Renewable energy is a big topic when it comes to the economy, pollution and climate change. While there are still considerable hurdles for renewable energy, the future looks bright. Technology and public policy is helping to spur a movement towards greater sustainability in energy.
One of the best news for renewable energy is that it is growing rapidly. Countries from all over the world are increasing their green energy output at an incredible rate. The United Kingdom surpassed a million solar panels back in 2018 and Australia had over two million solar panels. In the United States, it is estimated that there will be over four million solar panels within the next year or two.
Even less developed countries like Brazil, India, Ethiopia and China are building massive wind farms to harness renewable energy to power their economies. Massive wind farms projects such as the Wodongde project in China and Grand Renaissance Project in Ethiopia, are allowing rapidly developing economies to tap into renewable energy on a massive scale. A more mature economy such as Japan is also trying to harness more wind power by expanding offshore wind production and incorporating it into port development.
Renewable energy has its critics. There are still many issues facing renewable energy like solar and wind. Some countries do not get as much sunlight as other countries. The sun and wind is also intermittent, meaning the sun does not shine all the time and the wind does not blow all the time. Developments in energy storage in the form of batteries can help alleviate the problem of intermittency. Diversifying in a mixture of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro and geothermal is another great tactic to ensure reliability.
Clean and renewable energy can provide us a way to power our homes, factories and cars without polluting the environment. The nature of renewable energy also means that it won’t be become depleted like fossil fuels such as coal and oil. Steady growth and expansion in renewables across the globe is a positive development as the world seems to shift to a more renewable and clean energy source to power daily activities. With less pollution, more jobs, new technology, and greater investments and opportunities, it is safe to say that renewable energy will play a large part in meeting our future energy needs.