Sustainable Energy Sources: A Global Analysis (Fall 2023)

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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Sustainable energy is derived from non-exhaustible resources that serve the requirements of the
present generation and also save energy for future consumption to meet the demand of the upcoming
generation. Renewable sources of sustainable energy such as solar energy, hydroelectricity, wind
energy, bioenergy, etc. are obtained from natural processes like solar energy is generated directly
from the sun. The following report is prepared to determine the effective uses of sustainable energy by
different countries around the globe by studying various reports and comparing the actual usage of
energy from the past predictions and finding the differences between both the results. Also, the report
will emphasize on identifying the reasons behind the differences so that the supply of energy and its
consumption till 2050 can be projected with the help of reports being referred and conducting an
analysis of the data collected.
INTRODUCTION
Energy plays a major role in our lives today. Sustainable energy also termed as a renewable source of
energy that helps in meeting the present needs of energy consumption without compromising the
demand of the future generation for the utilization of energy to fulfil their requirements. There are
various forms of sustainable energy such as solar energy, wind energy, hydropower, tidal power,
geothermal power, etc. that are been utilized by the population since centuries and will be used by
people till there is life on earth. The technology used for producing renewable sources of energy to
contribute to sustainable energy by reducing dependency over the resources of fossil fuels, reducing
greenhouse emissions and contributing towards the protection of world energy. Therefore, the
following report focuses on comparing the past prediction of energy consumptions with the actual
scenario to gain insights about the production and consumption of different sources of energy in
different regions of the world.
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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
“As it is said that the coal was the core element in the 19th century, 20th century belonged to oil and the
21st century belong to the production of energy through the natural resources such as the Sun, the
wind and the energy available within the Earth. Sustainable energy helps in meeting the energy
demand of today’s population and also saving the energy for future use and saving energy from
getting expired by encouraging the consumption of renewable sources of energy as these forms of
energy can be used over and over again without harming the environment.
SOURCES OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY:
There are various sources of sustainable energy produced to focus on lowering the prices of fuel,
reducing pollution and reducing greenhouse emissions. The various sustainable energy sources are:
Solar power: This is a renewable source of energy generated from the sun. The installation charges of
the solar power plant are high but the benefits received by a reduction in the electricity bills
compensate the charges of the initial cost. This source of energy is consumed for household and
commercial purposes to generate power by installing a solar panel in the houses or buildings or other
properties to reduce the electricity bills especially in summers. The growth of solar power is promoted
in many countries such as the UK has introduced ‘Feed-in Tariff and the US have developed ‘Solar
Investment Tax Credit’ and the International Solar Alliance founded by Pairs, France headquartered
in India for enhancing the utilization of solar energy in the country (Bhattacharya et al. 2016).
Hydroelectric power: This is a form of energy or electricity converted from flowing water. The
methods used for producing power through hydroelectric sources of renewable energy help in
reducing fossil fuels and reducing pollution. The hydroelectric power is generated through dams that
help in applying techniques for irrigation and controlling flood. This from all the renewable energy
sources, the hydropower is the largest contributor producing 6.7% of electricity all around the world.
Wave energy: This kind of renewable source of energy is produced when the generators of electricity
are placed on an ocean surface and is determined by the height, speed and length of the waves a
density of the water. The wave energy is utilized in water pumps and power plants and is
environment-friendly and enhances energy efficiency. Up to 15% of the demand for electricity in the
UK is fulfilled by using wave energy (Bhattacharya et al. 2016).
Geothermal energy: This form of renewable energy is produced with the help of heat obtained from
the Earth. The resources that are needed in producing geothermal energy are shallow ground, hot
water, hot rock, etc. For generating electricity, geothermal power plants are installed that consumes
the heat coming from 1000 meters below the Earth surface. This is an eco-friendly method and is
useful in producing energy.
Nuclear power: The nuclear power is generated using Uranium atom. It is a form of renewable
energy that helps in increasing efficiency and reducing emissions and also increases the opportunities
for employment in the world. 450 plants are operating worldwide for generating electricity through
nuclear power as per the records of 2015. The nuclear power is used for generating electricity in
places like France, Lithuania and Slovakia (Bhattacharya et al. 2016).
Wind energy: This source of generating electricity is available naturally and is most commonly used
in the United Kingdom and the United States. It is a form of solar energy and the electricity is
generated by wind by converting kinetic energy into mechanical energy through the generator and
thus, producing electricity. The most wind energy is produced by countries like France, India, Canada,
United Kingdom, Germany, US, China and Spain as per the record of Global Wind Energy Council
2017 (Evwind, 2016).
Tidal energy: The energy is generated by converting electricity obtained through tides into the form
of power that can be used by the population. The tides can be predicted easily and are a great source
of generating electricity that can be used in the future. South Korea has the largest tidal power station
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in the world. The tidal energy can be used effectively by countries like Canada, England, Russia,
China and France. According to a report, 20% of the demand for electricity in the UK can be fulfilled
by using tidal energy.
PAST TRENDS IN UTILIZATION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY
In ancient times, the energy was produced through biomass that includes wood, waste products and
timber. With the advancement of technology, the consumption of fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas
and oil was increased by the countries worldwide that increased global warming and environmental
degradation. Thus, the demand for renewable energy was increasing that helps in reducing pollution
and that can be used in the future also to meet the needs of the future generation.
From 1971-2012, the utilization of renewable energy by countries all around the globe increased more
than double as in 1971 it was 30 EJ a till 2012 it came up to 74 EJ. The consumption of biomass
reduced from 85% to 73% from 1971 to 2012 which was due to the increase in the share of
hydropower by 4% and a 3% increase in the geothermal energy utilization from 1971-2012. Also, the
second graph shows that after 1990, there was an emergence in the supply of energy through solar
thermal power and after 2000, countries started utilizing wind power for producing electricity
(Elsevier, 2016). The following graphs help in understanding the usage of different renewable energy
sources in the first graph and the supply of renewable energy globally in the second graph and their
development from four decades that is from 1971 to 2012.
Figure 1: GLOBAL PRIMARY ENERGY USE AND GLOBAL RENEWABLE ENERGY SUPPLY
FROM 1971-2012
(Source: Elsevier, 2016)
The growth of renewable energy from 1971-2012 can be understood with the help of the following
table that shows clear development after the year 2000. These growth rates are useful in expressing
the level of deployment in countries like China, etc. The pressure on the development of infrastructure
by increasing the advancement in technologies can be indicated with the help of the following figures.
After 2000, there was an increase in the growth of the renewable source due to the effect of climate
policies (Elsevier, 2016). The entry of the solar and wind thermal power is visible in after 1980 and
solar PV being emerged after 1990. From 2000-2012, the sources of renewable energy such as solar,
wind, etc. have been growing strongly by 21% per year on a global level.
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Table 1: YEARLY GROWTH RATE PER PERIOD PER ENERGY SOURCE
(Source: Elsevier, 2016)
WORLD ENERGY OUTLOOK (WEO) 2017
Table 2: WORLD ENERGY SUPPLY AND DEMAND FROM 1950-2050
(Source: Author’s work)
The statistics provided by the World Energy Statistics 2017 covers the sources of energy including
coal, gas, oil, renewable energy, waste and electricity supplied and consumed by all the countries of
the world inclusive of all OECD countries and other energy producers and consumers of the world.
These statistics state the supply and consumption of sources of energy by 150 countries and regions of
the world that are inclusive of the OECD countries (Conti et al. 2016). The supply and demand of
different energy sources by the world can be presented in the form of the following figure:
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Figure 2: WORLD ENERGY SUPPLY PROJECTIONS (1950-2050)
(Source: Author’s work)
In July 1998, a conference was held in Paris by an OECD forum along with the International Energy
Agency (IEA) to explore the trends for developments and identify the challenges that might be
suffered by the world for production and consumption of energy through 2050. This conference
focused on major issues like new modes of transportation, advancements in energy technologies,
change in climatic conditions, environmental issues, opportunities and threats faced by the countries,
etc. (OECD, 1999)
It was projected that the consumption of energy would be highly dominated by fossil fuels through
2020. The prices of oil and gas would remain stable till 2010 and then gradually increase by 50%
between the periods of 2010-2010 due to the shift in the marginal supply of oil from conventional to
non-conventional. Therefore, the consumption of coal is estimated to remain high in countries like
China, North America, India and other developing countries. By 2020, it is expected that the capacity
of electricity will increase by 3500 GW (gigawatts). In 2020, due to the depletion of resources such as
fossil fuels, various tensions would increase leading to rising in financial burden over the countries for
the development of new sources of energy that might end up with damaging the environment.
According to the projections by regional reserves, the domination of fossil fuels, the production of
conventional oil would reach at its peak between the time of 2010 to 2020. The gap between the
demand and supply would result in increasing the price of conventional oil from $17 to $25 per barrel
and to fill this, gap non-conventional oil would be developed and supplied. The major challenge to the
environment on a global level in the upcoming decades would occur due to global warming. The
Kyoto Protocol developed targets for the developed countries to reduce greenhouse emissions by 5%
from 2008-2012. The globalization and global labour migration would lead to shifting of OECD and
some industrialized countries to shift to developing countries having a low cost of labour and
therefore, would result in increasing the number of agglomeration in the non-OECD countries to 50
till 2010. According to the projections, the advancement of highly efficient and carbon-free
technology is necessary to reduce greenhouse emissions at a low cost till 2010/2020. The global
demand for energy is estimated to increase by 66% until 2020 if there is no change in the existing
policies of energy use (OECD, 1999).
According to The World in 2020- Towards a New Global Change, a report published in 1997, it is
stated that growth of the future economy is dependent on the growth of skilled labour, investments,
improvement in productivity in the future. It is presumed that the developing countries will grow at a
higher pace as compared to the developed countries in the upcoming decades. It is estimated that the
demand for liquid fuels in the world would increase at a rate of 1.8% annually until 2020 (OECD,
1999).
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Renewable energy in the united states:
Until 1850, the energy needs of almost all the countries were fulfilled by using wood and wood waste
for all the activities like cooking, heating and lighting. Therefore, fossil fuels including petroleum,
coal and natural gas have been a significant energy source from 1800 till today. The most commonly
used source of energy until the 1990s were solid biomass and hydroelectric power. Since 1901, there
was an increase in the consumption of other renewable energy sources like biofuels, wind energy and
solar energy (EIA, 2019). Thus, the consumption of different sources of renewable and non-renewable
energy by the United States from 1776-2018 can be understood with the help of the following graph:
Figure 3: ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN THE UNITED STATES FROM 1776-2018
(Source: EIA, 2019)
Thus, the above graph states that earlier only wood was used by the US for meeting the energy needs
of the population. But gradually with the passing time, an increase in the consumption of other energy
sources can also be seen after 1900. And today in 2018, the consumption of wood has become the
lowest and use of other renewable energy sources is increased by the country (EIA, 2019). Renewable
sources of energy play a significant role in reducing greenhouse emissions by minimizing the
consumption of fossil fuels that are the reason behind the CO2 emissions in the United States. The
utilization of biofuels and other sources of non-hydroelectric renewable energy that is solar energy,
wind energy, etc. has been doubled in recent years that is from 2000-2018. The Energy Information
Administration in the United States has predicted that the consumption of renewable energy in the
country will be increasing to a great level through 2050 (EIA, 2019).
CURRENT SUSTAINABLE ENERGY CONSUMPTION
From the year 2000 to 2012, the highest growth was achieved by the Middle East in the biomass
energy by increasing 6.1% while the second highest was OECD Europe by a 5.5% increase. The total
growth of biomass energy worldwide current sustainable energy consumption
e was 2.2% per year. China ranked first in the growth of hydropower in the country as there was an
increase in 12% per year and has a growth rate of 30 per year for solar energy source but there was
only 0.5% growth in terms of biomass energy that led to decrease in the overall growth rate of
renewable energy sources with 2.9% per year an thus, resulted in decrease in the growth rate from
2000-2012 by 8% and came down to 11% in 2012.
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Table 3: ANNUAL GROWTH RATE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY FROM 2000-2012
(Source: Hosenuzzaman et al. 2015)
Therefore, from the above table, it can be summarized that the Middle East and OECD Europe has
experienced the highest level of growth in the overall renewable energy. In European Union, the share
of renewable energy has doubled from 2000-2012 that is from 6% to 12% in 12 years and also has
achieved the highest growth in the total renewable energy utilization that is 5.6%. On the other hand,
the lowest growth in the overall renewable energy is obtained by OECD America and Non-OECD
Europe and Eurasia, both grow at a rate of 1.4% per year.
A DECADE OF PROGRESS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY (2004-2014)
The advancement in the technology and the development of technologies producing renewable energy
has enhanced the potential of growth of the economies on a global level. The consumption of
renewable energy in today’s world has improved the protection of energy for future use and
mitigating the risks associated with the change in climatic conditions and adapting the change. Also,
the consumption of renewable energy is beneficial in reducing the dependency of the countries for
imports of fuels, improving the quality of air, safeguarding the environment, providing opportunities
for job, raising the standards of living of the society and thus, resulting in economic development
(REN21, 2019).
Since 2004, the countries consuming and promoting the use of renewable energy has increased 3
times that is from 48 to 140. This increase in the number of countries has led to the establishment of
targets and formulating policies for support. There has been noticed as a substantial increase in the
production of renewable energy through installed capacities and other technologies on a global scale.
The investment done globally on renewable energy sources has increased drastically from USD 39.5
billion in 2004 to 279.6 billion US dollar in 2011. There was a decrease in the investment in 2012 and
it reached to USD 249.5 billion and was reduced more in 2013 by 23% when compared to the
investment of 2011 and reached to USD 214.4 billion in 2013 (REN21, 2019). The investments made
in renewable energy by different countries from 2004-2014 can be analysed with the help of the
following table:
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Table 4: GLOBAL INVESTMENT IN RENEWABLE ENERGY FROM 2004-2014
(Source: REN21, 2019)
RENEWABLE ENERGY IN DIFFERENT REGIONS:
CHINA: China has become the largest producer of renewable energy in the world over the past
decade as the country has managed to double its installed capacity for generating electricity through
the wind from 2004 to 2010. Also, the country has ranked first in the expansion of hydroelectric
power in the world. The renewable energy expansion in the industry in China is highly significant for
up-gradation of the infrastructure of the country and thus creating valuable jobs in the future. The
expansion of renewables also face few challenges in the country due to the transfer of 20 million
people every year from the rural to urban areas, expansion of technical know-how for operating
equipment, training of the workforce for operation and maintenance of infrastructure. The
development of wind power and solar PV in the renewable energy sector took place in China with the
enforcement of the law of renewable energy in January 2006 (REN21, 2019). The laws formulated
under this are changed constantly to cope with the changing renewable energy market scenarios. In
2014, it was noticed that there were 10 cars per 100 people in the country which is expected to change
till 2040 and the ratio would reach to 30:100.
EUROPE: Europe has developed a strong industry of renewable energy and also has set a target of
achieving a 20% share of renewable energy in the country till 2020. Europe has become an inspiration
for various countries worldwide. The policy of climate and energy formulated by the European Union
has been on top in the policy designs of renewable energy formulated internationally for the 2020
horizon. Currently, the EU is busy in discussions regarding the development of policies of renewable
energy for the period of 2030/2050. The energy sector of the EU is highly based on fossil fuels, one-
third of which is of their own and the remaining is imported. The countries in the EU have also faced
various challenges with the increasing share of renewables which has decreased the investment made
in renewable energy in Europe by 44% in 2013 as compared to the data of 2012. the European Union
has set a target of improving the energy efficiency of the member countries y 20% and reducing the
greenhouse emissions by 20% until 2020 (REN21, 2019).
INDIA: The markets in India are growing steadily with the advancement in the technologies of
renewable energy. The increase in energy demand by the growing population of the country has
exceeded the pace of expansion of renewables. But the country faces certain barriers due to the
changes in the rules and regulations set by the Union and the state government of the country that
increases the perception of risk leading to the rising cost of investment made in the renewables. The
diversification of energy in the country is necessary for the security of energy. India is ranked
amongst the largest importer of petroleum products, oil and liquid natural gas. India gains a lot of
incentives such as active support from the government and policies of foreign investment that helps in
developing the market and infrastructure and creating various opportunities for employment. The FIT
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scheme adopted in 2004, the Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) mechanism started in 2007; the
Solar Mission programme launched by India in 2010 and the targets of renewable energy set by the
country in 2012 are some of the initiatives taken by the country in the past decade.
NORTH AMERICA: The increase in the expansion of the installed capacities of renewable energy
in the United States has allowed the country to remain on the top for employing the industry of
renewable energy. In 2009, Barack Obama, the president of America stated that the two major drivers
of the growth of renewable energy in the country are the change in climatic conditions and energy
security for future consumption. These two are the major reasons behind the development of
renewable power, creation of job and boosting trade in the country. In 2006, the United States has
generated 9.2% of electricity from the renewables that were increased up to 13% in 2012. Anew
hydropower capacity was installed in the last decade in North America that helped in maintaining the
leadership position of the country. There was a decline of 43% in the cost of wind energy in the
United States from 2009 to 2013. North America ranks first in terms of production and consumption
of bio-ethanol by increasing its production 36 billion litres from 2004 to 2013 and thus, producing 50
billion litres of bio-ethanol in 2013. Also, the United States overtook Brazil and became the largest
producer of bio-ethanol. There are certain challenges faced by North America for renewables due to
the uncertainties in the policies and the market share and the lack of investment made in renewables
by the country.
AUSTRALIA OCEANIA: The continent of Australia comprises of countries such as New Zealand,
Japan, South Korea and 15 states of Pacific Island, all having different climatic conditions. But the
overall region has a great scope of renewable energy. Australia is among the countries worldwide
having the largest potential in terms of renewable energy. The major sources of energy that leads o
growth in the country are solar energy and wind energy. New Zealand is ranked amongst the top
countries for its installed capacity of geothermal power plants. New Zealand has a high potential for
growth of renewable energy such as wind, ocean and solar energy. The solar PV and wind energy
plant connected through the grid has led to reducing the cost of the installed capacity of renewable
energy sources available in Australia. The major drives of renewable energy in New Zealand
comprise of the responsibility of the country towards the environment, diversity in the development of
the resources, energy efficiency and security and thus, providing affordable energy. The Renewable
Energy Target (RET) set in 2001 obligates the wholesale and retail consumers of the country to
source at least 20% of the renewable energy from different sources till 2020. Currently, New Zealand
is working under the target of producing 90% of energy from renewable sources until 2025. In 2009,
the first feed-in tariffs were introduced by Japan. Japan has become the leading country for
investment in renewables due to an increase of 76% in investment made in renewables by the country
in 2013 counting up to USD 23 billion. Australia also faces certain obstacles for the growth of
renewables due to its instability in its renewable energy policies (REN21, 2019).
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA (SSA): In East Africa, renewable energy plays an important role in the
social and economic development of the country. There are certain rules and regulations to be
formulated in the country for the development of the markets of renewable energy. The policy of
Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff (REFiT) was established by the government of Kenya in 2008.
South Africa did not follow the REFiT policy to maintain the generation of renewable energy by
undertaking an approach of criteria-based bidding that is useful in creating various opportunities for
job, transferring the technology and also leading to economic empowerment. In the last decade, there
were very less or no plant installed for solar PV in SSA and currently, 100,000 new capacities are
installed on an annual basis. The continent of Africa has experienced maturity of renewable energy
leading to an increase in the cost competitiveness and reliability. The various countries included in the
SSA such as Morocco, Ethiopia and South Africa have attained growth of wind power resulting in the
security of the energy supply of the countries and reducing the dependencies over the single source of
energy such as fossil fuel. The major barrier faced by SSA in the growth of the renewable energy is
due to lack of information available with the countries about the best practices for gaining success in
the policies an schemes of the renewable energy that leads to expansion. Also, there is a lack of long-
term planning for security that challenges the development of renewables (REN21, 2019).
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POTENTIAL OF RENEWABLE ENERGY TOMORROW
While making energy predictions until the period of 2040, it can be stated that the demand and supply
of energy would be affected by the policies formed by the government in different countries. It is
expected that 80% of the demand for oil, coal and natural gas would be met. As the greenhouse
emissions have increased by 50% from 1990 to 2014, it is assumed that the CO2 emissions would be
at peak till 2030. The oil and natural gas would be supplied globally comprising of 60% share and
25% energy share would be included in the supply of nuclear energy and other renewables. It is
projected that there would be a 40% increase in the demand for natural gas until 2040. The highest
potential of growth tomorrow lies in the advancement of the technology that would be beneficial in
achieving the objectives of energy efficiency and environment. It is expected that the oil will remain
the leading fuel of the world and would provide 1/3 of the energy even in 2040 (Exon Mobil, 2016).
Till 2040, it is projected that non-OECD countries like China, India and others would require more
energy for raising the standards of living and economic development. Conversely, the OECD
countries like the United States, Europe and others would decline their demand for energy and
continue to grow economically. The major factors for the increase in demand for energy in the world
include the rising population and the economic growth of the region. The world population would
reach up to 9 billion which will increase the global GDP more than double of what it is today (Exon
Mobil, 2016). Thus, the demand for energy would increase by 25% until 2040 that can be seen in the
following figure.
Figure 4: GLOBAL ENERGY DEMAND FROM 2000-2040
(Source: Exon Mobil, 2016)
It is predicted that the electricity generated from nuclear power would grow to more than double until
2040. The solar and wind energy would generate more than 10% of electricity globally in 2040 and
the results may vary depending upon the region. The utilization of electricity in India would rise to
185% until 2040. The United States will experience a decrease in the demand for electricity by 5%
from 2014-2040 (Exon Mobil, 2016).
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CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Sustainable development has become a major concern for all the countries resulting in changing
policies and formulation of plans for the development and growth of the countries all over the world.
According to the above report, it can be summarized that various kinds of predictions were made in
the past by different organizations such as OECD, IEA, WEO, etc. by estimating the changes that may
arise in the future till 2020 and beyond until 2040. These predictions were regarding the production
and consumption of the renewable sources of energy used by different regions and altogether on a
global level. These predictions included that there would be an increase in the demand for solar, wind
and other energy sources till 2020 by increasing the investment made by countries in renewable
energies and the carbon dioxide emissions will reduce leading to a reduction in dependency over the
fossil fuels. But the current scenario is not as what was expected (Owusu and Asumadu-Sarkodie,
2016). The developing countries like India, China, etc. have experienced a fall in the share of
renewable energy from 2000-2014. The population of these developing countries has been increasing
at a higher pace which has resulted in various issues in the present such as dependency over the fossil
fuels, global warming, changing climatic conditions, inflation, risks and damage to the environment,
etc. thus the differences in the expectations and the reality of performance of different countries for
increasing the supply of renewable energy can be done by effective planning for improvement of the
current situation by considering these issues and finding solutions to resolve them to the earliest to
increase efficiency.
Therefore, it can be recommended that the developing countries must focus on controlling their
population by formulating new policies or altering the existing policies regarding the family planning,
the countries must take measures for increasing the utilization of renewable sources of energy that are
beneficial for the country and can be achieved naturally without affecting the environment. There can
also be various small measures taken by the countries to increase energy efficiency such as
eliminating the use of plastics, reducing factors that cause air pollution, deducting CO2 emissions,
increasing the opportunities for jobs that helps in raising the living standards of the society and
increasing investment in the renewable sources, reducing the dependencies of the countries over coal
and fossil fuels, encouraging technological advancement to increase the per cent of electricity
generation from renewable sources by 80% till 2050 that helps in saving energy and electricity for the
future generation (Owusu and Asumadu-Sarkodie, 2016). The government of the country must
provide adequate support to the businesses of the renewable energy sector for increasing growth and
development that result in improving the overall scenario of the country and attaining positive results.
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