Introducing Renewables

The next focus section for my blog is going to be on renewable energy, this will include a variety of different energy sources which have essentially unlimited supply To start off, just how much does renewable energy contribute to the global energy market?

Renewable Energy Share of Global Energy Consumption 2010

Figure 1 source: Renewables 2012 Status Report, page 20

Figure 1 Summary

• Fossil fuels (80.6%) - coal, oil, gas
• Traditional biomass (8.5%) - burning of wood primarily for cooking and heating
• Modern renewables (8.2%) - divided into hydropower, biofuels, heating and power generating, currently the 'heating' sector is significantly larger than power generation. 

Average Annual Growth Rates of Renewable Energy Production 2006-2011

Figure 2 Source: Renewables 2012 Status Report, page 21

Figure 2 Summary

• Over the five year period between 2006 and 2011, production of all energy types has increased. 
• Growth of the Solar PV cells is significantly higher than any other category in 2011 (74%) and over the five year period (54%).
• The main increases over the past five years have been in: solar PV, solar thermal power, biodiesel, ethanol production and wind power (total = 144% increase)
• Hydropower has seen a very minor increase over five years (3%) but it is one of the biggest contributors to the renewable market.