal energy)
Image 59Onshore wind cost per kilowatt-hour between 1983 and 2017 (from Wind power)
![Image 32Concentrated solar panels are getting a power boost. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) will be testing a new concentrated solar power system – one that can help natural gas power plants reduce their fuel usage by up to 20 percent.[needs update] (from Solar energy)](/wiki/File:Photo_of_the_Week-_Boosting_Solar_Technology_(8722948189).jpg)
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