Key Benefits of Using Renewable Energy

 Renewable energy is going to be an important source of power generation in the near future because we can use these resources again and again to produce useful energy.

Different renewable energy resources, like hydropower, wind, solar, biomass, ocean energy, biofuel, and geothermal, provide 15–20% of the total world’s energy. Due to environment-friendly and less emission of gases from renewable energy, it is considered sustainable energy.

Since 1990, global emissions of CO2 have increased by more than 46%. Hydropower is the largest single renewable electricity source today, providing 16% of world electricity at competitive prices. It dominates the electricity mix in several countries, developed, emerging, or developing. Bioenergy is the single largest renewable energy source today, providing 10% of the world's primary energy supply.

Developing renewable energy has many benefits for rural areas. Off-grid renewable energy sources, such as wind farms and solar power, can deliver cheaper and cleaner power than grid connections. Development of the renewable energy sector also creates jobs and brings a host of social benefits, such as access to information technology.

Important Renewable Energy Benefits for the Economy and People

It was discovered that renewable energy projects provide benefits from an economic point of view because they utilize local labour from rural areas, local materials and businesses, local shareholders, and the services of local banks. Renewable energy projects have facilitated the communities by establishing a trust fund that aims to invest the money earned by selling electricity in the local economy.

The consumers will be provided with electric power at a low cost as compared to that of conventional energy sources, and the overall economy will be enhanced because there will be multiple options to generate power using different renewable energy sources present in that region. Replacing the current fossil fuel-based energy system with a renewables-based system is the most urgent and efficient way to tackle air pollution.

Deployment of renewables creates local employment opportunities and contributes to growth in gross domestic product, largely through the expansion of renewable energy manufacturing and deployment. The energy transition is projected to result in a global net gain in employment, with more jobs created by ramping up renewable capacity than lost by phasing out fossil energy. Providing further hope is that an estimated 70% of jobs in the oil and gas industry overlap with the skills needed for the energy transition.

Renewable Energy’s Adoption

Hydroelectricity is a primary source of renewable energy globally with emerging sources coming from wind, solar, and biofuel. From 1990 to 1999 in terms of percentage growth, wind and solar have seen a tremendous rise. Over the same period, hydroelectric and other sources have also grown by about 21% and 52%.  From the year 2000 to 2018, wind and solar have risen substantially by 237% while hydroelectric and other sources of renewable energy have increased by a relatively lesser 58%.

Developing countries are making progress, especially in light of the enormous potential renewable resources enjoyed by countries of the South. In 2014 emerging economies devoted US$156 billion to renewable energy, 20 times more than ten years before. In one year China and India almost doubled their installed solar power capacity.

For instance, India has prioritized the development of 60 Solar Cities adopting a nationwide approach that overcomes the confusion created by multiple federal and state policies and facilitates investment. Egypt is working with development partners and the private sector to create the Benban Solar Park, which will be the largest solar power installation in the world.

Bolivia has made legal and policy changes to promote solar, wind, and micro-hydro power which can give a major boost to development in a country where 30% of the population is rural and only 66% of rural dwellers have electricity. To reach universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy by 2030 means 135 million people will need to have access per year and 60% of electrification will have to come from new off-grid rural power sources. This is where international financial institutions like IFAD have a major role to play.

Since 2015, growth in world renewable energy consumption has mainly been from solar (about 124%) and wind (about 53%) compared with hydroelectricity (about 8%) and other sources (about 16%). This follows the projection that by 2050 over 90% of the world’s population growth will be in developing countries.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) report predicts that the share of renewables in meeting rising global energy demand will grow by one-fifth to reach 12.4% by 2023. Respectively the contribution of renewable energy sources to the global energy supply will reach 34.7% and 47.7% by 2030 and 2040.

Availability and Technical Limitations

 

One of the important assessing factors in generating power from renewable energy sources is the availability and their technical limitation. Each resource has some limitations; photovoltaics have limitations in generating power only because heat energy from the sun can only be received during the daytime, except cloudy season. For wind turbines, speed should not increase beyond 25 m/s; otherwise, the turbine will be damaged. Also, the low speed of the wind, which is less than 3 m/s, will not be sufficient for the generation of electric power.

Geothermal has a good ability to generate power throughout the day for 24 hours but is geography-limited according to the presence of resources. Hydroelectric power plants are easy to start, stop, and operate within minutes; hence, they are considered one of the highest available, reliable, and flexible renewable energy resources. From an efficiency point of view, hydroelectric is classified at the top of the list, and wind energy, photovoltaic, and geothermal are the lowest efficient renewable energy resources.

Conclusion

Rural areas are at a particular disadvantage in terms of energy. They are often not connected to grids, and their remoteness makes it expensive to extend infrastructure to serve them. Without energy, smallholder farmers and rural small enterprises face barriers to adopting new technology and linking to markets and modern value chains that would allow them to grow their businesses and improve their livelihoods.