Global Investment in Renewable Energy: France

Continuing with our list from December 2011 (archive) next up we have France

Renewable sources such as biomass and hydro participate to a significant extent of France’s energy mix. However, France is developing policies aimed at a more diversified mix which includes increasing wind and photovoltaic electricity, solar energy for heat and biofuels. France also has the second largest potential in the European Union in terms of wind energy and a very good potential in terms of solar and geothermal energy.

Learn more about renewable energy in France here.

Policies

Here are a few of France’s renewable energy policy plans (for more info, please click here):

Tax Credits – In 2005, tax credits were set up (50% since 2006) for equipments using renewable energy source. This is now called the sustainable development tax credit regime and is extended to 2012.

General Tax on Polluting Activities – Operators who incorporate levels of biofuels inferior to the anticipated national objectives must acquit, according to the 2005 Financial Law a supplementary payment of General Tax on polluting activities. The rate of the tax decreases according to the amount of biofuels put on the market.

Motives

France faces an energy import dependency close to average EU levels, with the majority of imports being oil.

The share of gas, also imported, has been steadily increasing in recent years.

Electricity production in France is dominated by nuclear energy which amounts approximately to 77% (2007).

Renewable Energy Availability

The level of production of large-scale and small-scale hydropower installations combined to represent 59,712 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of the total 64,439 GWh.

The second and third principal sources are biowaste (1,671 GWh) and solid biomass (1,371 GWh).

Solar power demonstrates an average annual growth of 90% (between 1997 and 2004), and for onshore wind power this figure is 58%.

Stay tuned for the final country coming up!

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about renewable energy - Knowledge Is Power! For more information go to www.endeavorscorp.com or write to us at info@endeavorscorp.com if you have questions or want to get involved. Have a green day!

Sources: EREC, EREC, EREC, Europa, Bloomberg New Energy Finance and United Nations Environment Programme (2011)

Season's Greetings and Happy New Year

Wishing you and yours the best this holiday season. 

Stay green!

Global Investment in Renewable Energy: India

India is next on our list of countries with the largest reported investments in renewable energy in 2010.

India has a vast supply of renewable energy resources, and it has one of the largest programs in the world for deploying renewable energy products and systems. It is the only country in the world to have an exclusive ministry for renewable energy development, the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES). Since its formation, the Ministry has launched one of the world’s largest and most ambitious programs on renewable energy.

Policies

Here are a few of India’s renewable energy policy plans (click for more information):

Foreign Investment Policy – Foreign investors can enter into a joint venture with an Indian partner for financial and/or technical collaboration and for setting up of RE-based power generation projects.

Industrial Policy – A five-year tax holiday is allowed for renewable energy power generation projects.

Soft loans are available through Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency for renewable energy equipment manufacturing.

Private sector companies can set up enterprises to operate as licensee or generating companies.

 

Motives

 

India’s energy consumption has been increasing at one of the fastest rates in the world due to population growth and economic development.

Primary commercial energy demand grew at the rate of 6% between 1981 and 2001.

Renewable Energy Availability

India is surpassed only by Germany as one of the world's fastest growing markets for wind energy.

India has an average annual temperature that ranges from 25°C – 27.5 °C. This means that India has huge solar potential.

In India, small hydro (less than 25 megawatts) is the most utilized renewable energy source for energy production. 

Click here for more details.

Stay tuned for more countries coming up!

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about renewable energy - Knowledge Is Power! For more information go to www.endeavorscorp.com or write to us at info@endeavorscorp.com if you have questions or want to get involved. Have a green day!

Sources: GENI, NRI, India Energy Portal, Asian Correspondent,Bloomberg New Energy Finance and United Nations Environment Programme (2011)

Global Investment in Renewable Energy: Spain

Spain is the next country on our list after China, USA, Italy, Brazil, Germany, and Canada.

The Spanish economy is characterized by a slightly higher energy intensity than the rest of Europe, by a high dependence on energy imports and rapid changes of the energy system in the last few years.  Security & diversity of energy sources remain the major driving forces for the growth of Spain renewable energy industry. A stable legal framework based on feed-in tariffs with premium price recognising the environmental benefits promotes the development of renewable energy.

 

Policies

Here are a couple of Spain’s renewable energy policy plans (click for more details):

Feed in Tariff– Electricity generation in Spain has two different regimes, the ordinary regime to which all the conventional generation belong to, and the special regime to which renewable energy generation belongs.
A feed-in tariff promotion mechanism is implemented and incorporates both fixed total prices and price premiums added to the electricity market Price.

Grid Access – All systems that generate electricity as specified by the special regulation (renewable energy) and whose capacity exceeds 10 megawatts shall be connected to a central control system.

Motives

Spain strongly depends on energy imports, while domestic production is mainly related to nuclear energy.  Energy demand has increased significantly since 1990.

Transportation and industry are the most significant energy-consuming sectors. In the electricity sector, coal is still the main fuel, but the contribution of gas, nuclear and renewable sources is remarkably high. 

Renewable Energy Availability

The production of green electricity increased from 36,609 gigawatt-hours to 53,750 gigawatt-hours between 1997 and 2004.

In 2005, Spain produced the largest amount of bioethanol in the EU-25.

In 2004, hydropower accounted for almost 60% of all renewable energy production.

Stay tuned for more countries coming up!

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about renewable energy - Knowledge Is Power! For more information go to www.endeavorscorp.com or write to us at info@endeavorscorp.com if you have questions or want to get involved. Have a green day!

Sources: EREC, GENI, Europa, Green Tech Media, Bloomberg New Energy Finance and United Nations Environment Programme (2011)

Global Investment in Renewable Energy: Canada

Next on our list of countries with the largest reported investments in renewable energy in 2010 is Canada

                               

Canada benefits from a wealth of renewable energy sources. The country possesses vast and varied natural resources including massive supplies of water, solar, wind and biomass – the raw materials to produce green energy. Canada has one-fifth of the world's fresh water and is surrounded by three oceans, providing nearly endless water resources.

Policies

Canada's energy policy is guided by a series of principles, agreements and accords. Some principles of energy policy are:

A market orientation – Markets are the most efficient means of determining supply, demand, prices and trade while ensuring an efficient, competitive and innovative energy system that is responsive to Canada's energy needs.

Respect for jurisdictional authority and the role of the provinces – Provincial governments are the direct managers of most of Canada's resources and have responsibilities for resource management within their borders.

(More info available at Natural Resources Canada)

Motives

Click for more details.

Low-impact renewable energy sources can diversify Canada’s energy supplies in a decentralized and distributed manner that would provide enhanced energy security.

History has shown that diversified energy supply speeds recovery from such catastrophic events as the Montreal Ice Storm and the blackout of August 14, 2003.

Renewable Energy Availability

One of the world’s biggest producer of hydropower, generating 353 terawatt-hours per year, and exports 60% of its electricity.

Access to more biomass resources, per capita, than any other country in the world.

Canada’s wind energy sector grew at an unprecedented rate of 51% between 2000 and 2006.

See our Blog Archive for the other countries on our list.

Stay tuned for more countries coming up!

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about renewable energy - Knowledge Is Power! For more information go to www.endeavorscorp.com or write to us at info@endeavorscorp.com if you have questions or want to get involved. Have a green day!

Sources: Invest In Canada, NRCan, Clean Air, Invest In Canada, Bloomberg New Energy Finance and United Nations Environment Programme (2011)

Global Investment in Renewable Energy: Germany

Fifth on our list is a country well known for its technological ingenuity and becoming increasingly popular for its renewable energy initiatives, Germany

Renewable energy technologies have deployed rapidly in Germany since 1990 largely as a result of energy policies adopted by the German government and the European Union.  The growth of renewable energy in Germany has often been cited as a model success story.  The German government launched a comprehensive series of promotions for renewable energy in the early 1990s, which has since been augmented with additional legislation and policy actions to increase renewable energy use.

 

Policies

Here are some of Germany’s energy plans:

The Electricity Feed Act came into force on 1 January 1991. In April 2000, it was replaced by the Renewable Energy Sources Act, which was amended a first time in July 2004 and again in 2008. The Renewable Energy Act is based on the following principles:

Obligation of grid operators to purchase the electricity produced from renewable energy .

Fixed price (“tariff”) for every kilowatt-hour produced from renewable energy for 20 years.

Tariffs are differentiated by source and size of the plant.

Equalisation of additional costs between all grid operators and electricity suppliers.

Motives

The first issue is the phase out of nuclear power. An early energy policy action of the Red-Green government was an initiative for the complete phase out of nuclear power in Germany by 2020.

The second issue is greenhouse gas control. The future challenges incumbent in nuclear phase-out are compounded by the ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets adopted by the German government.

(See larger image)

Renewable Energy Availability

Germany’s onshore wind generation in totalled 25,509 gigawatt-hours in 2004. Together with hydro power (21,076 gigawatt-hours), it dominates the market.

Biomass electricity is also contributing significantly (9,326 gigawatt-hours), with strong growth in the solid biomass sector (average annual growth of 34% between 1997 and 2004).

Solar energy has increased on average by 53% per year.

Stay tuned for more countries coming up!

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about renewable energy - Knowledge Is Power! For more information go to www.endeavorscorp.com or write to us at info@endeavorscorp.com if you have questions or want to get involved. Have a green day!

Global Change, EREC, Global Change, Europa, Bloomberg New Energy Finance and United Nations Environment Programme (2011)

Global Investment in Renewable Energy: Brazil

Brazil is next on our list our list after China, USA, and Italy.

Brazil has received acclaim in recent decades as a country of clean energy, with sources like hydroelectric power and biomass playing a major role in the country’s energy sector. The addition of these sources of alternative energy have been made possible thanks to research conducted by various social players and to the government’s adoption of the systems proposed. 

According to data from the Energy Research Company  [Empresa de Pesquisa Energética] (EPE), 90% of the electrical energy generated in Brazil in 2009 came from renewable sources, primarily water (83.7%), biomass (5.9%) and wind (0.3%).

Policies

Here are some of Brazil’s energy plans:

Brazil’s diverse energy sector
(Click  to see a larger image)

National Climate Change Plan (PNMC) – Focuses on reducing forestation and also increasing energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources.

National Energy Efficiency Plan (PNEf) – focuses on improving the sustainability of the energy sector, introducing more renewable energy into the national grid, reducing grid losses and improving energy efficiency criteria.

The National Electricity Conservation Program (PROCEL) – Saved nearly 70TWh in 2010 and a total of 100TWh in energy savings are expected in 2011.

Motives

Approximately twenty million Brazilians living in remote communities do not have access to reliable electrical power.

The Government of Brazil considers universal access to safe, affordable energy a central component in its fight against inequality and rural poverty.

Renewable Energy Availability

·         Brazil is the world’s second largest hydroelectricity producer after China, with a production of 390 terawatt-hours in 2009.

·         In 2009, Brazil had 660 megawatts of installed wind capacity. Brazil has a potential for wind power of 143 gigawatts.

Brazil is the world's second largest ethanol producer.

Stay tuned for more countries coming up!


Thank you for taking the time to learn more about renewable energy - Knowledge Is Power! For more information go to www.endeavorscorp.com or write to us at info@endeavorscorp.com if you have questions or want to get involved. Have a green day!

Sources: Reegle, Geni, Sugarcane, Reegle,Global Voices Online, Bloomberg New Energy Finance and United Nations Environment Programme (2011)