Renewable energy has been increasingly available for user consumption every year. This is so because the populace has clearly seen the benefits of green energy in their day-to-day activities. It has become not only cheap but also environment-friendly. Ozone-friendly energy source has won the hearts of many and is becoming a necessary commodity that people need to fully comprehend and utilize.
2020 was a year when renewable energy took a new turn as the pandemic hit the entire world. The year taught the world a unique lesson of maximizing renewable sources of energy. It promoted the advent of non-expendable energy sources alongside technological facilities used to advance such innovation. The surge in leading technological edge has extended into 2021.
An example is the US economy, which has experienced a dramatic upward turn after the pandemic, as the energy sector revived and increased its total capacity output to more than 17 GW of solar power; other sources of clean energy also experienced a similar upsurge.
To better comprehend the major catalyst of improvement in clean energy, it is interesting to dig deeper into the pile to help boost the future success of manufacturing industries and domestic use.
For this article, Computing News has put together some of the renewable energy trends in 2021.
Contents
Trends in Solar Energy
Solar power is one of the commonest renewable sources of energy highly used. Perhaps, the reason is the fact that it is not only cost-effective, but it saves energy by a great deal. Industries have long employed the full utilization of this huge energy source. New industries are also beginning to embrace this technological innovation. They subscribe to services that provide solar energy as a good alternative of energy instead of releasing carbon monoxide into the ozone.
According to research, the rate at which solar fittings were installed increased in the US between the third quarter and the fourth quarter of 2020. Before this time, there was a drastic reduction in the installation by more than 17% in the first quarter of the same year. The increase in solar panel installation since 2020 has long continued into 2021, as people in residential areas and the corporate world are beginning to see the benefits of owning these solar fittings.
Despite the lockdown imposed by the country’s government, the Chinese economy also experienced a sudden increase in solar installation purchase. It is interesting to know that there is a set target of eradicating total carbon emission from the country before 2060.
Trends in Geothermal Energy
Though solar energy is a sustainable energy source, the heat generated below the ground can also be a good substitute to warm your house during winter. Rather than waiting for your air vent to be powered electrically to produce heat in your room, geothermal energy can save you bucks of dollars if it is already installed in your apartment.
It has been confirmed that the ground temperature, even in winter, is about 560. This infers that the provision of heat in your room can be sufficiently sustained throughout the winter period. Adopting this energy source has the prospect of cutting down on cost and increasing easy access to comfort.
Trends in Bio-fuels
Over the years, there have been an increasing popular acceptance and demand for industries that have embraced bio-fuel energy resource. One of the instances is that people patronize grocery sellers who have stopped the usage of synthetic packaging materials and embraced recyclable bags.
Another example is that of the fashion industry, where many stakeholders, including producers, sellers, and buyers, have developed increasing cravings for choosing the path of pursuing the renewable source of fabrics. They left off the trail of non-recyclable textile materials to go after an eco-friendly source of materials.
Yet another profound paradigm shift is the increase in bio-fuel usage in the contemporary world and the goal to make it one of the most affordable and accessible sources of energy in 2030. Research is currently ongoing on the best way to greatly reduce total dependence on carbon-dioxide-related fuels. The manufacture and assembly of more sophisticated ships, airplanes, and motor vehicles are in progress to meet this agenda. And as such, there would be increased efficiency in engine functionality.
Though the future of biofuels is bright, there is still some impediment to its fruition. Some of these challenges include the effective implementation of policy guiding the projection, support of government agencies, and operational cost availability for the desired outcome of the sustainability goal.
Trends in Wave Energy
Wave energy is another source of clean energy. It is produced when a strong wind blows on the seawater, which further produces waves with a great supply of kinetic energy. The energy produced depends on the magnitude of the wave. The energy generated from wave energy could be transformed into electrical energy by big generators positioned at the bottom of the sea for domestic uses, desalination, and related purposes.
There is a good prospect for energy developed from wave, which promises great output of energy capacity. However, a major challenge is the irregularities of ocean waves which come in different magnitude and could sometimes be destructive. This has reduced innovations in this aspect, especially in the generation of electricity.
Trends in Hydropower
Though the advent of Covid-19 has greatly hampered the execution of hydropower projects, there is a great propensity for progress in the developed countries. With government-assisted projects, it is safe to say that hydropower energy production will shift by approximately 2% from 1308 GW in 2020 to 1498 GW in 2021.
The ongoing scenario is a clear indicator that there will be a significant decrease in carbon fuel dependency, especially with the numerous anticipated hydropower projects in the Asia-Pacific region. The rate at which hydropower projects are being installed has increased by more than 3.5% gigawatts across Southern Asia.
Their counterpart areas which include Pacific areas and East Asia, have increased their capability significantly and have maintained their leading position since three years ago up till the current year in their prowess for production of hydropower electricity.
However, some impediments may tend to affect the completion of future hydropower projects. These include expensive overhead cost; an extensive period of completion may decelerate the rate at which such projects gets completed.
Conclusion
Innovations in the technology world, especially in the provision of solar power and related sources of clean energy, have proven one point: Growth of industries.
The revolution has fueled a radical increase in clean energy usage for domestic purposes and largely industrial use, which culminates to positively affect the overall economy of countries that have adopted clean energy sources.