Renewable Energy

New Data Confirms Big Hydro's Relative Decline

My recent blog comparing the global hydro industry’s stagnation with the rapid growth in the wind and solar sectors was based on preliminary data for wind and solar in 2009, and my guesstimate for that year’s hydro additions. Better statistics are now available for all three technologies. In my blog I stated that the wind industry had likely installed at least a quarter more generating capacity than big hydro in 2009. The new stats, from the “Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century,” or REN21, shows that large hydro lagged even further behind than I had guesstimated.

Big Hydro Falls Behind

Annual capacity additions of dam-based hydro and new renewables
Annual capacity additions of dam-based hydro and new renewables I just blogged on the Huffington Post about how the global wind power industry is blowing big hydro right out of the water in terms of how many turbines it is installing every year. In 2002, new installations of wind power worldwide exceeded the capacity of new big hydro for the first time ever. Wind power engineers installed more megawatts than their big hydro competitors three times over the following six years. [While no hydro data are yet available for 2009] data on trends in new big hydro capacity from the last decade sugg

A Quiet Revolution in (Non-Dam) Hydropower

SeaGen tidal current generator. Strangford Lough, N. Ireland.
SeaGen tidal current generator. Strangford Lough, N. Ireland. flickr.com/snoroma A quiet revolution is underway in the world of hydropower. A suite of emerging technologies holds the promise of a benign form of power generation that, unlike today's big-dam hydro, does not ruin rivers, wipe out wildlife and destroy communities. While the global big-dam industry is desperately trying to put lipstick on a pig and rebrand conventional hydropower as "sustainable," wave, tidal and river free-flow hydro are fast developing into a viable and genuinely green hydro option. The two gree

In Hot Water: Solar Thermal Takes Off

Monday, March 8, 2010
From March 2010 World Rivers ReviewSolar thermal collectors – used for heating water and buildings (and even for cooling, through solar chillers) – are now the world's top renewable energy source, producing more energy than wind power, and more than geothermal, solar photovoltaic (PV) and ocean energy combined, a new report states. In 2009, there were 147,000 megawatts (MW) of wind power, and 174,000 MW of solar thermal collectors. By comparison, there were only about 1,000 MW of concentrating solar plants (another type of solar thermal) and about 17,000 MW of solar PV capacity around the

India Moves Forward with Groundbreaking Solar Plan

While India’s national solar plans gain steam, many communities are taking the lead by building village-scale projects. The village of Legga in Rahasthan was solar-electrified by women trained as Barefoot Solar Engineers.
Monday, March 8, 2010
From March 2010 World Rivers ReviewThe first phase of a solar mega-project, aimed at expanding India's solar capacity from the current three megawatts (MW) to a reported 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2020 and 200 GW by 2050, was approved in January. The program, called the National Solar Mission, will form the centerpiece of the nation's climate change strategy and cost an estimated US$20 billion to implement. While India’s national solar plans gain steam, many communities are taking the lead by building village-scale projects. The village of Legga in Rahasthan was solar-electrified by women trained

Science Nonfiction

Wind power takes to the skies.
Monday, March 8, 2010
From March 2010 World Rivers Review The Future of Energy is Getting Greener (And Closer)Renewables are booming around the world, but they still have a lot of catch-up to do. Installation of solar PV systems has been nearly doubling every two years in both the US and Europe. The cost of producing solar-generated energy fell by over half in just a decade and a half. Wind power capacity rose nearly a third last year, to a total power capacity of 157.9 gigawatts (China accounted for a third of that, doubling its wind capacity). Some 150 companies worldwide are working to commercialize algal biofu

Honduras Communities Explore Small Hydro Development

A community surveyor on the Mocal.
Monday, March 8, 2010
From March 2010 World Rivers Review No one knows for sure if the idea of a community-owned small hydropower project will work, but Lenca indigenous peoples in the Municipality of Tomalá in Honduras are not afraid to try. And they have nothing to lose. A community surveyor on the Mocal. "Eighty percent of the region's population lives in extreme poverty, and malnutrition rates are high," said Fabricio Herrera from the Pro-Development Committee for the Mocal Hydroelectric Project. "We see this small hydroelectric as a way of getting out of poverty for our communities." The project is on the

Renewing Africa with Community Energy

Africa’s most famous wind turbine was built out of bicycle parts, scrap wood and assorted junk by William Kamkwamba, at his family's homestead in rural Malawi. His story got international attention, and resulted in a book.
Monday, March 8, 2010
From March 2010 World Rivers Review African countries are making some important strides toward a green energy sector. According to the Global Renewables Status 2009, Northern Africa boasts more than 500 MW of installed wind power, while Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania are all planning their first wind farms. Mauritius, Uganda, Kenya, and South Africa have all enacted feed-in tariffs (pricing policies that encourage renewable electricity's access to the grid). Renewable energy targets have been set by Rwanda, Tunisia, Kenya, and Madagascar. But the energy divide between urban and rural areas rem

Fast Facts: Renewable Energy in China

Monday, March 8, 2010
From March 2010 World Rivers Review   As the following figures attest, China is fast becoming a renewable supermarket and superpower. The country is on track to achieve the world's most ambitious renewable energy targets. By doing so, it will reduce the demand for destructive coal and hydropower projects at home, and set a model for other countries. Targets under China's Renewable Energy Law for 2020: 75 MW of small hydro, 30 GW of wind, 30 GW of biomass, 2 GW of solar Total target for all renewables: 137 GW, or 15% of the county's total power capacity Exp

World Rivers Review: Focus on Renewable Energy - March 2010

The Future of Energy is Getting Greener (And Closer) A quiet revolution is taking place in the world of hydropower. Our cover story looks at the emerging non-dam hydro industry, which holds the promise of economically viable technologies that do not deplete resources or warm the planet, and do not wipe out species, ecosystems and cultures. Read the full story. This special issue also looks at an ambitious new solar plan for India, China's burgeoning energy efficiency efforts, community-driven power projects in Africa and Latin America, and a host of science-fiction-like technology developments

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