How much renewable energy does the world use. Our World in Data is free and accessible for everyone. Renewable Energy World is your premier source for the latest news in Green Energy sources. Renewable energy industries are expected to grow over the coming decades, bringing with them energy security, economic benefits, and climate change mitigation. Our bodies can not function without it and, nowadays, we literally can’t survive without electricity either. By 2030, doubling the renewable energy capacity installed today is not only feasible, it would be expensive not to! Oil prices are at their lowest in six years, which has weakened demand and put the breaks somewhat on renewable energy development. He writes mainly about emerging tech, physics, climate, and space. While many countries around the world are shifting towards renewable energy resources, some countries are leading the way. For 2013, estimated world energy consumption was 5.67 × 10 20 joules, or 157,481 TWh. License: All of Our World in Data is completely open access and all work is licensed under the Creative Commons BY license. But it’s a big IF, since the fossil fuel industry is still strong with lobbyist tentacles extended through any government office that matters in this world. Denmark set a world record in 2017 for the highest percentage of wind power achieved of 43%. The first of these is Sweden, which has set its goal to eliminate fossil fuels from electricity generation entirely by the year 2040. To reduce CO 2 emissions and local air pollution, the world needs to rapidly shift towards low-carbon sources of energy – nuclear and renewable technologies. Hypothetical number of deaths from energy production, Installed global renewable energy capacity by technology, Investment in renewable energy, by technology, Low-carbon electricity generation per capita, Number of people with access to electricity, Number of people with and without electricity access, Number of people without access to electricity, Per capita consumption of low-carbon energy, Per capita consumption of low-carbon energy vs. GDP per capita, Per capita electricity generation from fossil fuels, Per capita electricity generation from gas, Per capita electricity generation from hydropower, Per capita electricity generation from nuclear, Per capita electricity generation from oil, Per capita electricity generation from renewables, Per capita electricity generation from solar, Per capita electricity generation from wind, Per capita energy consumption from hydropower, Per capita energy consumption from nuclear, Per capita energy consumption from renewables, Per capita fossil energy consumption vs. GDP per capita, Per capita generation of coal electricity, Power outages in firms in a typical month, Primary direct energy consumption by source, Primary energy consumption by world region, Primary energy consumption from fossil fuels, nuclear and renewables, Primary energy consumption from hydropower, Primary energy consumption from renewables, Share of direct primary energy consumption by source, Share of electricity from low-carbon sources, Share of electricity production by source, Share of electricity production from coal, Share of electricity production from fossil fuels, Share of electricity production from hydropower, Share of electricity production from nuclear, Share of electricity production from renewable sources, Share of electricity production from renewables, Share of electricity production from solar, Share of electricity production from wind, Share of final energy consumption from renewable sources, Share of global primary energy consumption by source, Share of primary energy from fossil fuels, Share of primary energy from hydroelectric power, Share of primary energy from low-carbon sources, Share of primary energy from renewable sources, Share of primary energy that is low-carbon vs. GDP per capita, Share of rural vs. urban population with electricity access, Share of the population with access to electricity, Solar PV module prices vs. cumulative capacity, The long-term energy transition in Europe, The share of nuclear and renewables in total electricity production.

To be more precise, in 2013 renewable energy accounted for 22% of the global energy mix, up from 21% in 2012 and 18% in 2007. Iceland was the first country to propose 100% renewable energy in 1998. At the same time, money is being moved away from fossil fuels — almost $3.4 trillion have been divested away from oil, gas and coal so far; $800 billion happened in only two months! Year-to-year change in primary energy consumption by source, Year-to-year change in primary energy consumption from fossil fuels vs. low-carbon energy, Year-to-year percentage change in primary energy consumption. While Sweden is increasing its use of solar, wind, smart grids, and clean transport, the country is also challenging other countries to beat them to their goal in order to encourage the rapid adoption of cleaner renewable energy. A report by Frankfurt School UNEP Centre and Bloomberg New Energy Finance says carbon-free renewable power plants in 2014 surpassed 100,000 megawatts of capacity for the first time. Not too hot, not too cold. Unfortunately, the United States is also one of the largest energy consumers in the world. Helped by market incentives which have made solar energy dirt cheap, many will choose to transition simply because it makes economic sense — nevermind offsetting global warming, cleaning the air of pollution and creating a new economy which serves millions of jobs. Investors have also finally  caught on. But how rapidly is our production of renewable energy changing?

The seven types of renewable energy are solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, ocean, hydrogen, and biomass. Renewable Supply and Demand. Since the ITC was passed in 2006, U.S. solar growth has exploded and more than 150,000 American solar jobs have been created. The environmental impact of veggie patties vs meat burgers. At the beginning of 2018, Germany generated enough power from renewable sources to power every German household for one year. What our fellow Earthlings didn’t know more than a century ago, however, is that you can only get so far burning fossils fuels until 1) they run out and 2) the planetary system collapses under catastrophic climate change. Our civilization is so dependent on it, that it would simply collapse without it. At over 20 gigawatts of installed solar electric capacity, we now have enough solar in the U.S. to power 4.6 million homes, reducing harmful carbon emissions by more than 25 million metric tons a year. Uruguay is almost 100% powered by renewable energy in less than 10 years of concerted effort. Debunking the soy-estrogen problem and other soy myths. When will we see a full transition, though? Iceland and Norway generate all of their electricity using renewable energy resources. Renewable energy often provides energy in four important areas: electricity generation, transportation, rural energy services, and air and water heating/cooling. According to the  Renewables Global Status Report (GSR) from REN21, roughly a fifth of the world’s electrical power production now comes from renewable sources. Renewable electricity has been largely unaffected while demand has fallen for other uses of renewable energy. According to the IEA the total world energy consumption in past years was 143,851 TWh in 2008, 133,602 TWh in 2005, 117,687 TWh in 2000, and … Renewable energy is the fastest-growing energy source globally and in the United States. It is predicted that by the end of 2020, the increase in consumption of oil and coal could end due to the increase in the use of renewable energy and natural gas. Renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption) World Bank, Sustainable Energy for All ( SE4ALL ) database from the SE4ALL Global Tracking Framework led jointly by the World Bank, International Energy Agency, and the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program. Help us do this work by making a donation. Nicaragua has pledged to generate at least 90% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Tibi is a science journalist and co-founder of ZME Science. This is an important question to answer. Thirty nations around the world use renewable energy contributing more than 20% of energy supply. The International Energy Agency says renewable energy could make up over a quarter of global electricity generation by 2020 thanks to the rapid deployment of wind and solar energy, as well as new hydro. There’s no question of “if this happens”, only of “when this may happen”. In 2014, energy investment in rose 17% over the previous year, surging to $270bn, according to the report. Even so, progress is strong. Source: Carbon Brief When will renewable energy become the dominant source of energy on the planet?

Renewable energy technologies are often suited for rural or remote areas and developing countries, where energy deployment is applied in conjunction with further overall electrification. In 2012, Nicaragua invested the fifth-largest percentage worldwide of its GDP in renewable energy. That’s 31 times more than 10 years ago. We're here to help make sense of it all: Subscribe now for the news that matter published by professional science journalists. Germany’s goal is to get 65% of their electricity from renewable energy by 2030. Renewable energy will play a key role in the decarbonization of our energy systems in the coming decades. Shown is the percentage change in renewable energy generation relative to the previous year. Just the other day, the Venezuelan government ordered a two day work week for state employees because there isn’t enough electricity to spare. Accurate scientific information is more important than ever. World Energy Outlook 2019 explores these widening fractures in detail. According to an IEA estimate, we humans produced and used  5.67 × 1020 joules of energy in 2013, equivalent to about 18.0 terawatt-hour (TWh). In the United States, 1,393 megawatts of solar PV were added in Q2 2015, marking the seventh consecutive quarter in which the U.S. added more than 1 gigawatt of PV installations. You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited. Learn the latest advances in solar, wind, bio, and geothermal power. Our World … China is home to five of the world’s largest solar manufacturing plants and the largest manufacturer of the wind turbine. Scotland is in the process of building the world’s largest floating wind farm. China plans to have 35% of its electricity come from renewable resources by 2030. Renewable energy is energy that is collected from resources that do not deplete and are naturally replenished on a human timescale (are renewable). World energy use by source, 1965-2014. Costa Rica functioned on 99% renewable power for 2015, Germany is 35% powered by renewables, while Denmark on a good day produces 140% of its energy needs from wind. In October of 2018, 98% of Scotland’s electricity was generated by wind energy.