The Positive Statistics Of Renewable Energy

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As our global carbon dioxide emissions grow, they highlight the need for increased reliance on renewable energy sources. Its wealth of energy resources has made Canada the fifth-biggest energy producer in the world. Over 60 percent of oil produced is exported with most going to the United States since 1995. The positive statistics of renewable energy reveal Canada is using more in recent years.

The renewable energy technologies have some variance in economic and technical capacities. They offer the benefits of far less greenhouse gases emissions and a much more sustainable source of energy. We need more of this power source to protect our environment and make our lives more sustainable.

So far less than 20 percent of Canadian needs are supplied by renewable energy. Of these, water is the leading source supplying over ten percent of the total supply. On the rivers that flow from the mountains, there were by 2006, just under 500 hydroelectric power stations. Five provinces are the most active producers.

Wood constitutes the prime source in the biomass sector that is the 2d most dominant sector after the hydroelectric sector. More than half of paper and pulp industry usage uses this resource. By the end of 2006, sixty bioenergy plants were operating. Wheat, barley and corn constituted the main agriculture sources for ethanol production. In 2006, the biofuel capacity for ethanol was near six hundred million litres and for biodiesel it was a hundred million litres.

The emerging sectors of wind and solar energy are showing high growth rates. Installed wind power capacity has expanded quickly in recent years with increased interest from utilities and government initiatives. By December 31, 2007, there were 1,400 wind turbines on 85 wind farms with a total installed capacity of 1,846 megawatts. This was up from 60 wind turbines on 8 wind farms and 23 megawatts 10 years before. The provincial leaders in wind are Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. Use of solar energy has increased, although it remains small relatively in terms of market penetration. Installed capacity for solar thermal power has been with average annual growth of 17 percent since 1998. It reached 290 megawatts of thermal power by 2005. The installed capacity for solar photovoltaic power has risen by 27 percent per year since 1993, reaching 25.8 megawatts by 2007. Of these, 89 percent are off the grid applications. Known geothermal steam resource is limited, but approximately 3,150 heat pump units were installed in buildings by 2006.

Eurostat has revealed a report that in 2009 Europe has generally advanced renewable energy uses while simultaneously reducing reliance on fossil fuels. According to its report, energy usage went up by 8.3 percent. However, the use of coal was reduced by 9.2 percent and natural gas by 10.1 percent. Generally energy usage declined by 5.5 percent. This reveals the negative effects of the global financial crisis on European economies. Meanwhile, for the six consecutive year, the amount of energy used to produce energy has declined as a result of reliance on more nonfossil based energy sources. The amount of such energy was 18.4 percent in the past year. This amount is just below the 19.3 percent of energy use from natural gas in the region.

Europe sets the standard with Germany the largest wind power user in the world. Its growth is highlighted by the fact that 16 years ago it hardly used any wind power. The second place wind user, Spain, is also on this continent. Germany is also the second largest solar power market in the world, despite its cloudy weather. QCells a world leader as a solar cell producer is based in Germany. The German goal of reducing carbon emissions by 2020 up to 36 percent makes the German goal the most ambitious. With Germany setting the high bar, Europe keeps on making ambitious exemplary strides forward. Yet the numbers for individual countries varies greatly. Thus, Portugal gets almost 45 percent of its energy needs satisfied through renewable energy usage with the average being regionally 18.4 percent. Portugal, has made dramatic strides as in 2004 the amount was below the average at 17 percent. Portugal demonstrates the dimensions of European expansion over the last decade.

Next door neighbor, the United Sates has seen 3 of the last 4 years with reduced emissions according to the Department of Energy. 2009 saw the most reduction in energy emissions since record keeping began in 1949 with a seven percent decline. The cause is attributable to the economic recession and to the increase in the renewable energy, in which wind has been a leader. The switch from coal to natural gas also reduced the amount energy used to produce power. This switch also influenced decline in carbon emissions as gas produces almost half as much as coal. Renewable energy installations outpaced fossil fuel installations in 2009 in both Europe and the United States. The rate was 60 percent of new energy installations in Europe and 50 percent in the United States. However, only 18 percent of global electricity needs were met by renewable sources in 2009. But, the number of countries with renewable policies like the Feed in Tariff program has risen to 100 from 55 in 2005. Investment in the United Nation environmental program declined slightly to USD 162 billion in 2009 from the USD 173 billion in 2008. The statistics of renewable energy demonstrate that the interest in renewable energy remains robust.

Solar Power devices, green energy and alternative energy sources like the field of science is around every day. The children learn with fun optical equipment, telescopes and science lab equipment.