Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable (naturally replenished). About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from hydroelectricity. New renewables (small hydro, modern biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels) accounted for another 2.8% and are growing very rapidly. The share of renewables in electricity generation is around 19%, with 16% of global electricity coming from hydroelectricity and 3% from new renewables.

Wind power is growing at the rate of 30% annually, with a worldwide installed capacity of 198 gigawatts (GW) in 2010, and is widely used in Europe, Asia, and the United States. At the end of 2010, cumulative global photovoltaic (PV) installations surpassed 40 GW and PV power stations are popular in Germany and Spain. Solar thermal power stations operate in the USA and Spain, and the largest of these is the 354 megawatt (MW) SEGS power plant in the Mojave Desert. The world's largest geothermal power installation is The Geysers in California, with a rated capacity of 750 MW. 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. Ethanol fuel is also widely available in the USA.

While many renewable energy projects are large-scale, renewable technologies are also suited to rural and remote areas, where energy is often crucial in human development. As of 2011, small solar PV systems provide electricity to a few million households, and micro-hydro configured into mini-grids serves many more. Over 44 million households use biogas made in household-scale digesters for lighting and/or cooking, and more than 166 million households rely on a new generation of more-efficient biomass cookstoves. United Nation's Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that renewable energy has the ability to lift the poorest nations to new levels of prosperity.

Climate change concerns, coupled with high oil prices, peak oil, and increasing government support, are driving increasing renewable energy legislation, incentives and commercialization. New government spending, regulation and policies helped the industry weather the global financial crisis better than many other sectors. According to a 2011 projection by the International Energy Agency, solar power generators may produce most of the world’s electricity within 50 years, dramatically reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases that harm the environment.

Overview

Renewable energy flows involve natural phenomena such as sunlight, wind, tides, plant growth, and geothermal heat, as the International Energy Agency explains:

Renewable energy replaces conventional fuels in four distinct areas: power generation, hot water/ space heating, transport fuels, and rural (off-grid) energy services:

Power generation. Renewable energy provides 18 percent of total electricity generation worldwide. Renewable power generators are spread across many countries, and wind power alone already provides a significant share of electricity in some areas: for example, 14 percent in the U.S. state of Iowa, 40 percent in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, and 20 percent in Denmark. Some countries get most of their power from renewables, including Iceland and Paraguay (100 percent), Norway (98 percent), Brazil (86 percent), Austria (62 percent), New Zealand (65 percent), and Sweden (54 percent).

Heating. Solar hot water makes an important contribution in many countries, most notably in China, which now has 70 percent of the global total (180 GWth). Most of these systems are installed on multi-family apartment buildings and meet a portion of the hot water needs of an estimated 50–60 million households in China. Worldwide, total installed solar water heating systems meet a portion of the water heating needs of over 70 million households. The use of biomass for heating continues to grow as well. In Sweden, national use of biomass energy has surpassed that of oil. Direct geothermal for heating is also growing rapidly.

Transport fuels. Renewable biofuels have contributed to a significant decline in oil consumption in the United States since 2006. The 93 billion liters of biofuels produced worldwide in 2009 displaced the equivalent of an estimated 68 billion liters of gasoline, equal to about 5 percent of world gasoline production.

Mainstream forms of renewable energy

Wind power

thumb|Wind Turbines located outside of Palm Springs, CaliforniaAirflows can be used to run wind turbines. Modern wind turbines range from around 600 kW to 5 MW of rated power, although turbines with rated output of 1.5–3 MW have become the most common for commercial use; the power output of a turbine is a function of the cube of the wind speed, so as wind speed increases, power output increases dramatically. Areas where winds are stronger and more constant, such as offshore and high altitude sites, are preferred locations for wind farms. Typical capacity factors are 20-40%, with values at the upper end of the range in particularly favourable sites.

Globally, the long-term technical potential of wind energy is believed to be five times total current global energy production, or 40 times current electricity demand. This could require wind turbines to be installed over large areas, particularly in areas of higher wind resources. Offshore resources experience mean wind speeds of ~90% greater than that of land, so offshore resources could contribute substantially more energy.

Hydropower

Energy in water can be harnessed and used. Since water is about 800 times denser than air, even a slow flowing stream of water, or moderate sea swell, can yield considerable amounts of energy. There are many forms of water energy:

Hydroelectric energy is a term usually reserved for large-scale hydroelectric dams. Examples are the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington State and the Akosombo Dam in Ghana.

Micro hydro systems are hydroelectric power installations that typically produce up to 100 kW of power. They are often used in water rich areas as a remote-area power supply (RAPS).

Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity systems derive kinetic energy from rivers and oceans without using a dam.

Solar energy

Solar energy is the energy derived from the sun through the form of solar radiation. Solar powered electrical generation relies on photovoltaics and heat engines. A partial list of other solar applications includes space heating and cooling through solar architecture, daylighting, solar hot water, solar cooking, and high temperature process heat for industrial purposes.

Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on the way they capture, convert and distribute solar energy. Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.

Biomass

Biomass (plant material) is a renewable energy source because the energy it contains comes from the sun. Through the process of photosynthesis, plants capture the sun's energy. When the plants are burnt, they release the sun's energy they contain. In this way, biomass functions as a sort of natural battery for storing solar energy. As long as biomass is produced sustainably, with only as much used as is grown, the battery will last indefinitely.

In general there are two main approaches to using plants for energy production: growing plants specifically for energy use, and using the residues from plants that are used for other things. The best approaches vary from region to region according to climate, soils and geography.

Biofuel

Biofuels include a wide range of fuels which are derived from biomass. The term covers solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases. Liquid biofuels include bioalcohols, such as bioethanol, and oils, such as biodiesel. Gaseous biofuels include biogas, landfill gas and synthetic gas.

Bioethanol is an alcohol made by fermenting the sugar components of plant materials and it is made mostly from sugar and starch crops. With advanced technology being developed, cellulosic biomass, such as trees and grasses, are also used as feedstocks for ethanol production. Ethanol can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but it is usually used as a gasoline additive to increase octane and improve vehicle emissions. Bioethanol is widely used in the USA and in Brazil.

Biodiesel is made from vegetable oils, animal fats or recycled greases. Biodiesel can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but it is usually used as a diesel additive to reduce levels of particulates, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons from diesel-powered vehicles. Biodiesel is produced from oils or fats using transesterification and is the most common biofuel in Europe.

Biofuels provided 2.7% of the world's transport fuel in 2010.

Geothermal energy

Geothermal energy is energy obtained by tapping the heat of the earth itself, both from kilometers deep into the Earth's crust in volcanically active locations of the globe or from shallow depths, as in geothermal heat pumps in most locations of the planet. It is expensive to build a power station but operating costs are low resulting in low energy costs for suitable sites. Ultimately, this energy derives from heat in the Earth's core.

Three types of power plants are used to generate power from geothermal energy: dry steam, flash, and binary. Dry steam plants take steam out of fractures in the ground and use it to directly drive a turbine that spins a generator. Flash plants take hot water, usually at temperatures over 200 °C, out of the ground, and allows it to boil as it rises to the surface then separates the steam phase in steam/water separators and then runs the steam through a turbine. In binary plants, the hot water flows through heat exchangers, boiling an organic fluid that spins the turbine. The condensed steam and remaining geothermal fluid from all three types of plants are injected back into the hot rock to pick up more heat.

The geothermal energy from the core of the Earth is closer to the surface in some areas than in others. Where hot underground steam or water can be tapped and brought to the surface it may be used to generate electricity. Such geothermal power sources exist in certain geologically unstable parts of the world such as Chile, Iceland, New Zealand, United States, the Philippines and Italy. The two most prominent areas for this in the United States are in the Yellowstone basin and in northern California. Iceland produced 170 MW geothermal power and heated 86% of all houses in the year 2000 through geothermal energy. Some 8000 MW of capacity is operational in total.

Renewable energy commercialization

Growth of renewables

During the five-years from the end of 2004 through 2009, worldwide renewable energy capacity grew at rates of 10–60 percent annually for many technologies. For wind power and many other renewable technologies, growth accelerated in 2009 relative to the previous four years. More wind power capacity was added during 2009 than any other renewable technology. However, grid-connected PV increased the fastest of all renewables technologies, with a 60-percent annual average growth rate for the five-year period.

1,140 950 121 16 130 67 79

+Selected renewable energy indicators
Selected global indicators !! 2008 !! 2009 !! 2010
Investment in new renewable capacity (annual)	130	160
Renewables power capacity (existing)	|	1,230	1,320 GWe
Hydropower capacity (existing)	|	980	1,010 GWe
Wind power capacity (existing)	|	159	198 GWe
Solar PV capacity (grid-connected)	|	23	40 GWe
Solar hot water capacity (existing)	|	160	185 GWth
Ethanol production (annual)	|	76	86 billion liters
Countries with policy targets for renewable energy use	|	89	98

Scientists have advanced a plan to power 100% of the world's energy with wind, hydroelectric, and solar power by the year 2030.

According to a 2011 projection by the International Energy Agency, solar power generators may produce most of the world’s electricity within 50 years, dramatically reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases that harm the environment. Cedric Philibert, senior analyst in the renewable energy division at the IEA said: “Photovoltaic and solar-thermal plants may meet most of the world’s demand for electricity by 2060 -- and half of all energy needs -- with wind, hydropower and biomass plants supplying much of the remaining generation”. “Photovoltaic and concentrated solar power together can become the major source of electricity,” Philibert said.

Economic trends

All forms of energy are expensive, but as time progresses, renewable energy generally gets cheaper, while fossil fuels generally get more expensive. Al Gore has explained that renewable energy technologies are declining in price for three main reasons:

First, once the renewable infrastructure is built, the fuel is free forever. Unlike carbon-based fuels, the wind and the sun and the earth itself provide fuel that is free, in amounts that are effectively limitless.

Second, while fossil fuel technologies are more mature, renewable energy technologies are being rapidly improved. So innovation and ingenuity give us the ability to constantly increase the efficiency of renewable energy and continually reduce its cost.

Third, once the world makes a clear commitment to shifting toward renewable energy, the volume of production will itself sharply reduce the cost of each windmill and each solar panel, while adding yet more incentives for additional research and development to further speed up the innovation process.

Wind power market

Global wind power installations increased by 35,800 MW in 2010, bringing total installed capacity up to 194,400 MW, a 22.5% increase on the 158,700 MW installed at the end of 2009. For the first time more than half of all new wind power was added outside of the traditional markets of Europe and North America, mainly driven, by the continuing boom in China which accounted for nearly half of all of the installations at 16,500 MW. China now has 42,300 MW of wind power installed. Several countries have achieved relatively high levels of wind power penetration, such as 21% of stationary electricity production in Denmark, 18% in Portugal, 16% in Spain, 14% in Ireland and 9% in Germany in 2010. As of 2011, 83 countries around the world are using wind power on a commercial basis.

+Top 10 wind power countries
Country !! Total capacity end 2009 (MW) !! Total capacity June 2010 (MW)
United States	35,159	36,300
China	26,010
Germany	25,777
Spain	19,149
India	10, 925
Italy	4,850
France	4,521
United Kingdom	4,092
Portugal	3,535
Denmark	3,497
Rest of world	21,698
Total	159,213

As of November 2010, the Roscoe Wind Farm (781 MW) is the world's largest wind farm. As of September 2010, the Thanet Offshore Wind Project in United Kingdom is the largest offshore wind farm in the world at 300 MW, followed by Horns Rev II (209 MW) in Denmark. The United Kingdom is the world's leading generator of offshore wind power, followed by Denmark.

New generation of solar thermal plants

Large solar thermal power stations include the 354 megawatt (MW) Solar Energy Generating Systems power plant in the USA, Solnova Solar Power Station (Spain, 150 MW), Andasol solar power station (Spain, 100 MW), Nevada Solar One (USA, 64 MW), PS20 solar power tower (Spain, 20 MW), and the PS10 solar power tower (Spain, 11 MW).

The solar thermal power industry is growing rapidly with 1.2 GW under construction as of April 2009 and another 13.9 GW announced globally through 2014. Spain is the epicenter of solar thermal power development with 22 projects for 1,037 MW under construction, all of which are projected to come online by the end of 2010. In the United States, 5,600 MW of solar thermal power projects have been announced. In developing countries, three World Bank projects for integrated solar thermal/combined-cycle gas-turbine power plants in Egypt, Mexico, and Morocco have been approved.

Photovoltaic market

Photovoltaic production has been increasing by an average of more than 20 percent each year since 2002, making it a fast-growing energy technology. At the end of 2010, cumulative global photovoltaic (PV) installations surpassed 40 GW and PV power stations are popular in Germany and Spain.

As of November 2010, the largest photovoltaic (PV) power plants in the world are the Finsterwalde Solar Park (Germany, 80.7 MW), Sarnia Photovoltaic Power Plant (Canada, 80 MW), Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park (Spain, 60 MW), the Strasskirchen Solar Park (Germany, 54 MW), the Lieberose Photovoltaic Park (Germany, 53 MW), and the Puertollano Photovoltaic Park (Spain, 50 MW). Many of these plants are integrated with agriculture and some use innovative tracking systems that follow the sun's daily path across the sky to generate more electricity than conventional fixed-mounted systems. There are no fuel costs or emissions during operation of the power stations.

Topaz Solar Farm is a proposed 550 MW solar photovoltaic power plant which is to be built northwest of California Valley in the USA at a cost of over $1 billion. High Plains Ranch is a proposed 250 MW solar photovoltaic power plant which is to be built on the Carrizo Plain, northwest of California Valley.

However, when it comes to renewable energy systems and PV, it is not just large systems that matter. Building-integrated photovoltaics or "onsite" PV systems use existing land and structures and generate power close to where it is consumed.

Biofuels for transportation

Biofuels provided 2.7% of the world's transport fuel in 2010. Mandates for blending biofuels exist in 31 countries at the national level and in 29 states/provinces. According to the International Energy Agency, biofuels have the potential to meet more than a quarter of world demand for transportation fuels by 2050.

Since the 1970s, Brazil has had an ethanol fuel program which has allowed the country to become the world's second largest producer of ethanol (after the United States) and the world's largest exporter. Brazil’s ethanol fuel program uses modern equipment and cheap sugar cane as feedstock, and the residual cane-waste (bagasse) is used to process heat and power. There are no longer light vehicles in Brazil running on pure gasoline. By the end of 2008 there were 35,000 filling stations throughout Brazil with at least one ethanol pump.

Nearly all the gasoline sold in the United States today is mixed with 10 percent ethanol, a mix known as E10, and motor vehicle manufacturers already produce vehicles designed to run on much higher ethanol blends. Ford, DaimlerChrysler, and GM are among the automobile companies that sell “flexible-fuel” cars, trucks, and minivans that can use gasoline and ethanol blends ranging from pure gasoline up to 85% ethanol (E85). By mid-2006, there were approximately six million E85-compatible vehicles on U.S. roads. The challenge is to expand the market for biofuels beyond the farm states where they have been most popular to date. Flex-fuel vehicles are assisting in this transition because they allow drivers to choose different fuels based on price and availability. The ''Energy Policy Act of 2005'', which calls for 7.5 billion gallons of biofuels to be used annually by 2012, will also help to expand the market.

Geothermal energy commercialization

The International Geothermal Association (IGA) has reported that 10,715 megawatts (MW) of geothermal power in 24 countries is online, which is expected to generate 67,246 GWh of electricity in 2010. This represents a 20% increase in geothermal power online capacity since 2005. IGA projects this will grow to 18,500 MW by 2015, due to the large number of projects presently under consideration, often in areas previously assumed to have little exploitable resource.

In 2010, the United States led the world in geothermal electricity production with 3,086 MW of installed capacity from 77 power plants; the largest group of geothermal power plants in the world is located at The Geysers, a geothermal field in California. The Philippines follows the US as the second highest producer of geothermal power in the world, with 1,904 MW of capacity online; geothermal power makes up approximately 18% of the country's electricity generation.

Geothermal (ground source) heat pumps represented an estimated 30 GWth of installed capacity at the end of 2008, with other direct uses of geothermal heat (i.e., for space heating, agricultural drying and other uses) reaching an estimated 15 GWth. As of 2008, at least 76 countries use direct geothermal energy in some form.

Developing country markets

[[File:Solar-Panel-Cooker-in-front-of-hut.jpg|thumb| Solar cookers use sunlight as energy source for outdoor cooking.]]

Renewable energy can be particularly suitable for developing countries. In rural and remote areas, transmission and distribution of energy generated from fossil fuels can be difficult and expensive. Producing renewable energy locally can offer a viable alternative.

As of 2011, small solar PV systems provide electricity to a few million households, and micro-hydro configured into mini-grids serves many more. Over 44 million households use biogas made in household-scale digesters for lighting and/or cooking, and more than 166 million households rely on a new generation of more-efficient biomass cookstoves.

Kenya is the world leader in the number of solar power systems installed per capita. More than 30,000 very small solar panels, each producing 12 to 30 watts, are sold in Kenya annually.

Renewable energy projects in many developing countries have demonstrated that renewable energy can directly contribute to poverty alleviation by providing the energy needed for creating businesses and employment. Renewable energy technologies can also make indirect contributions to alleviating poverty by providing energy for cooking, space heating, and lighting. Renewable energy can also contribute to education, by providing electricity to schools.

Industry and policy trends

U.S. President Barack Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 includes more than $70 billion in direct spending and tax credits for clean energy and associated transportation programs. Clean Edge suggests that the commercialization of clean energy will help countries around the world pull out of the current economic malaise. Leading renewable energy companies include First Solar, Gamesa, GE Energy, Q-Cells, Sharp Solar, Siemens, SunOpta, Suntech, and Vestas.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organization for promoting the adoption of renewable energy worldwide. It aims to provide concrete policy advice and facilitate capacity building and technology transfer. IRENA was formed on January 26, 2009, by 75 countries signing the charter of IRENA. As of March 2010, IRENA has 143 member states who all are considered as founding members, of which 14 have also ratified the statute.

As of 2011, 119 countries have some form of national renewable energy policy target or renewable support policy. National targets now exist in at least 98 countries. There is also a wide range of policies at state/provincial and local levels.

New and emerging renewable energy technologies

New and emerging renewable energy technologies are still under development and include cellulosic ethanol, hot-dry-rock geothermal power, and ocean energy. These technologies are not yet widely demonstrated or have limited commercialization. Many are on the horizon and may have potential comparable to other renewable energy technologies, but still depend on attracting sufficient attention and research, development and demonstration (RD&D) funding.

Cellulosic ethanol

Companies such as Iogen, Broin, and Abengoa are building refineries that can process biomass and turn it into ethanol, while companies such as Diversa, Novozymes, and Dyadic are producing enzymes which could enable a cellulosic ethanol future. The shift from food crop feedstocks to waste residues and native grasses offers significant opportunities for a range of players, from farmers to biotechnology firms, and from project developers to investors.

+Selected Commercial Cellulosic Ethanol Plants in the U.S.	(Operational or under construction)
Company !! Location !! Feedstock
Abengoa Bioenergy	Hugoton, KS	Wheat straw
BlueFire Ethanol	Irvine, CA
Gulf Coast Energy	Mossy Head, FL
Mascoma Corporation	Mascoma	Lansing, MI
POET LLC	Emmetsburg, IA
SunOpta	Little Falls, MN
Xethanol	Auburndale, FL

Ocean energy

Systems to harvest utility-scale electrical power from ocean waves have recently been gaining momentum as a viable technology. The potential for this technology is considered promising, especially on west-facing coasts with latitudes between 40 and 60 degrees:

In the United Kingdom, for example, the Carbon Trust recently estimated the extent of the economically viable offshore resource at 55 TWh per year, about 14% of current national demand. Across Europe, the technologically achievable resource has been estimated to be at least 280 TWh per year. In 2003, the U.S. Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) estimated the viable resource in the United States at 255 TWh per year (6% of demand).

Funding for a wave farm in Scotland was announced in February, 2007 by the Scottish Government, at a cost of over 4 million pounds, as part of a UK£13 million funding packages for ocean power in Scotland. The farm will be the world's largest with a capacity of 3MW generated by four Pelamis machines.

The world's first commercial tidal power station was installed in 2007 in the narrows of Strangford Lough in Ireland. The 1.2 megawatt underwater tidal electricity generator, part of Northern Ireland's Environment & Renewable Energy Fund scheme, takes advantage of the fast tidal flow (up to 4 metres per second) in the lough. Although the generator is powerful enough to power a thousand homes, the turbine has minimal environmental impact, as it is almost entirely submerged, and the rotors pose no danger to wildlife as they turn quite slowly.

Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) uses the temperature difference that exists between deep and shallow waters to run a heat engine.

Enhanced Geothermal Systems

Enhanced Geothermal Systems are a new type of geothermal power technologies that do not require natural convective hydrothermal resources. The vast majority of geothermal energy within drilling reach is in dry and non-porous rock. EGS technologies "enhance" and/or create geothermal resources in this "hot dry rock (HDR)" through hydraulic stimulation.

EGS / HDR technologies, like hydrothermal geothermal, are expected to be baseload resources which produce power 24 hours a day like a fossil plant. Distinct from hydrothermal, HDR / EGS may be feasible anywhere in the world, depending on the economic limits of drill depth. Good locations are over deep granite covered by a thick (3–5 km) layer of insulating sediments which slow heat loss.

There are HDR and EGS systems currently being developed and tested in France, Australia, Japan, Germany, the U.S. and Switzerland. The largest EGS project in the world is a 25 megawatt demonstration plant currently being developed in the Cooper Basin, Australia. The Cooper Basin has the potential to generate 5,000–10,000 MW.

Experimental solar power

Concentrated photovoltaics (CPV) systems employ sunlight concentrated onto photovoltaic surfaces for the purpose of electrical power production. Thermoelectric, or "thermovoltaic" devices convert a temperature difference between dissimilar materials into an electric current. Space-based solar power is a theoretical design for the collection of solar power in space, for use on Earth.

Artificial photosynthesis

Artificial photosynthesis uses techniques include nanotechnology to store solar electromagnetic energy in chemical bonds by splitting water to produce hydrogen and then using carbon dioxide to make methanol.

Renewable energy debate

Renewable electricity production, from sources such as wind power and solar power, is sometimes criticized for being variable or intermittent. However, the International Energy Agency has stated that deployment of renewable technologies usually increases the diversity of electricity sources and, through local generation, contributes to the flexibility of the system and its resistance to central shocks.

There have been "not in my back yard" (NIMBY) concerns relating to the visual and other impacts of some wind farms, with local residents sometimes fighting or blocking construction. In the USA, the Massachusetts Cape Wind project was delayed for years partly because of aesthetic concerns. However, residents in other areas have been more positive and there are many examples of community wind farm developments. According to a town councilor, the overwhelming majority of locals believe that the Ardrossan Wind Farm in Scotland has enhanced the area.

The market for renewable energy technologies has continued to grow. Climate change concerns, coupled with high oil prices, peak oil, and increasing government support, are driving increasing renewable energy legislation, incentives and commercialization. New government spending, regulation and policies helped the industry weather the 2009 economic crisis better than many other sectors.

See also

Lists about renewable energy

References

Bibliography

Aitken, Donald W. (2010). ''Transitioning to a Renewable Energy Future'', International Solar Energy Society, January, 54 pages.

HM Treasury (2006). ''Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change'', 575 pages.

International Council for Science (c2006). ''Discussion Paper by the Scientific and Technological Community for the 14th session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development'', 17 pages.

International Energy Agency (2006). ''World Energy Outlook 2006: Summary and Conclusions'', OECD, 11 pages.

International Energy Agency (2007). ''Renewables in global energy supply: An IEA facts sheet'', OECD, 34 pages.

International Energy Agency (2008). ''Deploying Renewables: Principles for Effective Policies'', OECD, 8 pages.

Makower, Joel, and Ron Pernick and Clint Wilder (2009). ''Clean Energy Trends 2009'', Clean Edge.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (2006). ''Non-technical Barriers to Solar Energy Use: Review of Recent Literature'', Technical Report, NREL/TP-520-40116, September, 30 pages.

REN21 (2008). ''Renewables 2007 Global Status Report'', Paris: REN21 Secretariat, 51 pages.

REN21 (2009). ''Renewables Global Status Report: 2009 Update'', Paris: REN21 Secretariat.

REN21 (2010). ''Renewables 2010 Global Status Report'', Paris: REN21 Secretariat, 78 pages.

United Nations Environment Programme and New Energy Finance Ltd. (2007). ''Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2007: Analysis of Trends and Issues in the Financing of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in OECD and Developing Countries'', 52 pages.

Worldwatch Institute and Center for American Progress (2006). ''American energy: The renewable path to energy security'', 40 pages.

Category:Environmental technology Category:Technological change Category:Appropriate technology Category:Low-carbon economy

af:Hernubare energie ar:طاقة متجددة an:Enerchía renovable bn:নবায়নযোগ্য শক্তি zh-min-nan:Thang-chài-seng lêng-goân ba:Тулыланыусы энергия be:Аднаўляльная энергія be-x-old:Аднаўляльная энэргія bs:Obnovljiva energija bg:Възобновяема енергия ca:Energia renovable cs:Obnovitelný zdroj energie cy:Egni adnewyddadwy da:Vedvarende energi de:Erneuerbare Energie et:Taastuv energiaressurss el:Ήπιες μορφές ενέργειας es:Energía renovable eo:Renoviĝanta energio eu:Energia berriztagarri fa:انرژی تجدیدپذیر fr:Énergie renouvelable gl:Enerxía renovable ko:재생가능 에너지 hi:अक्षय उर्जा hr:Obnovljiva energija id:Energi terbaharui is:Endurnýjanleg orka it:Energie rinnovabili he:אנרגיה מתחדשת ka:განახლებადი ენერგია la:Energia renovabilis lv:Atjaunīgā enerģija lb:Erneierbar Energie lt:Atsinaujinantieji energijos ištekliai hu:Megújuló energiaforrás ml:പുനരുപയോഗ ഊർജ്ജങ്ങൾ mr:अपारंपरिक ऊर्जास्रोत arz:طاقه متجدده ms:Tenaga boleh baharu mn:Сэргээгдэх эрчим хүч my:အစားထိုးစွမ်းအင် nl:Duurzame energie new:पूर्ननविकरणीय उर्जा ja:再生可能エネルギー no:Fornybar energi nn:Fornybar energi oc:Energia renovelabla pnb:رینیوایبل انرجی pl:Odnawialne źródła energii pt:Energia renovável ro:Energie regenerabilă qu:Kutipayaq micha rue:Обновительна енерґетіка ru:Возобновляемая энергия simple:Renewable energy sk:Obnoviteľný zdroj energie sl:Obnovljivi viri energije sr:Обновљиви извори енергије sh:Obnovljivi izvori energije fi:Uusiutuva energia sv:Förnybara energikällor ta:புதுப்பிக்கத்தக்க ஆற்றல் th:พลังงานทดแทน tr:Yenilenebilir enerji uk:Відновлювана енергетика vi:Năng lượng tái tạo wa:Todi-poujhåve enerdjeye war:Masasaliwanan nga enerhiya wuu:可再生能源 yi:דערנייבארע ענערגיע zh-yue:可再生能源 bat-smg:Atsėnaujėnontė energėjė zh:可再生能源

Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
Name	Amory Lovins
Birth date	November 13, 1947
Birth place	Washington, DC
Occupation	environmentalist, consultant physicist
Nationality	}}

Amory Bloch Lovins (born November 13, 1947) is an American environmental scientist and writer, Chairman and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute. He has worked in the field of energy policy and related areas for four decades. Harvard University-educated, he was named by ''Time'' magazine one of the World's 100 most influential people in 2009.

Lovins worked professionally as an environmentalist in the 1970s and since then as an analyst of a "soft energy path" for the United States and other nations. He has promoted energy efficiency, the use of renewable energy sources, and the generation of energy at or near the site where the energy is actually used. Lovins has also advocated a "negawatt revolution" arguing that utility customers don’t want kilowatt-hours of electricity; they want energy services. In the 1990s, his work with Rocky Mountain Institute included the design of an ultra-efficient automobile, the Hypercar.

Lovins has received ten honorary doctorates and won many awards. He has provided expert testimony in eight countries, briefed 19 heads of state, and published 29 books. These books include ''Winning the Oil Endgame'', ''Small is Profitable'', and ''Natural Capitalism''.

Early history

Born in in Washington, DC, Lovins spent much of his youth in Silver Spring, Maryland and in Amherst, Massachusetts. In 1964, Lovins entered Harvard College. After two years there, he transferred in 1967 to Magdalen College, Oxford, England, where he studied physics and other topics. In 1969 he became a Junior Research Fellow in Oxford’s Merton College, where he received an Oxford master of arts (M.A.) as a result of becoming a university don. However, the University would not allow him to pursue a doctorate in energy, as it was two years before the 1973 oil embargo, and energy was not yet considered an academic subject. Lovins resigned his Fellowship and moved to London to pursue his energy work. He moved back to the U.S. in 1981 and settled in western Colorado in 1982.

Work

Friends of the Earth

Each summer from about 1965 to 1981, Lovins guided mountaineering trips and photographed the White Mountains of New Hampshire, contributing photographs to ''At Home in the Wild: New England's White Mountains''. In 1971 he wrote about the endangered Snowdonia National Park in the book, ''Eryri, the Mountains of Longing'', commissioned by David Brower, president of Friends of the Earth. Lovins spent about a decade as British Representative for Friends of the Earth.

During the early seventies, Lovins became interested in the area of resource policy, especially energy policy. The 1973 energy crisis helped create an audience for his writing and an essay originally penned as a U.N. paper grew into his first book concerned with energy, ''World Energy Strategies'' (1973). His next book was ''Non-Nuclear Futures: The Case for an Ethical Energy Strategy'' (1975), co-authored with John H. Price. Lovins published a 10,000-word essay "Energy Strategy: The Road Not Taken?" in ''Foreign Affairs'', in October 1976. Its contents were the subject of many seminars at government departments, universities, energy agencies, and nuclear energy research centers, during 1975-1977. The article was expanded and published as ''Soft Energy Paths: Toward a Durable Peace'' in 1977.

Rocky Mountain Institute

By 1978 Lovins had published six books, consulted widely, and was active in energy affairs in some 15 countries. In 1982, he and Hunter Lovins founded Rocky Mountain Institute, based in Snowmass, Colorado. Together with a group of colleagues, the Lovinses fostered efficient resource use and sustainable development.

Lovins has briefed 19 heads of state, provided expert testimony in eight countries, and published 29 books and several hundred papers. His clients have included many Fortune 500 companies, major real-estate developers, and utilities. Public-sector clients have included the OECD, UN, Resources for the Future, many national governments, and 13 US states. Lovins served in 1980-81 on the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Research Advisory Board, and in 1999-2001 and 2006-08 on Defense Science Board task forces on military energy efficiency and strategy. His visiting academic chairs most recently included a visiting professorship in Stanford University's School of Engineering.

Since 1982, RMI has grown into a broad-based "think-and-do tank" with more than 85 staff and an annual budget of some $13 million. RMI has spun off five for-profit companies.

Ideas

Soft energy paths

Amory Lovins advocates "soft energy paths" involving efficient energy use, diverse and renewable energy sources, and special reliance on "soft energy technologies". Soft energy technologies are those based on solar, wind, biofuels, geothermal, etc. which are matched in scale and quality to their task. Residential solar energy technologies are prime examples of soft energy technologies and rapid deployment of simple, energy conserving, residential solar energy technologies is fundamental to a soft energy strategy.

Lovins has described the "hard energy path" as involving inefficient energy use and centralized, non-renewable energy sources such as fossil fuels. One of Lovins' main concerns was the danger of committing to nuclear energy to meet a society's energy needs, due chiefly to what he considered its poor economics and high risk of fostering nuclear weapons proliferation.

Lovins argued that besides environmental benefits, global political stresses might be reduced by Western nations committing to the soft energy path. He believes soft path impacts are more "gentle, pleasant and manageable" than hard path impacts. These impacts range from the individual and household level to those affecting the very fabric of society at the national and international level.

Negawatt revolution

A negawatt is a unit in watts of energy saved. It is basically the opposite of a watt. Amory Lovins has advocated a "negawatt revolution", arguing that utility customers don’t want kilowatt-hours of electricity; they want energy services such as hot showers, cold beer, lit rooms, and spinning shafts, which can come more cheaply if electricity is used more efficiently.

According to Lovins, energy efficiency represents a profitable global market and American companies have at their disposal the technical innovations to lead the way. Not only should they "upgrade their plants and office buildings, but they should encourage the formation of negawatt markets". Lovins sees negawatt markets as a win-win solution to many environmental problems. Because it is "now generally cheaper to save fuel than to burn it, global warming, acid rain, and urban smog can be reduced not at a cost but at a profit".

Lovins explains that many companies are already enjoying the financial and other rewards that come from saving electricity. Yet progress in converting to electricity saving technologies has been slowed by the indifference or outright opposition of some utilities. A second obstacle to efficiency is that many electricity-using devices are purchased by people who won’t be paying their running costs and thus have little incentive to consider efficiency. Lovins also believes that many customers "don't know what the best efficiency buys are, where to get them, or how to shop for them".

Hypercar

Amory Lovins has developed the design concept of the Hypercar. This vehicle would have ultra-light construction with an aerodynamic body using advanced composite materials, low-drag design, and hybrid drive. Designers of the Hypercar claim that it would achieve a three- to fivefold improvement in fuel economy, equal or better performance, safety, amenity, and affordability, compared with today's cars.

Awards

Amory Lovins has received ten honorary doctorates and was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1984, of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1988, and of the World Business Academy in 2001. He has received the World Technology Award, the Right Livelihood Award, the Blue Planet Prize, Volvo Environment Prize, the 4th Annual Heinz Award in the Environment in 1998, and the National Design (Design Mind), Jean Meyer, and Lindbergh Awards.

Lovins is also the recipient of the ''Time'' Hero for the Planet awards, the Benjamin Franklin and Happold Medals, and the Shingo, Nissan, Mitchell, and Onassis Prizes. He has also received a MacArthur Fellowship and is an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), a Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, and an Honorary Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council. Furthermore he is on the Advisory Board of the Holcim Foundation.

In 2009, ''Time'' magazine named Lovins as one of the world's 100 most influential people.

Personal life

In 1979 Amory Lovins married L. Hunter Sheldon, a lawyer, forester, and social scientist. Hunter received her undergraduate degree in sociology and political studies from Pitzer College, and her J.D. from Loyola University's School of Law. They separated in 1989 and divorced in 1999. In 2007, he married Judy Hill Lovins, a fine-art landscape photographer.

Books

This is a list of books which are authored or co-authored by Amory B. Lovins, or which include a foreword by him:

''Eryri, the Mountains of Longing'' San Francisco, Friends of the Earth, 1972. (with Philip Evans) ISBN 978-0841501294. 181 p.

''Openpit Mining'' London : Earth Island, 1973. ISBN 978-0856440205. 118 p.

''World Energy Strategies: Facts, Issues, and Options'' London : Friends of the Earth Ltd for Earth Resources Research Ltd, 1975. 131 p. ISBN 978-0884106012.

''Nuclear power: Technical Bases for Ethical Concern'' (1975, 2nd edition). 39 p. ISBN 978-0950327365

''Soft Energy Paths: Towards a Durable Peace'' San Francisco : Friends of the Earth International, 1977 231p. ISBN 0-06-090653-7

''The Energy Controversy: Soft Path Questions and Answers'' (1979) ISBN 978-0913890226

''Non-Nuclear Futures: The Case for an Ethical Energy Strategy'' (with John H. Price) San Francisco, 1980. 223p. ISBN 978-0060907778

''A Golden Thread: 2500 Years of Solar Architecture & Technology'' (1980) ASIN: B000MWEXMC

''Energy/War, Breaking the Nuclear Link'' San Francisco : Friends of the Earth, 1981 161p. ISBN 978-0913890448

''Least-Cost Energy: Solving the C02 Problem'' Andover, Mass. : Brick House Pub. Co., 1982 184p. ISBN 978-0931790362

''Brittle Power: Energy Strategy for National Security'' (with L Hunter Lovins) Andover, Mass. : Brick House, 1982 re-released in 2001. 486p. ISBN 0-931790-28-X

''The First Nuclear World War'' (with Patrick O'Heffernan; L Hunter Lovins) New York : Morrow, 1983. 444 p ISBN 978-0091558307

''Energy Unbound: A Fable for America's Future'' (with L Hunter Lovins; Seth Zuckerman) San Francisco : Sierra Club Books, 1986. 390 p ISBN 0-87156-820-9

''Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings'' (1991) ISBN 978-0918249098

''Reinventing Electric Utilities: Competition, Citizen Action, and Clean Power'' (1996) ISBN 978-1559634557

''Factor Four: Doubling Wealth - Halving Resource Use: A Report to the Club of Rome'' (1997) ISBN 978-1853834073

''Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution'' (2000) ISBN 1-85383-763-6

''Small is Profitable: The Hidden Economic Benefits of Making Electrical Resources the Right Size'' (2003) ISBN 1-881071-07-3

''The Natural Advantage Of Nations: Business Opportunities, Innovation And Governance in the 21st Century'' (2004) ISBN 1-84407-121-9

''Winning the Oil Endgame: Innovation for Profit, Jobs and Security'' (2005) ISBN 1-84407-194-4 (Available Online in PDF)

''Let the Mountains Talk, Let the Rivers Run: A Call to Save the Earth'' (2007) ISBN 978-1578051380

''The Essential Amory Lovins'' (2011) ISBN 9781849712262

Non-English

''Faktor vier. Doppelter Wohlstand - halbierter Verbrauch'' (1997) ISBN 978-3426772867

''Facteur 4 : deux fois plus de bien-être en consommant deux fois moins de ressources: Rapport au Club de Rome'' (1997) ISBN 978-2904082672

''Öko-Kapitalismus: Die industrielle Revolution des 21. Jahrhunderts'' (2002) ISBN 978-1400039418

See also

Renewable energy commercialization

Renewable energy policy

Renewable energy industry

Energy security and renewable technology

Anti-nuclear movement in the United States

Al Gore

Hermann Scheer

Benjamin K. Sovacool

Eric Martinot

Mark Diesendorf

References

External links

The Rocky Mountain Institute's home page

Lectures series on energy efficiency, March 2007

Amory Lovins' biography at Right Livelihood Award

The Volvo Environment Prize is awarded to Amory B. Lovins

The frugal cornucopian

Congressional testimony on nuclear power

America's Best Leaders: Amory Lovins, Energy Scientist

TED Talks: Amory Lovins on winning the oil endgame at TED in 2005

Amory Lovins on Energy Efficiency at IIEA, 8 May 2009

Internet Archive (archive.org) video and audio

Category:1947 births Category:Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Category:American business writers Category:American environmentalists Category:American non-fiction environmental writers Category:American physicists Category:Appropriate technology advocates Category:Bates College alumni Category:Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Living people Category:MacArthur Fellows Category:People associated with energy Category:People from Amherst, Massachusetts Category:Renewable energy commercialization Category:Sustainability advocates

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John Two-Hawks is an Oglala Lakota Native American musician who has been performing professionally in live concerts since the early 1990s. He sings and plays many instruments, but is best known as a pioneer and virtuoso player of the Native American flute. To date, he has produced sixteen CD recordings and a DVD, and has also written a number of books filled with Native American wisdom to accompany some of his CDs. He often guest lectures for schools and universities on Native American history and culture, and he has shared time with Presidents, Senators and Movie Stars as a featured speaker.

He is featured as the Native American vocalist and cedar flute player for the song "Creek Mary's Blood" on the Nightwish album ''Once''. He also appeared on Nightwish's ''End of an Era'' CD/DVD, a recording of their live performance in Helsinki, Finland on October 21, 2005. There he performed "Stone People" from his album ''Honor'' as a prelude for "Creek Mary's Blood", which he then performed with the band in front of a sold-out audience of 12,000. It is to be noted that Nightwish never plays the song without Two-Hawks.

Other collaborations include concerts and recordings with Celtic singer and flutist Seamus Byrne, classical guitarist Sir Charles Hammer, pianist Bastiaan Pot and guitarist/bass player Van Adams. He composed and performed the music and sound effects for the accompanying audio CD for a children's book by Sicangu Lakota writer Joseph M. Marshall III and Yankton Sioux illustrator Joseph Chamberlain. Two-Hawks was also the co-producer of the book. John Two-Hawks was the featured musician in the musical score for the HBO production of ''Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee'' which originally aired in May 2007. The musical score by George S. Clinton which featured Two-Hawks' music, earned one of 17 Emmy nominations, and was released as a soundtrack CD in 2007. Primarily, however, Two-Hawks is a solo artist. While his compositions often include many different instruments, he plays all of them himself.

John Two-Hawks presently lives in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas.

Discography

''Red and Blue Days'' (2000)

''Voices'' (June 2000)- with Anne Panther Woman

''Good Medicine'' (March 2001) - has an accompanying book

''Traditions'' (September 2001) - with Manach (Seamus Byrne)

''Heal'' (July 2002)

''Peace on Earth'' (November 2003) - Christmas music

''Honor'' (March 2004)

''Wild Eagles'' DVD (2004) - part of the Cedar Lake Nature DVD series

''Signature Series'' 2-CD Set (April 2005)

''How Not To Catch Fish and Other Adventures of Iktomi'' (June 2005) - a children's book by Joseph M. Marshall III that comes with a bonus audio CD.

''Beauty Music'' (2006) - with Seamus Byrne and Sir Charles Hammer

''Come to the Fire'' (April 2006) - has an accompanying book

''Touch the Wind'' (2006) - with Bastiaan Pot

''Cedar Dreams'' (July 2007)

''Elk Dreamer'' (March 2008)

''of dirt and dreams'' (September 2008) - as The Badlanders with Van Adams

''Wind Songs'' (2009) 2010 Grammy Nominee

''Earth, Fire, Water, Wind'' (2010)

Bibliography

''Good Medicine'' (March 2001)

''How Not To Catch Fish and Other Adventures of Iktomi'' (June 2005) - a children's book by Joseph M. Marshall III that comes with a bonus audio CD.

''Come to the Fire'' (April 2006)

''To Make a Voice'' (2008) - Includes bonus audio CD of "Black Cherry Moon" (Single)

External links

Official website

Native Circle website

Myspace profile

2004 Interview and 2005 Interview with BeyondEarCandy.com

Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:Native American flautists

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