Category: Conservation

This file focuses on the integration of renewable energy, disbursed generation, energy storage, thermally activated technologies and demand response into the electric distribution and transmission system. The electric energy zone round the world is present process long-term technical, financial and market transformations. Parts of these transformations is the task of integrating excessive shares of renewable energy, especially variable wind and solar. The concept of flexibility of a electricity device is key in phrases of balancing these variable sources while maintaining the lights on. On supply side, flexibility arises from improvements in flexible coal and gasoline electricity plants, energy storage and renewables. On the demand side, many dispensed resources-generation, bendy demand, storage, and electric vehicles-can also make a contribution and likewise transmission and distribution networks, grid operations and market designs.

However, this is a difficult mission as the integration of a large share of renewables into energy grids requires a full-size transformation of the present networks. One alternative considered in many studies dealing with potential strength systems is the installation of storage gadgets to balance the fluctuations in energy production. However, it is not but clear how soon storage gadgets will be wished and how the integration method depends on distinct storage parameters. Using long term photo voltaic and wind energy power production information series, a modelling strategy is to look at the have an effect on of storage dimension and effectivity on the pathway to a a hundred percent renewable power scenario. The electric powered energy area round the world is undergoing long-term technical, financial and market transformations. Parts of these transformations is the venture of integrating excessive shares of renewable energy, specifically variable wind and solar. The thinking of flexibility of a energy system is key ins terms of balancing these variable sources whilst retaining the lights on. On provide side, flexibility arises from innovations in bendy coal and fuel power plants, power storage and renewables. On the demand side, many distributed resources-generation, flexible demand, storage, and electric powered vehicles-can additionally contribute and likewise transmission and distribution networks, grid operations and market designs.

Experience with measures and innovations for grid integration in all these categories is provide from several jurisdictions like Germany, Denmark, and California, the place renewables already furnish 20-40% shares of electricity and pans to attain 50% exist.

The focus is also on the integration improvement and demonstrations are being performed to tackle technical, economic, regulatory and institutional limitations for the usage of renewable and disbursed systems. In addition to completely addressing operational issues, the integration additionally lays down workable business models for incorporating these technologies into capability planning, grid operations and demand-side management.

RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ITS NECESSITY

Renewables have accounted for more than 12 of all capacity additions in the energy sector, Global power consumption has grown by means of 2.3% as of 2018, nearly twice the average price of increase given that 2010 due to which the demand for all fossils has risen, with fossil fuels meeting nearly 70% of the whole demand and herbal gas accounted to about 45%. The renewables met round one quarter of the growth in total fundamental strength demand despite the increase Is high it is nonetheless now not quick adequate to meet the total demand. Increased use of fossil fuels is a hazard to both the environment and the assets as these are perishable and take tens of millions of years to form. While on the other hand renewable sources are environmentally safe and are accessible in unlimited abundance. This growing prominence of renewable energy, which include the reduce in the value of renewable energy technologies, and the rapidly depleting reserves of non-renewable energy sources, are among the most necessary drivers of electricity gadget transformation.

To attain the world local weather dreams for which the world energy zone needs to shift from fossil based totally to zero carbon by means of the 2nd half of of the century to limit carbon emissions and emissions of different air pollution thru accelerated use of renewable power and different smooth dispensed generation.

Increase asset use via integration of distributed structures and purchaser Loads to decrease peak load and for that reason lower the charges of electricity.

Support fulfillment of renewable portfolio standards for renewable electricity and power efficiency.

Enhance reliability, safety and resiliency from microgrid functions in quintessential infrastructure protection and distinctly restricted areas of the electric grid.

Support discounts in oil use by using enabling plug-in electric powered car (PHEV) operations with the grid.

To permit electrical energy flow, now not only from centralised energy flora to users, but additionally from small users or producers to the grid, which is aimed to ensure grid stability when installing distributed generators

To introduce energy storage ability to store electrical energy (energy) from renewables era when production exceeds demand

An enabler for these transformations is the implementation of clever grid technologies, which incorporate grid elements with clever performance to stability grant and demand, together with facts and verbal exchange technologies to expand flexibility, enhance reliability and guide the integration of renewables. The trip gathered till date comes commonly from European international locations with substantial wind and solar installed capacity, such as Denmark, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

In these countries, associated troubles are being solved in light of further increases in the renewable electrical energy share.

The share of renewable power sources in the electrical energy era system is usually measured by means of the:

Renewable share in the annual electrical energy generation-that is, the ratio of renewable primarily based electricity generation to the total annual electrical energy generation.

Renewable share in the established power capacity-that is, the ratio of nominal mounted (connected) renewable electricity ability to the complete electricity capacity.

Instantaneous renewable share in the cutting-edge load-that is, the ratio of the total power output of running renewable gadgets to the load at a certain factor in time.

CHALLENGES FACED IN INTEGRATION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN POWER SYSTEMS:

VARIABILITY-Power flowers that run on gasoline can be ramped up and down on command. But variable renewable power (VRE) flowers produce power only when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining. Grid operators don’t manipulate VRE, they accommodate it, which requires some agility. This poses challenges to the rules and economics that govern the current electricity infrastructure.

UNCERTAINITY-The output of VRE plant life can’t be anticipated with ideal accuracy in day-ahead and day-of forecasts, so grid operators have to hold extra reserve simply in case.

LOCATION-SPECIFICITY-Sun and wind are better ( and for this reason greater economical) in some places than in others and no longer constantly in locations that have the indispensable infrastructure to get the electricity to the place it is needed.

NONSYNCHRONOUS GENERATION-Conventional mills furnish voltage and frequency control to the grid. VRE turbines can too, potentially, however it identification an delivered capital investment.

LOW CAPACITY FACTOR-VRE flowers only run when the sun or wind cooperates. Because of the low capacity issue of VRE, conventional vegetation are wished to take up the slack, but due to the fact of the excessive output of VRE in top hours, traditional flora from time to time don’t get to run as regularly as wished to get better costs.

CONCLUSION:

In this document we apprehend that grid integration is of developing importance for reaching excessive share of renewable electrical energy in strength systems of the future. Numerous jurisdictions with already high shares of renewables are accumulating actual world experience with grid integration today, such as China, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, South Africa and Spain, and states such as California, Hawaii, Texas, and South Australia. The power machine operators and planners nonetheless face the venture of integrating renewable electricity sources in power machine grids. Renewable strength machine is an revolutionary choice for electricity generation, particularly the photo voltaic PV system. Recognizing the benefits of PV machine many such systems have been set up international in the latest years. To obtain the commercialization and full-size use, a quantity of problems want to be addressed. The issues are related to the diagram and sizing of the system, the appropriate and fine model that includes technical and economic elements of PV grid to supply electricity, and balance electricity fee for integrating PV in a grid system.

According to IEA power statistics for the year 2012 renewables share in the global annual electrical energy technology was about 21%: 16% from hydropower and 5% from others (i.e. about 2.3% wind, 1.9% biomass, 0.3% geothermal, 0.4% PV).

In 2014 the average capability factor-production relative to the potential-for utility-scale photo voltaic PV used to be around 28%, for wind 34%.

In phrases of potential renewables accounted for 27.8%: 19% hydro, 4.9% wind, 1.7% biomass, 0.2% geothermal, 1.7% PV of a complete 2012 international cumulative installed ability of 5683 GW.

In 2014 the common capacity factor-production relative to the potential-for utility-scale solar PV was once round 28%, for wind 34%.

However, over the previous years renewable based electrical energy (particularly wind and photo voltaic PV power) has been developing unexpectedly worldwide, driven through policy incentives, accelerated financial competitiveness (wind) and value mark downs (PV) and improved environmental awareness.

Energy is the most important element in the modern world. Therefore, it has consumed a vast amount of energy. Fossil fuels are the most sources of energy used worldwide. These sources cause carbon dioxide emissions and this leads to the problem of climate change. Because of this problem, the world needs to move to renewable sources of energy. The fact is that renewable sources of energy also have their problems. The major problem of renewable energy is intermittency. This essay will discuss two technological developments, Solar Wind Energy’s Downdraft Tower and Energy Island, which could solve the intermittency problem.

First of all, the Solar Wind Energy Downdraft Tower (SWDT). The SWDT is a 685m tall hollow cylindrical tower with turbines placed around its base. It is working in a hot dry area and needs a large water source. The SWDT concept is based on the physical principle in which hot air rises and cold air falls. Staring by delivering the water using pipes to the operational reservoir. Next is to pump the water to the top of a tower where there is sprayed in small droplets as a fine spray. The fine spray then evaporated and cooled the hot dry air, so it became denser and heavier than the outside tower system. As the air cools, it falls through the cylindrical tower and the wind speed can reach up to 80 km/h. The wind then rotates the turbines at the base of the tower and generates power. According to Quick (2014), SWDT can produce electricity throughout the year without discontinuously. This means that the supply of electricity could meet the needs all the time. The SWDT predicted to have an annual output capacity of around 4,380,000 MWH. The SWDT takes a small space to produce this capacity of electricity compared to other renewables energy, which occupies vast areas to produce the same capacity. The SWDT facility can serve up to 50 years. According to Quick (2014), SWDT is able of running by oneself during the year with almost no carbon dioxide emissions. This means that there will be no use of conventional energy during its operation, so there would be no effect on climate change. As we can see, SWDT is an interesting technology and would help in many aspects especially in the intermittency issue. However, SWDT may not work in some areas as it requires a hot dry environment and a lot of supply of water to work properly.

Another important technological development is the Energy Island. It is an artificial island of wind power placed at the boundary of the island. Energy Island is hydro energy that would be set off the seacoast. This artificial island formation from a ring of great dikes creates a large reservoir of water in its middle. Energy Island is designed to match the supply of energy to the demand for energy. In times of low demand and surplus of wind energy, it uses the excess energy for emptying the reservoir by pumping it into the surrounding sea. When the demand is up, seawater lets into the reservoir through turbines to generate energy. According to Lane (2017), Energy Island could store at approximately an 80-90% performance with a total yearly quantity of 20GWh. This means that would be enough energy supply produced which could help to reduce CO2 emission. Energy Island is an encouraging technology that would resolve the intermittency problem. However, Energy Island requires only seas and lakes to develop this technology. This means it would be useful around the world and capable of serving in many countries, unlike SWDT do.

In conclusion, this essay has shown that solar wind Energy’s Downdraft Tower and Energy Island could be an encouraging solution to the intermittency problem. SWDT would help to improve energy sustainability by cooling the air at the top of the tower. That air then falls with high speed through turbines producing energy. Besides, Energy Island manages excess energy to pump the water out of the reservoir to let it pass later through the turbines to produce electricity when the demand is high. The application of technological developments of renewable energy in the modern world would reduce the emissions that cause climate change. Therefore, governments should support and urge companies to develop and more technologies.

Introduction

In the modern age, the transition to renewable energy sources may be inevitable. The continuous depletion of oil, environmentally unsafe measures of resource gathering and utilization, as well as the technological advances in the field of alternative energy, have shown that traditional energy sources are not going to be viable for much longer. Countries that have relied on oil and natural gas for decades are now becoming more concerned with environmentally-friendly renewable energy, not to lose the competitive edge they have on the international market. One such country is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Historically, the country relied on petroleum as its main source of funding, and with the growing interest toward alternative energy sources, the energy industry of the country is focused on finding ways to adapt before it is too late. Unfortunately, the process has to be kept slow to ensure that the oil market and oil prices are not affected. The country has a lot of monetary resources, but a lot of factors need to be considered before any single solution is chosen. This paper will provide background information on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its energy resources, and how it may become more modern and efficient through the implementation of renewable resources.

Background Information

In 1932, Ibn Saud founded the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by uniting the regions of Hejaz, Najd, as well as parts of Southern Arabia and Eastern Arabia. The government of the country is a monarchical autocracy. However, a lot of infrastructures are reliant and controlled by private enterprises. This can be seen in the power and water sector, where the majority of resources are controlled and distributed by private companies. Saudi Arabia is divided into 13 regions which are then divided into 118 governorates. Each region has its own capital. The 13 regions are grouped by their geographical location. In the center, Qassim and Riyadh are located. In the west, are Tabuk, Madinah, and Makkah. In the north are the Northern Borders region, Jawf, and Ha’il. In the south, Bahah, Jizan, ‘Asir, and Najran can be found. The east of the country is home to the Eastern Province. The western region is the most populated, with Makkah having the highest population in the country (Vassiliev 110).

Petroleum in the country was discovered in 1938 and quickly became the cornerstone of the Saudi Arabian economy. The vast amount of resources allowed the country to develop much faster than most countries that appeared since the 1900s (Vassiliev 407). Alongside oil, Saudi Arabia’s economy is based on natural gas, methyl alcohol, gold, and other resources but the vast majority of the country’s exports are reliant on petroleum oils. It is one of the top countries in oil production, and its confirmed oil wells contain the largest amount of resources in the world. Over the decades, the country became increasingly focused on advancing its petroleum industry. While it provided a great number of funds to the country, it also led to a variety of negative outcomes. Currently, the country produces a significant amount of CO2 emissions, which pollute the air and contribute to global warming. Saudi Arabia has a serious issue with water production. The country heavily relies on desalination for its water supply as the groundwater supply is non-renewable and the majority of it was used in agriculture. The difficulty of water delivery forced the government to rely on private organizations, but the situation is still not stable as some regions are able to provide water only a few days at a time.

The country’s economy is considered one of the least diversified in the region and did not feature a developed production sector. The lack of diversification makes the country extremely reliant on oil trade and any issue with the oil market may reflect on almost every aspect of the Saudi Arabian economy. The abundance of oil and natural gas in the area also prevented the development of renewable energy in the region, as only small-scale experimental projects were implemented in some regions of the country.

The estimated population of the country for 2017 is 33 million people with a density of 15 people per square kilometer. The majority of the population is Saudi nationals. However, a large group of foreign citizens is also present in the area, with an estimated split between nationals and foreigners being 2/1. The ethnic composition of Saudi Arabia consists of two main groups. The first is Arab which is the majority group that makes up 90% of the country’s population. The second is Afro-Asian that fills the remaining 10%. The majority of the population lives in Hejaz, a region on the west of the country and is the site of two holy cities Mecca and Medina. Currently, more than 80% of the population lives in metropolitan areas. Arabic is the official language of Saudi Arabia, with three regional variants present in the population. The country does not release information about the economic levels of its citizens and actively prevents investigations of poverty, with some cases of people being arrested for investigations.

The country’s area occupies approximately 80% of the Arabian Peninsula, which is the largest in the world. In the south, the country borders with the United Arab Emirates. This complicates the calculation of the full size of the country due to the non-exact marking of Oman. However, the estimated size of the country is 2,149,690 square kilometers. It is the largest country in the Arabian region. The majority of the country consists of the Arabian Desert, which is considered to be the world’s largest continuous sand desert. The country features no permanent rivers, but a few lakes exist. The various areas of Saudi Arabia also feature various valleys referred to as “wadi.” These areas are considered fertile and are often used for agriculture. In the north, the country is bordered by Jordan and Iraq, and Kuwait. Aside from Oman and the United Arab Emirates, the country is also bordered by Yemen in the south. The coastline of the country includes the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. It is the only country to have access to both. The areas of the country that are not dominated by the desert terrain feature mountainous areas that allow for slightly more diverse geography.

The climate in the majority of the country is arid, with dessert being the main type of terrain. The day-time temperatures in the country are very high, but at night they may drop very fast. The average summer temperatures range from 113 degrees Fahrenheit to 129 degrees Fahrenheit. In the winter, the temperatures can drop below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, but it is a rare occasion. Annual rainfall in the country is almost nonexistent, which creates issues with a water supply and agriculture. However, one of the regions has a distinctly different climate. The Asir province, which is located in the southwestern area of the country is a mountainous region located on a high plateau. The area is subject to oceanic monsoons and receives more rain than all the other areas of the country. The area features an extreme range of temperatures from over 30 degrees Fahrenheit to much colder weather the next morning. The area is the main hub of agriculture in the country as it does not require excessive mining for water.

Energy Use

Due to its predominant focus on petroleum, Saudi Arabia’s majority of the country’s energy generation comes from its oil industry. However, the oil industry is mostly involved in export, which leaves only a portion of energy for the country itself. It is estimated that the country produces more than 648 million tons of oil equivalent energy every year. This number combines oil production with power stations and other sources of power. Saudi Arabia consumes more than 313 terawatts per hour across all of its sectors. 9930-kilowatt hour per capita is consumed by the population of the country (Saudi Arabia: Indicators for 2015). The transportation sector of the country serves around 12 million vehicles, which consume more than 811,000 barrels of oil daily.

These numbers suggest that 23% of the country’s energy is used by the transportation sector, meaning that 2283 kilowatt-hours are used by transportation every day (Transport Sector Accounts). In recent years, the industrial sector of Saudi Arabia was focused on reducing the percentage of its energy consumption. The latest measures indicate that as a whole, the industrial sector consumes 40% of all energy in the country, meaning that it consumes 3972-kilowatt hours (Industrial Sector Accounts for More than 40%). While current data on the energy consumption of the building sector is not currently available, a paper from 2014 finds that 52% of the total energy consumption is dedicated to the residential buildings, meaning that they consume 5163.6-kilowatt hours (Asif and Alrashed 376). However, it is possible that the data could have changed since the publication. Nevertheless, it is one of the most demanding sectors for energy in the country.

As was mentioned previously, the country is extremely reliant on petroleum and natural gas. The arid climate and lack of permanent water sources prevent Saudi Arabia from diversifying its energy sources, which means that the country does not generate a significant level of energy from any sources besides oil and gas. Although plans for energy diversification exist, Saudi Arabia actively uses only oil and natural gas as its energy sources. The majority of the energy is generated from natural gas sources. Natural gas energy comprises 51.16% of all energy production in the country. This means that it generates 517,271-kilowatt-hours every day. The second most used energy source in the country is oil. Despite the much higher production of petroleum products in the country, its use as a power source is slightly less frequent than natural gas. Oil is used to generate 48.84% of energy in the country. Approximately it generates 409,673-kilowatt-hours per day (Saudi Arabia: Electricity and Heat). The country currently does not utilize nuclear energy, coal energy, or any other type of energy source with rare exceptions for early experimentation with renewable energy sources.

Potential of Renewable Energy Sources

Despite the current lack of alternatives to oil and natural gas power in Saudi Arabia, it has a large number of projects designed to implement various renewable energy sources for power generation. At the moment, the country implemented only solar energy as a renewable resource and only in specific areas such as Farasan Island, Al-Uyaynah village, and places of research and development. Due to the limited implementation, the data on the daily use of solar energy in the country is not representative of its potential. Nevertheless, solar power generates 17.91-kilowatt-hours of energy per capita every year, meaning that approximately 0.04-kilowatt-hours per capita are generated every day (Energy Consumption in Saudi Arabia).

It is highly important to establish that the country has great potential for renewable resources, however. In February 2017, the Saudi Arabian government dedicated $50 billion to establish large-scale renewable energy projects in the country. They plan to build enough renewable energy infrastructures with a power capacity of 700 megawatts. The projects include a 300-megawatt solar power plant in the Al Jouf province, as well as a 400-megawatt wind plant in the Tabuk province (Dipaola). These are only the first projects in a long plan to implement renewable energy into the Saudi Arabian energy production pipeline. In the next seven years, Saudi Arabia plans to create 1,200 megawatts of renewable energy through 30 projects. 10% of the country’s power will be created through renewable energy by 2023. Also, a wind turbine facility in Turaif, created by Saudi Aramco, began operation in the spring of 2017. However, no annual data is currently available about its daily power generation per capita. The country has no plans of implementing any other types of renewable energy at this time. To be specific, current projects integrate three types of renewable power: solar photovoltaic, solar concentrating photovoltaic, and wind turbine power.

Advice on Future Energy Transition

For Saudi Arabia, the issue of the energy transition is gradually becoming a major concern. As it was mentioned in the country’s energy analysis, almost all the energy is produced through non-renewable resources such as natural gas and oil. Both resources share some significant disadvantages. They create dangerous levels of CO2 emissions, they are non-renewable, and in case of an accident may lead to massive ecological disasters. In recent years, the country began a number of projects designed to implement renewable energy into the energy production of the country. They include large-scale wind and solar projects that are designed to generate around 10% of the country’s electricity by the year 2023. However, these plans may require additional elements and considerations that the government of Saudi Arabia has not yet publicly addressed. The following steps are designed to address these considerations and recommend further actions for the energy transition.

Implement a Small Quantity of Renewable Energy

One of the important aspects of renewable energy integration in a country that is dependent on oil is a careful measurement of how much renewable energy should be implemented over a period of time. While some European countries such as the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and Germany are focused on very aggressive renewable energy integration programs, with a 20-percent policy. They are designed to implement as much renewable energy as possible over the shortest amount of time. However, in the case of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, such an approach could be detrimental to the country. This is why a smaller amount of renewable energy should be integrated at the start. Saudi Arabian energy production should focus on implementing a 5-percent to 10-percent renewable energy policy for the time being. If a larger amount of renewable energy is implemented into the energy production in the country, it may increase the number of oil exports. This increase will make the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia even more dependent on oil for its economy. The country would become increasingly susceptible to the decline in oil prices in the market, which would be guaranteed by the increased amount of oil exports. Additionally, the mass integration of renewable energy into the power grid may be too expensive to be viable for the country.

The primary impact of renewable energy in the region would be seen in the decrease in the price of power. Unlike most countries, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has extremely low prices for petroleum products and natural gas due to its abundant oil and gas reserves. This allowed the government to rely on natural gas and oil power for electricity generation for the majority of the country’s history. However, even considering the low oil prices in the region, the use of renewable energy sources such as solar power and wind turbines is still cheaper. This is caused by the large amounts of energy that are required to mine for resources, maintain mining and other infrastructure before oil becomes energy for the country. It is also a much more safe option for the environment of the country. Oil production is an extremely dangerous process for the environment.

Oil spills caused by malfunctioning equipment or human error, the buildup of waste products, CO2 emissions, and other factors of basic oil refinery operation can bring a lot of pollutants into the areas surrounding them. Moreover, oil fires are extremely hard to put out and can be considered a complete ecological disaster for the region. The introduction of renewable energy sources would reduce the amount of oil and natural gas needed to supply power to the region. Therefore, less harmful consequences are likely to affect the country. It should also introduce new jobs for the region because previously the country did not have a strong production or service industry. New jobs may involve a solar panel assembly or production industry, construction engineers, and builders. Even in the minimal 5-percent scenario, a large amount of construction and production would be required to fulfill the goal. The effects on the environment, society, and industry are projected to be positive.

The action is likely to be successful in reaching the emissions reduction goal for a variety of reasons. The first is that the country currently emits more than 601047 kiloton of carbon emissions, which is a very large amount. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is in the top 15 of the countries that produce the most carbon emissions on an annual basis. 68% of all the emissions in the country come from liquid fuel consumption. If the consumption of liquid fuels in the country becomes less prominent, the number of emissions should be significantly reduced in turn. The most difficult barrier to the implementation of renewed energy comes from the cost of its integration into the power grid of the country.

A massive push for renewed energy may be highly costly and would lead to the program losing its viability. This barrier can be overcome however with a smaller scale 5-percent and 10-percent plans of integration. Another barrier might be the increase in oil exports of the country due to the reduction of oil used for energy generation. Currently, a fourth of all oil production is used for energy generation in the country. By reducing the use of oil for power, more would be used as exports. An increase in oil exports may be highly damaging to the country for two reasons. The first is that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be more dependent on oil as a result. This dependency would lead to the country becoming vulnerable to the changes in oil prices. The second is that the oil market may not be able to sustain the current level of prices if the increase in exports would be too high. To overcome these barriers, the amount of renewable energy should be carefully controlled, and only a limited increase in exports should be permitted.

Calculations of the changes in macroeconomic variables show that the changes between 5-percent policy and 20-percent policy are the following. Electricity production, energy services, and non-energy domestic production should not be affected if the 5-percent policy is implemented. However the GDP of the country would increase by 0.2 percent, public transfers would be increased 0.4 percent, but the most important number is the increase in oil exports. They are set to increase only by 0.7 percent. However, in the case of a 20-percent policy, the increase in exports would be 2.8 percent. This means that the number of oil exports would increase by either 52,000 barrels of oil or 207,000 barrels. The difference may be catastrophic for the international oil market, and therefore a smaller scale of renewable energy should be implemented. The Levelized cost of electricity, also known as LCOE, is estimated as 3.56 thousand Saudi Riyals if their value is based on the 2010 prices.

Utilize the Climate of the Country to Implement Solar Energy

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia utilizes a very high level of power. From the needs of the population to transportation and industry, the country uses a fourth of its massive oil production pipeline on its energy. As it was previously discussed, the government of the country began investing in renewable energy to help reduce the use of oil for energy generation. Perhaps the most viable type of renewable energy for the country is solar. This viability can be explained by the extreme temperatures of the arid desert environment in the majority of the country’s regions. With the exception of the Asir province, the country is almost entirely covered by a desert, with long periods of uninterrupted sunshine, especially in the rural areas of the country. It is estimated that on average, more than 2200 thermal kilowatt hours per square meter fall on the various regions of Saudi Arabia. Rainfall is extremely rare in the country, and overcast weather is just as unlikely due to the position of the country in the region of the planet called the “sunbelt.”

These conditions make the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia a perfect candidate for the use of solar energy. The specific type of energy that should be used in the region is called solar photovoltaic energy, also known as solar PV. The country has already experimented with solar energy and has two large solar energy projects that are currently operational. The first is the Farasan solar power plant that is designed as a stand-alone power plant that provides energy to the Farasan Islands. Delivery of oil to the island was much too expensive, which prompted the government to consider alternative solutions. The plant has a capacity of 500 kilowatts at the peak of the system and has been operational since 2011. The second large-scale project is called the North Park Project, and it is located in Dhahran. It is considered the largest solar parking project in the world and provides 10-megawatt carport power over 200,000 square meters of land. Neither of the projects is currently connected to the main power grid, however, despite their success. The county of Saudi Arabia should focus on implementing solar PV power stations as a way to meet its goal of using renewable energy.

Since the previous step also concerned the implementation of renewable energy, its effects on society are similar to those of solar PV implementation. However, some effects of this step are specific to the solar PV energy, and overall benefits can be described in greater detail. The greenhouse gases released by the current methods of energy generation can be extremely harmful to the population of the country. With the majority of the power being generated from crude oil which often has a high content of sulfur, the emissions of the power plants are rarely controlled enough to keep the air in the region clean. CO2, SO2, and other greenhouse gases are also some of the major causes of global warming that is set to have a serious effect on the infrastructure of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The concentration of these gases in the atmosphere of the country is much higher than the established acceptable norm, and the cost of health impacts on the people of Saudi Arabia is much higher than those of European countries such as France or Germany. Solar PV energy does not produce such gases, and it does not have a negative impact on people’s health. Therefore, its implementation would have positive effects on society and on the environment of the country. It may also lead to breakthroughs in solar power technology because Saudi Arabia is the perfect testbed for new solar power innovations. The data that would be gathered from the Saudi Arabian solar plants could be unique due to the ideal climate and high need for energy in the area.

The action should be successful in reaching the emission reduction goal because of the almost constant clear skies present in Saudi Arabia. The available sunshine and climate of Saudi Arabia should guarantee the ideal conditions for the use of solar PV power plants. The previously addressed barriers to renewable energy apply to solar PV power implementation as well. If the implementation of solar energy does not exceed 10% of renewable energy goals, the barriers should not become an issue for the step.

Modern costs of PV energy are approaching 1$ per watt peak. However, the conventional cost of petroleum-generated power is 12 cents per kilowatt-hour. While the difference in cost may seem high, it does not reflect the cost of oil mining, oil processing, and others. The costs of solar power are expected to become fully competitive with conventional power sources by the year 2020.

Implement Wind Farms in the Coastal Regions of Saudi Arabia

While the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a climate that is especially suitable for solar PV energy generation, its geographical position may also allow for the use of wind farms in the coastal regions of the country. The most likely areas for wind farms are located in Al-Wajh, Jeddah, Yanbu, and Jizan regions of the country. They are located on the coast, and it may be economically feasible to install 75-megawatt wind power plants to provide additional renewable electricity to the electric grid of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The available data on the wind speeds in these regions shows that the average wind speed varies from 3.0 to 4.5 meters per second at a height of 10 meters. Wind speeds in the presented regions are estimated to be less than 3 meters per second for 45% of the time in Al-Wajh, 53% in Jeddah, 41% in Yanbu, and 52% in Jizan. This means that the wind plants will not be able to produce power for approximately 50% of the time in the year, however, the number of megawatt-hours that may be generated annually, as well as the price of each kilowatt-hour suggests that the implementation of wind power plants in the coastal regions may be an effective secondary source of renewable power for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Implementation of a variety of power sources may be especially important as the diversification of the energy sources in the country would allow its energy generation system to be more flexible.

Implementation of coastal wind power plants should have the expected effect on the environment of these regions. When the plants are operational, fewer greenhouse gases will be released into the atmosphere, and less crude oil would have to be used as an energy source. However, the effect would not be as prominent as with solar PV power, since wind turbines will not be operational for almost half of the time due to differences in the wind. The effect on society would be noticeable. However, the construction industry in the area would be able to provide jobs for the citizens, as well as those who would maintain the wind turbines. No significant effect on the technological aspects of the region is expected aside from possible useful data being collected from the wind farms. Overall, the effects on the region are expected to be positive, and yet not especially significant. This fact would lead to the limited use of wind energy in the country. Nevertheless, its use would still contribute to the goal of achieving 10% use of renewable energy in the region.

This action should contribute to the goal of lower greenhouse gas emissions in the region because it would provide clean energy for at least half of the time during its operation. While it will not be a primary solution to the issue, it could still be used as additional power. The main barrier to this technology is the lack of guaranteed power at all times of the day. It is possible that to keep the project fully efficient, wind turbines would have to be placed only in areas with the most consistent wind speeds. Coastal construction may also be expensive. However, the limited scope of the project and the low cost of energy suggest that in the long-term the project should be beneficial for the selected regions.

Calculations show that the region of Al-Wajh would be able to generate 107,196 megawatt hours every year for the cost of $0,0536 per kilowatt hour, Jeddah is expected to generate 81,648 megawatt hours for $0,0704, Yanbu should deliver 135,822 megawatt hours for $0,0423, and Jizan should be able to generate 80,896 megawatt hours annually for $0,0711 per kilowatt hour. Despite the unstable rate at which the power is generated, the projected annual statistics are relatively positive.

These are the three most important steps that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia should take to being transferring its energy from conventional crude oil and natural gas sources to cleaner renewable energy. While the suggested steps are focused on transitioning only 5 to 10 percent of the country’s energy to renewable sources, it is not out of the realm of possibility that after these steps prove to be successful, the country would continue transitioning its energy to safer options. However, at the current time, such transitions may lead to a variety of significant problems for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the international oil markets. Further steps should only be taken when the country would be able to implement them without a major increase in oil exports.

Conclusion

Saudi Arabia is a country that is almost entirely reliant on non-renewable resources. It is consistently the largest producer of various types of oil and other petroleum products every year and almost a quarter of it is used for domestic energy needs. The country consumes a large amount of electric power, and there are no means of meeting the demand through renewable energy. In recent years natural gas became the main energy source in the country, but the government of the country is highly involved in establishing new renewable energy projects with plans of generating 10% of the energy through renewable energy sources. This percentage may be lower than those of the European countries, but it has to be kept low. Transition to renewable energy will increase the number of oil barrels used for export, which may cause larger dependence on oil in the country, as well as lower oil prices on the international market.

Due to the arid desert climate, the country receives a lot of uninterrupted sunshine. These climate conditions are almost ideal for implementation of solar energy, and the potential for its utilization is very high. Wind turbines also may be implemented due to the suitable conditions on the coasts of the country. The implementation process requires a lot of funds but through subsidization, partnerships and careful planning, they may be met. Despite the abundance of non-renewable resources in the country, they create a high level of harmful emissions which contribute to global warming and pollution of the country. With the global interest in transitioning to renewable energy, the government of Saudi Arabia is interested in keeping its status. Therefore, they require renewable energy to ensure their future.

Recently, some people believe that nuclear, solar, wind and hydropower provide cheap and clean energy. The advantages of these sources of power far outweigh their disadvantages. I totally agree with that first of all, energy should be a very hot topic today. When it comes to energy, there are many abundant energy sources in our life. What impresses me most is solar energy. Solar energy exists everywhere in our life, just like the water heater in my own home.Solar energy is a kind of renewable energy. It refers to the thermal radiation energy of the sun. Now there is solar energy in many places in life, such as solar lamps, solar power plants and so on. There are few non renewable resources on the earth, such as nuclear energy: coal, crude oil, natural gas, oilIt is estimated that oil and gas will dry up in 70 years; Coal dried up after 200 years.

In recent years, oil prices have risen sharply, and we are facing an energy crisis. Therefore, from now on, we should vigorously develop other new energy sources, such as solar energy, wind energy and bioenergy.In fact, we are now using these renewable energy sources.

In Arab countries such as Dubai, oil exploitation is not as frequent as before, because oil resources are particularly scarce. Although those areas are rich in oil resources, our human use of oil is particularly frequent, resulting in an increase in the original price of oil and a decrease in reserves.In short, as stated in task 1: ‘renewable energy is very important for the future of our planet  Indeed, the energy crisis is very terrible, and the frequent use of non renewable resources such as oil will pollute the life and environment on earth. The awareness of environmental protection is known by everyone in today’s people’s life! Reduce the use of gasoline vehicles and advocate electric vehicles, such as Tesla electric vehicles in the United States and various electric vehicles produced by other automobile manufacturers in the world. On the one hand, reduce the use of gasoline, and secondly reduce environmental pollution.

The extensive use of electric energy also reduces unnecessary safety accidents. As mentioned in the data, accidents often occur among workers in mines. Reduce the use of coal and oil. These unnecessary accidents and troubles can be avoided as far as possible.I live by the Yangtze River. It should be rich in water resources, but water pollution has been serious in recent years. The original a land flowing with milk and honey has experienced drought and flood in many places, and crops can not be produced normally. Although the earth is rich in water resources, with a total of about 1.351 billion cubic kilometers, 97.47% of it is marine water.

Fresh water resources are less than 3%. Of the less than 3% of fresh water resources, 1.76% are in the form of glaciers at the poles or on high mountains, which are difficult to use, and a large number of fresh water resources are deeply buried underground (quoted Google). Since last year, the horn of Africa has suffered the worst drought in 60 years, and about 10 million people have been affected.

The resulting food crisis has aroused widespread concern in the world. FAO calls on the international community to actively assist and help solve the local famine problem (quoting Google). In conclusion, we should call on the world to reduce the use of non renewable resourcesOf course, some people agree with this statement, and some certainly oppose it, but I still insist on my choice. As stated in task 3, ‘the debate on whether to use fossil fuels or turn to environmentally friendly and renewable energy’. Some people think that these industries do provide a lot of employment opportunities, but I think nuclear energy, solar energy Wind and hydropower provide cheap and clean energy. The advantages of these energy sources far outweigh the disadvantages, so I still think my choice is wise.

EPA article says, ‘Generating energy that produces no greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and reduces some types of air pollution.’ these benefits could bring many global situations to decrease and a better future. Over the years, earth has been taking damage and is increasing by human activity, which is affecting forests, animal life, and people as well. The reasons we must use renewable energy are that it minimizes types of pollutions, reduces the dependence on imported fuels, and a decrease in global warming. The purpose of this demand is it can help improve ‘wildlife habitats.’, guide us to increase clean water sources and many other resources. If we don’t resolve these issues, in the future, we will be up against crucial conflicts, and by the time we realize it, it’ll be too late.

The leading source of all obstacles to ‘breathing problems, neurological damage, and a host of other serious problems.’ is linked to our situations towards the air, water, and carbon pollutions. These pollutants are creating abnormal rises in temperature around the planet, and the source behind this is ‘carbon dioxide.’ by the carelessness of human activities. It’s shown to be a harmful chemical emitted to the air that we breathe in, scientists say ‘our planet has become 1.69 degree Fahrenheit warmer than the 20th century.’, making the situation even worse that not only is it bringing deadly impacts to the environment but killing the planet not even knowing it. Such as mercury pollution, known for their natural toxic heavy metal, and is the ‘largest source of mercury contamination in the United States.’ these contaminations are infecting water resources and animals who drink or swim in it, this is creating a health violation to people whoever consumes the infected animal will be at risk to high mercury levels to serious health problems. The reason for mentioning all of the issues these pollutions have caused environmental crises is to give reasoning to demand renewable energy as a valuable source since it’s one of our most effective options to solve these battles .Renewable energy resources can help undo what we started. Using these sources can help cleanout lakes, water, making it safer for us to drink. And utilizing renewable energy can reduce pollutions, making it secure for us to breathe, as well as decreasing the number of risks in the future.

The main objective of our situations concerning air, water, and carbon pollution is associated with fossil, coal fuels, and natural gas. The intention of reducing our dependence on these fuels is because they are contaminating our waters, using large amounts of land, gas leaks, oil spills, and many others. Recent events, there have been safety concerns about transporting natural gas because of its highly flammable chemicals, making it dangerous. The national wildlife federation viewpoints on how fossil fuel actions are ‘responsible for toxic contamination of massive amounts of fresh water, and significant increases in climate change pollutants into the atmosphere.’ if we don’t fight for our society and future, sooner or later we’ll be living in a world, filled with diseases, contaminated food, water, and that will be the end of us. Throughout the years, coal and oil waste has contaminated our ‘groundwater supplies.’, ‘grease leaked into water systems.’ creating concerns to the environment towards animals, wildlife, and human health, disrupting the fragile aquatic ecosystems. The intention of concerning imported fuels to renewable energy into our society is from the importance of how much destruction has led to these incidents, and the remarkable changes these sources can reduce it .This advantage of utilizing renewable energy resources can help reduce the spills in our water sources, a decrease in death tolls, and many other impacts that will remove fuels to clean unlimited energy.

As a result of not situating the concerns of how fossil fuel, coal, and natural gas have damaged our planet, we are at the point of global warming. These vital conflicts have been increasing our planet temperature for years and is impacting natural habitats in the artic, changes in ocean temperature causing species to suffer, and bringing deadly infestations to forests that could lead to deforestation and extinction. The US Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory says,’ that renewable energy could help reduce the electricity sector’s emissions by approximately 81 percent.’, convincing us that these reliable results could help resolve all our problems. We essentially need to cooperate with operating on renewable energy due to its advantages in cleaner atmospheres, healthier air quality, and protection of natural habitats. The point of including the global issue of climate change as a significant claim over the fact it’s been a known issue for years, and it hasn’t been resolved until now when we have a source that can cleanse it into something remarkable .Since fossil fuels and pollutions are responsible for our crises of increased polluted airs, land, and oceans, the wise decision is to act on preventing the event from ever happening by targeting on how it started. From prior knowledge, it’s only logical to make such a request mainly because of the options we have now.

In addition to renewable energy, being a highly effective solution to our global problems towards pollution, diseases, and extinction is something extraordinary to use since we can evolve it and expand it. Based on the research, the information states that these numerous critical events are not sustainable for our well-being and must be dealt with before it receives further issues. The purpose of immersing our knowledge about these conflicts we’re battling is to be aware that these events can make a life-changing breakthrough for generations to come. That’s why renewable energy is such an exceptional solution because it can surpass all odds with no consequences. The purpose of being informed about these issues and solutions is to convince governments that this course of action can lead to numerous theories solved without an outcome. This outcome is beneficial to finish all obstacles with unlimited power beyond our imaginations to experience. Since, it’s unbearable to deny the fact that this demand is our best option to end all suffering and to continue a better future for all nations.

With each passing day, the issue of global warming grows more and more out of control. Even if we completely cut our emissions of greenhouse gases, the snowball is already rolling and the gases currently filling our atmosphere will still have long term effects on global temperature increases — but the battle is not yet lost. Solving this problem that threatens the nature of creatures around the globe is still within our grasp, nations just need to act swiftly and boldly.

One imperative contributor to greenhouse gas emissions around the world is the burning of fossil fuels. Energy production is vital to our society as technology has become deeply rooted in our way of life. The current annual global energy demand is approximately 570 quadrillion British Thermal Units (1 BTU = 1055.056 joules) and is expected to reach 681 by 2040 (ExxonMobil). The United States constitutes for 100 quadrillion of this total, predicted 119 in 2040 following the 0.9% annual increase trend (Dunn). We desperately need a shift — a versatile source of renewable energy that can be effectively implemented around the globe to replace the use of fossil fuels.

One possible source of widespread renewable energy is geothermal power which is, fundamentally, energy produced through the continuous heat transfer from Earth’s core to the crust (U.S. Energy Information Administration). Geothermal energy in the U.S. currently stands at .218 quadrillion Btu annually, accounting for 2% of total renewable energy production (Jamison). This is a 32.9% increase from 2000, showing a gradual increase in productive efforts followed by a plateau in recent years, according to a report by the Energy Information Administration. The Earth conducts approximately 44.2 terawatts, making it an extremely plentiful and stable source of energy (New Jersey Institute of Technology). Although many methods of production have been developed to harness this energy, on average a geothermal power plant produces one gigawatt for every 404 square meters of space. This is the most energy production per square meter of any other form of renewable energy, but it is expensive and difficult to build since successful plans require specific environmental conditions (also explaining why geothermal contributes only a small portion to national energy production). Although geothermal energy can be drawn from almost anywhere, the most efficient locations are near volcanoes, hot springs, and geysers, which are not very common in the U.S., making geothermal energy difficult to produce in large quantities (Energy Information Administration). Like most renewable energy sources, investment in geothermal production has a high initial cost but low maintenance expenses thereafter. Large-scale plants cost around $2500 per kW while smaller plants range from $3000 to $5000, maintenance only $0.01-$0.03 per kWh (U.S. Department of Energy). Although this does not appear to be very much in the long run, there are many damage costs attached to the construction of large geothermal plants, especially near developed land, because of its difficult installation process deep underground (Russo). This suggests that successful plants must either be small enough to avoid interfering with surrounding developments or far enough away from civilization to not have an impact at all, neither of which is convenient nor cost-effective. On the flip side, some practical advantages are that water can be recycled back into the heat reservoirs to conserve resources and personal geothermal heat pumps are easily integrated into communities with nearly no visual impact or energy loss (U.S. Department of Energy). Furthermore, if installed away from developed land, geothermal power plants use less land per gigawatt on average than coal, hydroelectric, or solar (U.S. Department of Energy). If the United States pursued geothermal energy independently, to meet half the U.S. energy demands we would need to produce approximately 1600 gigawatts of energy, covering only 600,000 m2 but costing several trillions of dollars in initial investment. Clearly, this is an unrealistic course of action, but it emphasizes some of geothermal energy’s key traits: although overall condense, subtle, and clean, it is generally very expensive and difficult to produce on a large scale. As a result, it holds much potential in residential areas as a private source of energy, especially for heating and cooling systems, but may not be viable as a national investment.

Another possible form of renewable energy is hydroelectric, which is energy produced from moving water that rotates a turbine as it passes. According to the New Jersey Institute of Technology, hydropower in the U.S. currently generates about 80 gigawatts, or approximately 2.675 quadrillion Btu, accounting for 26% of total renewable energy production. These numbers have actually decreased in recent years as new methods of harvesting power are in development, but hydropower remains a stable, and safe, option of renewable energy. There are two primary forms of hydroelectric generators — tidal and wave — the former residing on coastal areas and the latter functioning along narrow channels of water (Energy Information Administration). According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a large plant generates 30 – 100 megawatts; small, less than 10 megawatts; and micro, less than 100 kilowatts. Per unit, hydropower has more energy potential than any other form of renewable energy; however, finding locations with environmental conditions suitable for effective energy production is extremely difficult. The natural flow process relies heavily on the water cycle which is driven by Sun, so it varies with changes in the weather while remaining relatively consistent with each season. Furthermore, rivers and streams flowing down from mountains are constantly shifting and breaking into smaller channels, so all areas are only energy efficient for a short amount of time. As a result, half of U.S. hydroelectric generation is concentrated in states along the western coast, such as Washington, California, and Oregon, where water patterns are most consistent (Sivaram). Hydroelectric turbines posses low operation fees but high initial investment costs. In general, power plants construction ranges from $1000 to $8000 per kilowatt with a 2% to 5% initial investment annual maintenance cost (Energy Information Administration). The range of cost is so large because it relies heavily on the specific characteristics of the surrounding landscape — more difficult terrain means more difficult construction and expensive materials. As a result, it is difficult to establish standards and regulations necessary for large-scale implementation since each environment arises its own financial obstacles and accommodations. This leads to one of hydroelectric energy’s largest setbacks: environmental disruption. According to the Energy Information Administration, even the best existing turbines reportedly kill 5% – 8% of fish passing through it. Electric dams also manipulate water levels, negatively affecting the navigation and seasonal patterns of wildlife (Energy Information Administration). Although each form of clean energy impacts the natural environment to some degree, building hydroelectric dams across the nation in pursuit of combating global warming would be significantly counterproductive considering the negative ripple effect doing so would have on ecosystems across the nation. Shifting away from the environmental impact, a study found that between over 50,000 suitable, non-powered dams scattered throughout the United States, there is a resource potential of about 85 gigawatts. (U.S. Department of Energy). This is very large when compared to the current contribution of hydropower but still small in the context of annual energy consumption. Although variably expensive and harmful to wildlife, hydroelectric power is a reliable, plentiful source of energy yet to be truly harnessed in the U.S. and, thus, should be regarded as a valuable alternative to fossil fuels as cheaper, safer technology becomes available. This being said, even if we maximize all our available hydropower opportunities, it will still not be enough to fulfill even a fourth of our nation’s annual energy demand based on the current production figures, and, therefore, cannot act as the United States’ primary source of power.

The third plausible source of renewable energy is solar power. Solar in the U.S. currently generates about .950 quadrillion Btu, accounting for 4% of total renewable energy production (New Jersey Institute of Technology). Solar energy production has grown over 1500% since 2000 as materials have become significantly cheaper (Jamison). This is the fastest growth of any of the forms of energy and has come with various technological advancements, mainly a significant reduction in cost; however, this slope has declined significantly the past few years (Jamison). This suggests that we are approaching the bottom of the scientific barrel of improvement based on our current understanding of solar energy. After all, the standard silicon solar panel invented 60 years ago still dominates the solar market today, operating at 5 – 15% efficiency (Sivaram). Since the intensity of sunlight reaching the Earth varies depending on location, time of day, season, and weather conditions, energy production is extremely intermittent. This is a very large limitation considering that energy is constantly being consumed all around the U.S. The current cost of solar panels has begun to plateau at $0.50 per watt, or $500 per kilowatt. This base price is cheaper than that of any other renewable energy source, but, similar to wind power, solar power plants require large amounts of storage in order to secure a consistent supply of energy (Sivaram). Since solar panels can only absorb sunlight during the day and are greatly affected by day to day weather conditions, this addition is fundamentally important. Average energy storage is $0.10 per kilowatt-hour, but this cost adds up very quickly when powering millions of homes and buildings during the night (Energy Information Administration). With solar panels and storage facilities come a large requirement for space; “The amount of sunlight reaching a square foot of the earth’s surface is relatively small, so a large surface area is necessary to collect a useful amount of energy,” (Energy Information Administration). One primary accommodation for this is solar panel installation on rooftops and other established structures that receive sunlight without taking up extra space. This is then opposed by the idea that doing so ranks convenience over optimal solar positioning, decreasing the collective efficiency of the farm (Sivaram). The International Energy Agency estimates that solar will soon be the cheapest source of electricity in some countries, making it a prime alternative source of energy internationally; however, considering the extensive land and storage cost that solar power requires for large-scale implementation, it may not be the optimal choice for the United States.

The final form of clean energy is wind power, which, similar to hydroelectric, is produced from moving air particles that rotate a turbine as they pass. According to Jamison, wind energy accounts for 18% of total renewable energy production in the U.S., currently standing at 2.530 quadrillion Btu annually which is a 900% increase from 2000. This reflects the various technological advancements made in recent years to increase wind turbine efficiency and suggests a bright future for wind energy. Despite various internal improvements, like more sophisticated control systems, blade pitch variability, and increased material durability, the standard three blade design developed in the 1970s remains effective today (Sivaram). Most utility level turbines produce between one and two megawatts, the largest units generating up to 10 megawatts — “enough to power nearly 9,000 homes,” (McKenna). Considering the small land area and durability of a single turbine, this level of power is extremely impressive compared to the energy efficiencies of other forms of clean energy. This being said, wind is intermittent, making it a generally unreliable source of energy especially in the case of an emergency. Energy production is most plentiful around coastal areas where average wind speeds approach ten meters per second; however, effective wind farms have been built in midwestern states with speeds between four and seven meters per second (Russo). This suggests that wind turbines can be utilized in various different environments and, thus, have a large energy potential across the U.S. On average, wind turbines cost .79 million dollars per megawatt to build, or $790 per kilowatt (U.S. Department of Energy). This value is significantly less than that for other forms of renewable energy; however, offshore wind prices are two times more expensive than onshore, so this average could increase in upcoming years as attention shifts to the energy potential of the coasts (New Jersey Institute of Technology). In a case of large-scale implementation, investment in storage facilities would need to be made alongside wind farms to secure a consistent power output. Although energy storage is necessary to some degree for all types of clean energy, it is more prevalent for wind energy due to its relative intermittency. Another disadvantage is the environmental impact of wind turbines on wildlife; wind farms collectively killed 573,000 birds in 2015, a statistic that is predicted to reach 1.4 million by 2030 (New Jersey Institute of Technology). However, many wind activists claim “ecological studies indicate that carefully planned wind farms should not significantly harm birds or marine mammals,” (Russo). Although it is near impossible to completely remove all negative environmental impact, design enhancements are rapidly being made to reduce the footprint of turbines, making the issue of bird fatalities a simple matter of time. Also, turbines can be built on land used for grazing and growing crops to save space and now possess advanced AI monitoring that automatically adjusts to weather conditions, boosting performance, preventing operational breakdowns, and prolonging functionality (Spectra). This level of technological sophistication is not utilized by any other type of renewable energy, making wind energy a very advanced, and fitting, energy alternative for our modern society. According to Russo, “offshore territory of the United States has the capacity to generate an estimated 4,200 gigawatts of electricity, enough to supply four times the nation’s current needs.” If pursued independently, based on the current cost and production figures, wind energy could power the entire U.S. with a several billion dollar investment. Again, this is an exaggerated case scenario, but the calculation does not account for the various future advancements aimed at making wind energy cheaper than ever and is significantly less than the predicted nationwide investments of other clean energy sources (reaching well into the trillions). Although wind turbines negatively impact wildlife and require a storage system to supply consistent energy, they are comparatively more cost efficient and technologically advanced than alternative units, making them an extremely/paramountly viable replacement for fossil fuels.

Although all forms of renewable energy hold some potential in the future as we make the transition from fossil fuels, given the United States’ economic resources and level of development, pursuing wind power as our primary source of energy is the most logical decision moving forward. Wind turbines are more cost and land efficient than any other form of renewable energy, and, with advanced AI systems, are designed to last several hundred years with almost no maintenance. It is also the only form, other than solar, with the potential of supplying the majority of the United States’ power. Although large-scale wind power requires advanced energy storage systems, this cost is very small compared to that required of solar since wind speeds are more stable on average than exposure to sunlight. Furthermore, based on current production trends, technological advancements in other renewable energy fields have begun to plateau while turbine placement and computer systems are advancing faster than ever. Geothermal home heating systems and solar panel roofing may each be economically viable choices for independent consumers, but when evaluating production efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and general practicality, wind energy is the most logical investment in nationwide power for the United States.

In now a day the clean form of energy is considered to be the one from renewable technologies as these technologies minimize the environmental impacts and secondary wastes and good for the current and future needs of the economy. As the source of all energies is the sun. light and heat are the primary forms of energy. Environment absorbs the heat and sunlight in multiple ways. Wind energy and biomass are renewable energy flows which are the results of these technologies. For reducing global warming and for mitigating the greenhouse effect the excellent opportunity is renewable energy technology.

The huge amount of energy is provided by the sun to the earth. Many important works on earth are performed due to this energy. In a solar cell, we can excite electrons to convert sunlight into electricity. Sunlight is concentrated and unconcentrated form produces energy which can easily be converted to electricity.

Around the bandgap of semiconductor solar cells excite electrons to capture electricity which creates the p-n junction by creating the electron-hole pair by doping. Their plan may utilize bearer augmentation, hot electron extraction, various intersections, daylight fixation, or new materials. The level pivot speaks to the expense of the sun-based module just; it must be around multiplied to incorporate the expenses of bundling and mounting. Spotted lines demonstrate the expense per watt of pinnacle control.

Concentrating daylight takes into account a more commitment from multi-photon forms; that commitment builds the hypothetical effectiveness out most to 41% for a solitary intersection cell with warm unwinding. A cell with a solitary p–n intersection catches just a small amount of the sun-powered range: photons with energies, not exactly the bandgap are not caught, and photons with energies more noteworthy than the bandgap have their abundance vitality lost to warm unwinding. Stacked cells with various bandgaps catch a more noteworthy portion of the sun-based range; as far as possible is 43% for two intersections lit up with unconcentrated daylight, 49% for three intersections, and 66% for boundlessly numerous intersections.

The temperatures created by concentrated daylight are sufficiently high to control heat motors, whose Carnot efficiencies depend just on the proportion of the channel and outlet temperatures. Steam motors driven by sun powered warmth and associated with customary generators right now supply the least expensive sun-oriented power. Nine sun based warm power plants that utilization following illustrative trough concentrators was introduced in California’s the Mojave Desert somewhere in the range of 1984 and 1991. Those plants still work, providing 354 MW of pinnacle capacity to the matrix. Their normal yearly effectiveness is roughly 20%, and the most as of late introduced can accomplish 30%.

Although those efficiencies are the most noteworthy for any generally actualized type of sun-based change, they are unassumingly contrasted with the about 60% effectiveness of the best gas-terminated power generators. Accomplishing more prominent productivity for sunlight-based transformation requires huge scale plants with working temperatures of 1500 °C or more, as may be delivered by control towers. Another other option, still in the investigation organize, is a half breed of two change plots: A concentrated sunlight-based pillar is part into its obvious bit for effective photovoltaic transformation and its high-vitality divide for transformation to warm that is changed over to power through a warmth motor.

For the conversation of energy solar dryers have potential. For the cleaning of the environment, CO2 mitigation has a great scope. These articles demonstrate the major reusable energy and in daily life their importance. We can convert solar energy into a useful form of energy.

The use of photovoltaics has been quickly expanding in recent decades driven by the possibility that it could give a central commitment to the change from customary non-renewable energy sources to sustainable power source based economies. In any case, the long haul supportability of photovoltaics will be to a great extent subject to the adequacy of the procedure arrangements that will be embraced to reuse the phenomenal volume of end-of-life boards expected to be produced sooner rather than later.

Reusing is essential to maintain a strategic distance from the loss of the important materials utilized to deliver the photovoltaic boards and, simultaneously, forestall that hurtful components, including, for instance, overwhelming metals, could be scattered into nature through ill-advised transfer rehearses. In this article, the procedure arrangements proposed in recent decades to reuse photovoltaic boards are explored. The principle objective is to give the premise to the ID of the reusing arrangements that can adequately support the persistent increment of the photovoltaic market. To evaluate the necessities that ought to be fulfilled by the reusing forms, the enactment right now in power to direct the administration of end-of-life photovoltaic boards is looked into, and the advancement of the PV showcase in recent decades is investigated.

Did you know that if humans consume fossil fuel at the current rate, in the next 42years coal supplies will be exhausted forever? In the next 12 years we will most likely run out of indium, which is used in the production of touch screens and antimony which is used in the making of almost everything from drugs to fire retardants. There will be shortages in minerals like phosphorus, which is kind of a fertilizer for plant and shortage of such minerals could cause huge impact to our food supply. Every Human today is dependent on one or another non-renewable resource directly or indirectly and most of them don’t even realise it and that is what the big concern is. So what are the alternatives that can avoid the extinction of such precious non-renewable resources? The future lies is alternate renewable resources. The two very important renewable resources, solar power and hydropower are being utilised all over the globe and it is best and most economical option for humans. (Schwartz, 2014)

The most viable option which can be switched to is solar energy. Solar power is available in abundance. It will be available to man as long as the sun is alive and the sun is alive for almost the next 5 billion years (Nasa, 2019). The use and potential of solar energy is unimaginable .The sun radiates 120,000 terawatts of solar energy to the surface of the earth, that is 20,000 times more than what the entire earth consumes now. Only if humans could harvest all that energy today the scenario would be different. Solar power for sure is abundant but the important thing is that it also a very sustainable source of energy meaning, it is impossible for humans to overuse it. This energy source is available in such abundance that it can meet the needs of today’s generation without compromising the future of the coming generations. The process of harnessing solar energy is mostly clean. In other words it does not cause pollution or harm the environment in any way. This does not mean that harnessing this is one hundred percent clean. There are some down falls like the emission of some harmful byproduct while manufacturing of solar panels and also the emission caused during the transportation is something that is unavoidable but, it is nothing compared to the most common energy sources today. The use of solar energy reduces human’s dependencies on non-renewable resources which is an important step which should be taken now. In order to take advantage of solar energy there is no specific location or area. Solar energy is something that is available in abundance all around the globe and that is what makes it such a viable option. No matter what country or part of the world it is, use of solar energy turns out to be economical. It reduces the cost of electricity that is consumed. Lastly solar energy is one of the most silent sources of energy. What that means is that harnessing solar energy does not require any moving part of machinery which would be associated with sound (Maehlum, 2018). These are just some factors which make solar energy important apart from the increasing use and ease of availability of solar panel that have made it the most go to option today (Bliss, 2019).

Another great alternate resource which is emerging fairly quickly and which is being used by many countries as a viable option is hydropower or hydroelectricity. The number of hydroelectricity projects in the past years has grown considerably. Hydropower has been adapted to generate electricity not many years ago. Before, it was used to turn large wheels of machinery to perform various mechanical tasks in the early industries. Today hydroelectricity accounts to almost seventeen percent of the entire electricity produced in the world. Rise in the use of hydro power is directly associated with the switch to renewable resources which are available in abundance and little to none emission than the tradition fossil fuels. Like solar panels hydropower is not one hundred percent clean as the only pollution occur is during the construction of the huge hydropower plants. How hydroelectric plants exactly work? So the simplest explanation that can be given is that, by moving water. There is no consumption of water in the process but, it rather generates electricity by the kinetic movement of the flowing water. Once the hydropower plant is operational, these plants can produce a large amount of electricity and are reliable and adjustable. To adjust the output of the energy, the flow of water can be increased or decreased accordingly. One of the most important advantages of hydropower is that the electricity generated in the plant can be sent to grid and used instantly. This can very useful in cases of huge power outbreaks. The nations who already have hydropower plants setup use these are the primary and base source of electricity. Hydropower cannot be built anywhere as it needs specific geographical condition. Hence each country can have their own hydropower plant independently. These Hydropower plant offer the countries control over flood control water supply and irrigation in that area. The production of electricity from these plant are not dependent on the weather conditions or the time of the day unlike solar energy or wind energy. The cost of producing electricity from these plants is also considerably less. The cost for initial construction of the hydroelectricity plant maybe high but it also last for almost 50 to 100 years which makes it very economical (Evans, 2018).

As fast as the human race is consuming these non-renewable resources today, it is going to simply inevitable but to turn alternate resources. Clean reliable sources like solar energy and hydro energy are the most viable option to switch to and are very literally the future. This is not something that could be done by a group of people but should be collective global effort. The use if of non-renewable resources should be done very sparingly and other hand the implementation of alternate resources should done vigorously.

According to Ritchie (2019), Oceania emits 1.3 billion tonnes of CO2 yearly, which is equivalent to 1.3% of the global emissions. Wang et al. (2011) argue that most of the carbon emissions are as a result of the generation of non-renewable energy. From figure 8, in 2016, Oceania generated 227.7412GW of non-renewable energy and 67.29998GW of renewable energy. But, in 2050, it is projected that the region will be able to generate 49.97507GW of non-renewable energy and 708.5722GW of renewable energy.

This section provides a brief comparative analysis of renewable and non-renewable energies in Asia, North America, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, and Oceania. In recent years, studies on non-renewable and renewable energy generation have sparked much interest. Adewuyi and Awodumi (2017) claim that, as of 2017, 107 studies have been conducted and 77% were between 2010 and 2014. By far, with the total regional studies on non-renewable and renewable generation around the globe, 26% were conducted in Asia. This accounts for the high levels of both non-renewable and renewable energy generation, as depicted in Figure 9a and Figure 9b. It is clearly seen in Figure 9a that in 2016, Asia was the highest generator of power as compared to the other six regions, followed by North America, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and lastly Oceania. Since the Paris Agreement to limit the World’s average temperature to less than 2°C, and as well limit the amount of carbon emissions, the use of non-renewable energy is expected to drop around the globe. With the various energy policy of different countries to limit CO2 emissions as promulgated by the UNFCCC, by 2050, Sub-Saharan Africa would be the least region to use non-renewable sources of energy. This is followed by Oceania, Latin America, Europe, Middle-East and North Africa, North America and Asia.

From Figure 9b, it is evident that in 2016, renewable energy generation was highest in Asia, followed by Europe, North America, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania and lastly the Middle East and North Africa. With the various policies by governments around the globe, it is expected that the generation of renewable energy would surge in 2050. Figure 9b shows that Asia would be the highest generator of renewable energies by 2050, followed by North America, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa and Oceania. This findings, tend to corroborate the findings of the Smith (2018) who found that China, US and India are the top three countries in Asia and North America that will account for 75% of global renewable expansion by 2022.

Xu et al. (2020) inform that one billion will either have to adapt to extreme heat conditions or migrate to colder regions for every 1°C (1.8°F) of warming. Thus, billions of people would live in conditions warmer than those who have allowed life to thrive for the past 6,000 years if the heat-traping greenhouse gas emissions continue at its current pace. In the absence of a blueprint or roadmap, temperatures are expected to reach 4.1°C – 4.8°C by the end of the century above the pre-industrial era. Nonetheless, the current policies, government pledges, including the NDC of the Paris Agreement, are projected to decrease the baseline emissions in about 3.0°C (IRENA, 2019). From Figure 10, it shows a positive inverse of non-renewable and renewable energies. Thus in 2016, non-renewable energy accounted for the highest power generation in the World. However, in 2050, it is projected that renewable energy generation would supplant the generation of non-renewable energy. According to Xu et al. (2020), the expected population around the globe is likely to distort the distribution of renewable and non-renewable energy generation due to a possible increase in the consumption of energy. Strikingly, most of the regions also lack adaptation measures to mitigate climate change (Burke, Hsiang & Miguel, 2015; Carleton & Hsiang, 2016). Also, during the UN Climate Action Summit, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed worry due to high levels of climatic conditions and therefore, called for 45% reduction in greenhouse emissions by 2030 and a zero-emissions by 2050. This calls for a scale-up in renewable energy technologies like hydro, bioenergy, solar, geothermal, wind and ocean energy.

Ritchie (2019) asserts that the recent atmospheric concentration of CO2 increase to about 400ppm is a cause for global concern in climate change. Most significantly, the use of coal or fossil fuel for the generation of CO2 is considered as the primary contributor to CO2 emissions. While coal use is being questioned globally, a sustainable power source is accelerating ahead and the individuals who back the last firmly, regularly feel that any discussion of discovering approaches to diminish the effect of proceeding to utilize non-renewable energy source risk diverting or easing the development of renewables (Elliott, 2020). Nevertheless, the supply of energy is dominated by the use of fossil fuels. Chaterjee and Krupadam (2019) argue that the two primary sources of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere is as a high demand and consumption of fossil fuel in energy production. In which case, if carbon outflow reduction is viewed as earnest, at that point clean-up choices of carbon emissions from diverse sources are additionally dire, if just perhaps as an interim measure.

In a study conducted by Berkhout, Marcotullio, and Hanaoka (2012), they found that while Carbon Capture Storage and Utilization (CCSU) will potentially account for about 64% reduction in atmospheric carbon dioxide++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ from source by 2050, Efficiency in power, fuel switching and renewables accounts for about 45% reductions of the total emissions in 2020. Due to the advances in the field of science and technology, several technologies have been found palpable to reduce the emissions of carbon from sources. There is, therefore, an urgent need for cost-effective and selective CO2 capture technologies. While CO2 emissions require much energy during the conversion process due to a high level of stability, its production further emits considerable amounts of CO2 (Yang et al., 2008). Wang et al. (2011) contend that acquiring harmful net carbon emissions is not simple, and the structure of efficient catalysts for CO2 conversion is vital in decreasing carbon emissions.

Catalytic CO2 conversion can mostly occur in electrochemical cells, liquid-phase or gas-phase (Whang et al., 2019). Various scholars have conducted studies of the solubility of CO2 in water and various aqueous solutions at the liquid phase (Lee & Sardesai, 2005; Chen, Li & Kanan, 2012; Yadav & Xu, 2012). Chen et al. (2012) discovered that the liquid-phase method has a low productivity rate due to CO2’s low solubility in aqueous solutions. Additionally, with the gas-phase method, various doped carbon materials, metal carbides, metal oxides and metals have been used as catalysts for converting CO2 (Gutiérrez-Guerra et al., 2016; Merino‐Garcia, Albo & Irabien, 2017; Merino-Garcia, Albo & Irabien; 2017; Wang, Pan & Yang, 2018). Merino-Garcia et al. (2017) found that synthetic strategies have been advanced to minimize coke formation and high reaction temperatures for the reformation of dry methane. Wang et al. (2018) argued that because H2 gas is employed in the gaseous phase method, CO2 cannot be considered as efficient. The reason being that, during the methane steam reform in the H2 gas process, there is a considerable amount of CO2 that is produced.

However, Whang et al. (2019: p. 13) suggest that ‘if H2 can be produced from water without CO2 emissions, CO2 hydrogenation in gas-phase would be a potent tool for efficient CO2 conversion’. CO2 hydrogenation results in gaseous products such as CH4 or CO, notwithstanding, liquid products such as dimethyl or formic acid exhibit high values (Genovese et al., 2015). Also, metal-based catalysts like supported Ni Catalysts or precious metals have also been used in converting CO2 to CO or CH4 (Gutiérrez-Guerra et al., 2016). Whang et al. (2019) assert that relatively few heterogeneous catalysts have been found for the creation of formic acid; preferably, homogeneous catalysts have been ordinarily utilized. Therefore, producing formic acid in strong heterogeneous catalyst might be a potential area for reducing CO2 emissions in the atmosphere, and thus, both light and heat energy sources have been advanced to reduce total energy utilization.

In a similar study conducted by Chaterjee and Krupadam (2019) on using amino acid-imprinted polymers as highly selective CO2 capture, they realized that amino acids exhibited a substantial increase in the selective adsorption capacities of CO2 in the gas-phase method. However, the use of reusable adsorbent is a challenge in selectively capturing CO2 from sources during gaseous mixtures. Thus instead of the reusable adsorbent of amino acids, nanoparticles functionalized with the imprinting of amino acids substantially increased the selective capture of CO2 in the gaseous mixture. Molecular imprinting resulted in very high adsorption capacity of CO2 of 5.67 mmol g^(-1) at 3- degree/1 bar in the vinyl benzyl chloride-co-divinyl benzene polymer formed cavities of 1 to 3 mm size and introduced –N-H and –SOOH functionalities (Chaterjee & Krupadam, 2019). The result further showed that CO2 selectivity over CH4 and N2 was about 83-87% and 87-91%, respectively. Mehrvarz, Ghoreyshi and Jahanshahi (2017: p. 420) also add that ‘the isosteric heat of adsorption (Qst) for CO2 at 298 and 303 K J mol-1 and this would be responsible for high CO2 adsorption energies and faster kinetics.

Merino-Garcia et al. (2017) found that the CO2 conversion using electrochemical method showed an improvement in productivity with the use of gas-diffusion electrode cells. The studies show that the direct usage of H2O and CO2 for fuel or chemical production looked promising. Whang et al. (2019) typify that the electrochemical technology of reducing CO2 is at its early stages as opposed with other CO2 capture technologies. A variety of materials have been tried as catalysts for reducing CO2 in the electrochemical method, and the catalysts ought to be tuned based upon the product targeted. Ren et al. (2019) propound that Ag and Au produce Bi, Sn, or CO produces formate, and Cu also produces hydrocarbons like C2H4. Therefore, Nano-structured catalysts should be optimized further, considering the gas-diffusion electrodes in the cell design. These methods offer a promising strategy in reducing CO2 emissions from sources, and thereby, cutting down on the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. Figure 1 shows the pathways of CO2 capture from sources such as chemical production, cement manufacture, iron and steel production, ammonia and hydrogen production, oil refining and electricity power generation.

The contribution aimed at inductively identifying relevant literature on renewable energy and CO2 capture technologies and usefully bridge the research gap on renewable energy and CO2 capture technologies. The findings show that Asia would be the highest generator of renewable energies by 2050, followed by North America, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa and Oceania. Similarly, the findings indicate that by 2050, Sub-Saharan Africa would be the least region to use non-renewable sources of energy, followed by Oceania, Latin America, Europe, Middle-East and North Africa, North America and Asia. While Asia would be the highest generator of renewable energy, the continent is projected to be the highest generator of non-renewable energy with China and India being the highest contributors on the continent. This is likely to increase the climatic conditions globally without achieving a zero-emissions as recommended by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Thus, the findings show that by 2050, renewable energy would increase from 5900.274GW in 2016 to 47536.27GW globally, while non-renewable energy would decrease from 18439.04GW in 2016 to 7778.975GW. The study again showed that Molecular Imprinting Technologies (MIT) with reusable adsorbent of amino acids, nanoparticles functionalized with the imprinted amino acids had a highly selective capture of CO2 and was likely to increase the selectivity rate over CH4 and N2 by 83-87% and 87-91%. Therefore, the study concludes that renewable energy, coupled with energy efficiency gains and CO2 Capture technologies, can provide a substantial decrease in the CO2 emissions reductions needed by 2050 and not necessarily achieving zero-emissions if not properly scaled-up.

The Scottish Government recognises the need to transition to a low-carbon economy. Current targets aim for the near-complete decarbonisation of Scottish energy by the year 2050 (Scottish Government, 2017). Renewable energy sources are a vital component of this plan and sufficient investment is needed to ensure adequate supplies of renewable energy are available to accommodate this transition.

The Government has outlined specific targets to facilitate the shift towards decarbonisation. The Scottish Energy System Strategy states that renewable sources will supply at least 50% of heat, transport and electricity consumption by 2030 (Scottish Government, 2017). An initial target was set in 2009 for 30% of heat, transport and electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020 (Scottish Government, 2009).

There was a slight reduction in energy consumption in the decade from 2009 to 2019 (Scottish Renewables, 2020) meaning that the current targets for transitioning to renewable energy sources are achievable. In order to meet these goals, it is important that the Scottish Government continues to prioritise off-shore wind energy opportunities, taking advantage of Scotland’s natural conditions which are prime for the installation of wind turbines (Nield, 2019).

Scotland uniquely offers an abundance of viable renewable energy sources from different technologies such as hydroelectric, marine and both off-shore and on-shore wind. Additionally, Scotland has 25% of Europe’s offshore wind and tidal resources (Scottish Development International, 2019) and over 60% of the UK’s onshore wind capacity (ibid) which allows for a wide scope of solutions to meet the energy target.

Reaching 50% of total renewable energy supply by 2030 is an ambitious goal and may become more challenging given the current uncertain market conditions in the context of the UK’s exit from the EU. The energy risks associated with Brexit include the threat of the UK …adopting a radical deregulatory approach that could significantly damage climate change progress (Gaventa, 2017, p.5). There is now greater uncertainty around the future of UK energy policy, and it is more difficult to ensure a steady supply, while also prioritising renewables.

The COVID-19 pandemic also has important consequences for the future of renewables. While COVID-19 has drastically reduced demand for energy temporarily because of reduced demand for transport and electricity, it has been noted that the recovery from the pandemic could be a useful opportunity to build back better. Taking this into account, the pandemic could be a catalyst to dramatically increase the use of renewable energy and low carbon infrastructure (Khanna, 2020). This suggests that the next 5 years mark a period of urgency for promoting renewable energy.

Several policy areas with relevance to the energy sector are not under devolved administration control such as energy efficiency and fuel poverty initiatives. This report will explore viable options and solutions for Scotland to reach its targets.

Continuing to build Scotland’s renewable energy capacity will enable the establishment of stable domestic industries, with the potential to export such technologies afar. This suggests that a move to renewables can be of benefit to the Scottish economy. In 2017, 17,700 people were employed full-time in renewable energy in Scotland (Scottish Renewables, 2021). WIth capacity to grow, it is clear that investing in renewables has significant economic potential for Scotland.

Firstly, Scotland has taken a holistic approach in meeting its renewable energy targets, with existing strategic priorities covering a wide range of approaches in fuel poverty, consumer engagement and industrial and domestic energy efficiency. These priorities have been in line with Scotland’s commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Scottish Government, 2020).

These strategic priorities on renewable energy targets will have to remain flexible in order to respond to changes in individual technologies and wider market developments. The nature of the UK’s exit from the EU is likely to have considerable impact on the UK’s ability to meet its Clean Growth Strategy, as it tries to manage growth losses from leaving the EU (Bank of England, 2019). Whilst the UK government has noted that leaving the EU presents an opportunity for the UK to move to a greener growth strategy (UK Government, 2017), the full effects of Brexit have not yet taken affect and as such may present difficulties in meeting the goals set in the Growth Strategy, and indeed Scotland’s goals set by the Scottish Government in The Scottish Energy System Strategy. International efforts to deliver the Paris Climate Agreement may also have a powerful bearing on progress.

However, in the realm of renewable and low carbon energy solutions, amongst a few initiatives, there is one primary policy in place, established in 2012 and known as the Renewable Energy Investment Fund (REIF) (Scottish Government, 2012). This fund provides significant capital finance to support renewable energy projects at all stages in its development from academic research, to testing, prototyping and post-launch stages in product development. In five years, the Fund has invested £60 million and supported over 20 projects (Scottish Enterprise, 2019).

Additionally, the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP) was launched in March 2015 (Scottish Government, 2020). This programme was created in order to increase the commercial attractiveness of Scotland for investors looking to fund low carbon infrastructure progress.

Data from Scottish Renewables highlights that onshore wind makes up the largest proportion of capacity from installed renewable technologies and renewable electricity output in Scotland (Scottish Renewables, 2020). Onshore wind technology makes up 71% of current installed capacity from renewable technologies and 63% of electricity output from renewable technologies (ibid). However, offshore wind technologies account for only 7% of installed capacity and 10% of electricity output from renewable technologies (ibid). In order to meet Scotland’s ambitious targets for renewable electricity sources, this imbalance in renewable energy sources should be addressed.

In terms of development, offshore wind is now substantially cheaper than new nuclear electricity generation. Renewable technology is only growing in popularity worldwide, meaning it is likely total spending on wind will climb to £210 billion within the next ten years (Scottish Government, n.d.). Furthermore, it is expected the price of wind turbines will decrease significantly by 2025 due to their increased popularity, lessening the price per unit of the resource (IEA, 2020). As such, investment in renewables has never been more cost-efficient.

Innovative and environmentally beneficial technological developments have also taken place in ways that are sure to benefit Scotland in the future. The advent of floating foundation technology has begun. These foundations allow access to deeper water as well as mitigate some of the issues associated with the initial installation of turbines as they do not have to be anchored to the seabed (International Renewable Energy Agency, 2016). This, again, reduces overall cost. Scotland was in fact the first country to experiment with this new technology; it is imperative that momentum is not lost and Scotland continues to utilise the natural resources at its disposal in a trailblazing yet responsible and sustainable fashion.

Off-shore wind energy production provides a unique opportunity for Scotland to meet its renewable energy targets. Over the past forty years, the Scottish energy sector has had success and gained extensive experience in offshore energy production through oil and gas ventures (Scottish Development International, 2021). This has given Scotland an experienced offshore labour force and the port and offshore infrastructure necessary for the development of offshore wind technology (ibid). It is already well understood that Scotland has appealing natural conditions for offshore wind expansion (Scottish Government, 2017). Expansion of off-shore wind energy technologies should be prioritised, in order to meet Scotland’s targets for renewable energy.

In order to reach its ambitious renewable energy goals, policymakers in Scotland must continue to invest in renewable technologies and diversify energy sources. Opportunities to invest in offshore wind energy options in Scotland should be taken advantage of as these energy sources are well-suited to Scotland’s existing industry knowledge and expertise, as well as our natural landscape. The prioritisation of Scotland’s off-shore wind energy opportunities, whilst maintaining progress in other renewable energy technology developments, will put Scotland on a path to meet current renewable energy targets.