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The renewable energy market is booming worldwide and is predicted to surpass fossil fuel use,
thanks to such factors as falling prices and the Paris Climate Agreement. It is seen by many as a
route to mitigating climate change, a problem brought on in part, by the widespread use of fossil
fuels such as coal.
Worldwide Africa
– As of 2015 worldwide investment on – Renewable energy made up a total of 17% of
renewable’s stands at £198 Billion. [1] Africa’s power generating capacity by 2009. [2]
– In 2015, twice as much money was spent on – Solar energy estimated to have most technical
renewable’s compared to coal and gas-fired potential in Eastern Africa over other renewable
power generation. [1] sources [3].
– 161 gigawatts of power has been installed as – It is estimated that Africa has a potential for
of 2016, solar energy accounted for 47% of this. 10 terawatts of Solar power and a potential of
475 gigawatts combined, for hydropower, wind
[5]
and geothermal energy. [6]
– In 2015 South Africa generated 1.5 gigawatts
– In 2017, worldwide, renewable power
of power from wind farms. Kenya will soon
capacity had a 31% share of total power
open Africa’s largest wind farm, it will make up
capacity, edging out coal. [7]
15% of the countries power capacity. [5]
– In terms of total power output, renewable – Benin, Nigeria and Rwanda saw sales of
energy is predicted to make 28% of global household level renewable systems exceed
electricity output by 2021. [7] 100,00 units. [5]
Source:
This is the category of natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable, that can be converted
into forms of usable energy.
Generally, energy sources are grouped into three categories – fossil fuels, alternative energy, and
renewables. Fossil fuels refer to resources created by thousands of years of heat and pressure on
prehistoric organisms. Alternative energy refers to any form of energy that is not a fossil fuel; this
includes renewables and nuclear energy. Renewable energy refers to sources of energy that can be
replenished in a human lifetime.
These categories are further broken down into individual sources like oil, coal, wind, solar, hydro and
nuclear that require specific and unique processes to be converted into usable forms of energy.
Production:
Production refers to the methods used to get an energy source into a state where it can be converted
into a usable form of energy.
For natural resources found in the Earth, this generally involves exploration, extraction and basic
processing of the resource. For other resources such as hydrogen, production may involve a chemical
process to obtain the element in its pure form. Many renewable resources, such as wind and solar, skip
production processes because they undergo direct conversion into a usable form of energy.
Renewable Energy
Definition
Renewable energy is energy produced from sources that do not deplete or can be replenished
within a human’s life time. The most common examples include wind, solar, geothermal,
biomass, and hydropower[1]. This is in contrast to non-renewable sources such as fossil fuels.
Most renewable energy is derived directly or indirectly from the sun. Sunlight can be captured
directly using solar technologies. The sun's heat drives winds, whose energy is captured
with turbines. Plants also rely on the sun to grow and their stored energy can be utilized for
bioenergy. [2]
Not all renewable energy sources rely on the sun. For example, geothermal energy utilizes the
Earth’s internal heat, tidal energy relies on the gravitational pull of the moon, and hydropower
relies on the flow of water.
Context
Renewable energy accounts for 13.5% of the world’s total energy supply, and 22% of the world's
electricity [3].
Renewable energy systems are a major topic when discussing the globe's energy future for two
main reasons:
1. Renewable energy systems provide energy from sources that will never deplete.
2. Renewable energy systems produce less greenhouse gas emissions than fossil fuel energy
systems.
While renewable energy systems are better for the environment and produce less emissions than
conventional energy sources, many of these sources still face difficulties in being deployed at a
large scale including, but not limited to, technological barriers, high start-up capital costs, and
intermittency challenges[4].
It is important to note that the terms ‘renewable energy’, ‘green energy’ and ‘clean energy’ are
not interchangeable in all cases; for example, a ‘clean’ coal plant is simply a coal plant with
emissions reduction technology. The coal plant itself is still not a ‘renewable energy’ source.
‘Green energy’ is a subset of renewable energy, which boasts low or zero emissions and low
environmental impacts to systems such as land and water[1].