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The Current Situation and Perspectives on the Use of Renewable Energy Sources for Electricity Generation

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Book cover Electrical Energy Generation in Europe

Abstract

Deployment of renewable energy sources has been increasing rapidly in recent years. Various types of government policies, the declining cost of many renewable energy technologies, changes in the prices of fossil fuels, an increase in energy demand, among other factors, have encouraged the continuing increase in the use of renewable energy sources for the generation of electricity in several countries from all regions. Despite global financial challenges, renewable energy capacity continued to grow rapidly compared to the cumulative installed capacity from the previous year. In 2013, a total of 25.4 GW of new renewable power capacity was installed. Over 72 % of all new installed capacity in the EU were renewable. It is important to highlight that renewable energy sources are expected to be economically competitive with conventional energy sources for electricity generation in the medium to long-term.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The RES Directive defines the energy from renewable energy sources as energy from non-fossil fuel sources that is wind, solar, aerothermal, geothermal, hydrothermal, ocean energy, hydropower, biomass, landfill gas, sewage treatment gas, and biogases. In this book, the different renewable energy sources that have been considered are the following: wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, and biomass.

  2. 2.

    In Germany, renewables accounted for 22.9 % of electricity consumption (up from 20.5 % in 2011), 10.4 % of national heat use, and 12.6 % of total final energy demand.

  3. 3.

    Renewables are unquestionably becoming increasingly important for the global power supply. All the same, the continued global increase in demand for electricity during the coming decades will still open up sufficient revenue potential—both for renewables and fossil fuels. Should, however, there be fundamental or unexpected changes in not only the overriding drivers such as demographics and, linked to this, the demand for electricity, but also additional factors such as technological progress, energy efficiency or also consumption patterns, then of course new forecasts and if necessary also policy adjustments will be necessary. In the meantime, it is thus by no means a matter of crowding out or replacing individual sources of energy, but rather of supplementing and enhancing established input patterns (Auer 2013).

  4. 4.

    In 1996, one year before adopting its EC’s White Paper target of 40 GWe of wind power by 2010, the EC estimated that 8 GWe would be installed by 2010 in the EU. The 8 GWe was reached in 1999. The EC’s target for 2020 was set at 12.3 GWe and was reached two decades ahead of schedule, in 2000. Since 1996, EC has changed its baseline four times. Over the ten year period, targets for wind energy in 2010 and 2020 have been increased almost tenfold from 8 GWe to 78 GWe (2010) and from 12 GWe to 128 GWe (2020) in its latest baseline scenario from 2006. EWEA’s 2010 target for wind energy doubled from 40 GWe (in 1997) to 80 GWe (in 2006) (Zervos and Kjaer 2008).

  5. 5.

    Generating electricity from renewable energy sources has a high priority in the energy policy strategies at national and European level as well as at a global scale. Challenging goals for this new kind of electricity generation have been set, e.g., at European level by the ‘Directive on the Promotion of Electricity from Renewable Energy Source (European parliament and EC 2001) as well as the “White Paper on Renewable Sources of Energy” (EC 1997).

  6. 6.

    As a result of the economic crisis, energy consumption in Germany decreased by around 6 % in 2009.

  7. 7.

    The year 2012 saw the most dramatic shift yet in the balance of renewable energy investment worldwide, with the dominance of developed countries waning and the importance of developing countries growing. In the developing world, renewable energy outlays reached US$112 billion, up from US$94 billion in 2011, and represented some 46 % of the world total (up from 34 % in 2011 and 37 % in 2010). By contrast, outlays by developed economies fell sharply (29 %), from US$186 billion in 2011 to US$132 billion in 2012, the lowest level since 2009. This shift reflects two important trends: A reduction in subsidies for wind and solar project development in Europe and the United States; and increasing investor interest in emerging markets that offer both rising power demand and attractive.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vienna, Austria

    Jorge Morales Pedraza

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  1. Jorge Morales Pedraza
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Morales Pedraza, J. (2015). The Current Situation and Perspectives on the Use of Renewable Energy Sources for Electricity Generation . In: Electrical Energy Generation in Europe. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16083-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16083-2_2

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16082-5

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