Renewable Energy

Renewable Energy
Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources such as sunlight, 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 and 3% from hydroelectricity. New renewables (small hydro, modern biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels) accounted for 2.4% and are growing very rapidly.[1] The share of renewables inelectricity generation is around 18%, with 15% of global electricity coming from hydroelectricity and 3.4% from new renewables.[1]
Wind power is growing at the rate of 30% annually, with a worldwide installed capacity of 121,000 megawatts (MW) in 2008,[2]and is widely used in European countries and the United States.[3] The annual manufacturing output of the photovoltaics industry reached 6,900 MW in 2008,[4] and photovoltaic (PV) power stations are popular in Germany and Spain.[5] Solar thermal powerstations operate in the USA and Spain, and the largest of these is the 354 MW SEGS power plant in the Mojave Desert.[6] The world's largest geothermal power installation is The Geysers in California, with a rated capacity of 750 MW.[7] 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% of the country's automotive fuel.[8] Ethanol fuel is also widely available in the USA.
While most renewable energy projects and production is large-scale, renewable technologies are also suited to small off-grid applications, sometimes in rural and remote areas, where energy is often crucial in human development.[9] Kenya has the world's highest household solar ownership rate with roughly 30,000 small (20–100 watt) solar power systems sold per year.[10]
Some renewable energy technologies are criticized for being intermittent or unsightly, yet the renewable energy market continues to...