Every year the Renewable Energy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) and the Worldwatch Institute put together a profile and report card of the world’s renewable energy sector.
The REN21 Renewables 2007 Global Status Report found that last year, wind power capacity increased about 28 percent and solar power capacity went up 52 percent. Renewable energy employs 2.4 million people and 65 countries now have national standards for accelerating the use of renewables. Investors and businesses of all sizes have followed suit. And while that’s impressive, Mohamed El-Ashr, Chair of Ren21, had this interesting comment:
“So much has happened in the renewable energy sector during the past five years that the perceptions of some politicians and energy-sector analysts lag far behind the reality of where the renewables industry is today … This leadership has never been more important, as renewable energy has now reached the top of the international policy agenda under the United Nations and the G8.”
That is, some are asking “so, does this wind power thing really work?” while much of the world is blowing ahead of them.
Other report highlights from the report:
* Renewable energy represents 5 percent of global power capacity and 3.4 percent of global power generation.
* The largest portion of the renewable power capacity increase has been wind power.
* The fastest growing technology in the world is grid-connected solar photovoltaics (PV), with an increase equal to 1.5 million PV-powered homes worldwide.
* Production of biodiesel is up more than 50 percent.
* Of the $71 billion invested in renewable energy, fuel, and heat, 47 percent was for wind power and 30 percent for solar PV.
* Policies to promote renewable energy have mushroomed. At least 60 countries — 37 developed nations and 23 developing ones — have some type of policy to promote renewable power.
Alexander
Thanks for the heads up and handy report summary.
Matthew Trachtenberg
Great summary of the report, I believe that renewable will see an organic boom time as we see further decline in the dollar and corresponding rise in oil prices.
Miguel
It’s great to see an enthusiastic discussion about how to improve our energy future. With the cost of gasoline predicted to reach $4.00/gallon by summer and other sources such as coal and natural gas following suit, more and more people are interested in learning about the promise of alternative energy options. Many government and industry leaders believe hydrogen is an important part of the energy mix to help reduce oil consumption and improve our environment. Later this week the NHA Annual Hydrogen Conference and Expo US, March 30 – April 3, is taking place in Sacramento, CA. Please visit hydrogenconference.org to learn more. If you live near or if you’re traveling to Sacramento, we invite you to join us and experience how hydrogen can have a positive impact on our lives. The latest hydrogen technologies from all over the world will be on display, and there will even be opportunities to drive hydrogen vehicles from several leading auto manufacturers – all this is free and open to the public on Monday, March 31 at the Sacramento Convention Center. Stay tuned for upcoming announcements from the Hydrogen Expo.
In addition, the Hydrogen Education Foundation has recently launched a website to help people better understand hydrogen as a fuel. Please visit http://www.h2andyou.org to improve your knowledge about hydrogen as an alternative fuel.