Trends with Renewable Energy

See also: Renewable energy industry and Renewable energy policy

The renewable market will boom when cost efficiency attains parity with other competing energy sources. The following trends are a few examples by which the renewables market is being helped to attain critical mass so that it becomes competitive enough vs fossil fuels:

Other than market forces, renewable industry often needs government sponsorship to help generate enough momentum in the market. Many countries and states have implemented incentives — like government tax subsidies, partial copayment schemes and various rebates over purchase of renewables — to encourage consumers to shift to renewable energy sources.^[57] Government grants fund for research in renewable technology to make the production cheaper and generation more efficient.^[58]

Development of loan programs that stimulate renewable favoring market forces with attractive return rates, buffer initial deployment costs and entice consumers to consider and purchase renewable technology. A famous example is the solar loan program sponsored by UNEP helping 100,000 people finance solar power systems in India.^[59] Success in India's solar program has led to similar projects in other parts of developing world like Tunisia, Morocco, Indonesia and Mexico.

Imposition of fossil fuel consumption and carbon taxes, and channel the revenue earned towards renewable energy development.^[60]

Also oil peak and world petroleum crisis and inflation are helping to promote renewables.

Many think-tanks are warning that the world needs an urgency driven concerted effort to create a competitive renewable energy infrastructure and market. The developed world can make more research investments to find better cost efficient technologies, and manufacturing could be transferred to developing countries in order to use low labor costs. The renewable energy market could increase fast enough to replace and initiate the decline of fossil fuel dominance and the world could then avert the looming climate and peak oil crises.^[61]

Most importantly, renewables is gaining credence among private investors as having the potential to grow into the next big industry. Many companies and venture capitalists are investing in photovoltaic development and manufacturing. This trend is particularly visible in Silicon valley, California, Europe, Japan.^[62][63][64] From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources—such as sunlight,^[2] wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat—which are renewable (naturally replenished). In 2006, about 18% of global final energy consumption came from renewables, with 13% coming from traditional biomass, such as wood-burning. Hydroelectricity was the next largest renewable source, providing 3% (15% of global electricity generation),^[1] followed by solar hot water/heating, which contributed 1.3%. Modern technologies, such as geothermal energy, wind power, solar power, and ocean energy together provided some 0.8% of final energy consumption.^[1]

Climate change concerns coupled with high oil prices, peak oil and increasing government support are driving increasing renewable energy legislation, incentives and commercialization. Investment capital flowing into renewable energy climbed from $80 billion in 2005 to a record $100 billion in 2006.^[3]

Wind power is growing at the rate of 30 percent annually, with a worldwide installed capacity of over 100 GW,^[4] and is widely used in several European countries and the United States.^[5] The manufacturing output of the photovoltaics industry reached more than 2,000 MW in 2006,^[6] and photovoltaic (PV) power stations are particularly popular in Germany and Spain.^[7] Solar thermal power stations operate in the USA and Spain, and the largest of these is the 354 MW SEGS power plant in the Mojave Desert.^[8]. The world's largest geothermal power installation is The Geysers in California, with a rated capacity of 750 MW.^[9] Brazil has one of the largest renewable energy programs in the world, involving production of ethanol fuel from sugar cane, and ethanol now provides 18 percent of the country's automotive fuel.^[10] Ethanol fuel is also widely available in the USA.

While there are many large-scale renewable energy projects and production, renewable technologies are also suited to small off-grid applications, sometimes in rural and remote areas, where energy is often crucial in human development.^[11] Kenya has the world's highest household solar ownership rate with roughly 30,000 small (20–100 watt) solar power systems sold per year.^[12]

Some renewable energy technologies are criticised for being intermittent or unsightly, yet the market is growing for many forms of renewable energy. In response to the G8's call on the IEA for "guidance on how to achieve a clean, clever and competitive energy future", the IEA reported that the replacement of current technology with renewable energy could help reduce CO₂ emissions by 50% by 2050.^{[13] [14]} From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia