Renewable Energy Facts: Interesting Stats About Alternative Energy You Must Know

When it comes to fighting the climate change crisis, renewable energy is one of the most reliable solutions.

Renewable energy is harmless, natural, and in most cases, cheaper than non-renewable resources such as crude oil, coal, and gases.

Renewable energy is a form of clean energy that comes from natural sources such as the wind, the sun, the sea, and the earth itself.

By making use of clean energy, we can greatly help reduce our carbon footprint, combat air pollution, and lessen the threat to our oceans.

As the current climate crisis continues to get worse, renewable energy should be number one on our priority lists.

So let’s open our eyes to 20 amazing renewable energy facts that everyone should know.

Renewable & Alternative Energy Facts

1. Romans were the pioneers of geothermal energy

Romans were the first people to use geothermal energy to heat their homes. They would use the energy to heat their floors and walls.

2. Siemens built the first-ever commercial offshore wind turbine 30 years ago

The blades of the first turbine by Siemens were 5 meters long and produced just 30 kilowatts of power. The latest turbine model has 75-meter blades and produces 6 megawatts. This is 25,000 times more than the first turbine. The power from the latest model is enough to power 6,000 homes.

3. Renewable energy sources can be replenished

Renewable energy sources come from natural sources and can be replenished. The main forms of renewable energy are solar, wind, hydro, biofuel, and geothermal. These sources are all self-replenishing.

4. Renewable energy creates three times more jobs than fossil fuels

Facts about renewable energy show that job creation in clean energy is more than that of fossil fuels by a margin of 3-to-1. For every dollar put into clean energy three times more jobs are created compared to putting that same dollar into oil and gas.

5. One wind turbine can power thousands of homes

One 2.5 MW wind turbine can generate enough electricity to power over 1,400 households annually.

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6. The sun is all we need

If harnessed efficiently, just one hour of sunlight is enough to meet the entire world’s energy demands for a whole year.

7. Renewable energy does not emit greenhouse gases

Unlike fossil fuels, renewable sources of energy do not directly emit greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gasses are believed to be the main cause of global warming.

Related article: Disadvantages of Fossil Fuels 

8. Countries are embracing renewable energy

In the UK, a third of its electricity in 2019 was generated from renewable energy sources, like wind and solar power. In 2019, the EU directed 45% of energy subsidies to renewable energy sources. In 2016, Portugal made history by running on renewable energy alone for 107 hours.

9. The U.S. has not been left behind

According to clean energy facts, in 2009 the United States consumed a total of 7.7 quadrillion Btu of renewable energy. This was about 8 percent of all energy used nationally.

10. Solar energy could be our main source of power soon

Experts predict that solar power may account for the world’s main source of power by 2050.

Related article: Ways to Save Energy

11. Airplane flies on solar power

In 1990, a solar-powered airplane flew across the United States in stages, using no fuel at all.

12. World’s first 24/7 solar power plant

In 2016, California’s renewable energy firm SolarReserve commissioned the world’s first 24/7 solar power plant in the Nevada Desert. The plant powered 75,000 homes for 3 hours a day.

13. Tech corporations trying to be leaders in green energy

Tech giants, Google, Apple, and Facebook are leading the pack in creating a ‘green internet’. The tech companies are each using increasingly green energy to power the web.

14. China builds two wind turbines every hour

China is the biggest generator of wind power in the world. The country builds and installs two wind turbines every hour.

15. 100% of Iceland’s energy is supplied by geothermal and hydropower sources

Iceland has an abundance of renewable energy from geothermal sources due to numerous volcanoes. Facts about renewable resources place Iceland as the world’s largest green energy producer per capita.

16. In the UK, wind power is the most harnessed source of green energy

In 2017, the UK created around 15% of its electricity using wind turbines. That’s enough to power 12.7 million homes.

17. Albert Einstein paves way for solar panels

Albert Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the photoelectric effect in 1921. This discovery led to the invention of solar panels.

18. The renewable energy industry is growing fast

Green energy facts indicate that the global renewable market could be worth $1,512.3.6 bn by 2025.

19. We have a huge resource base for renewable energy

Alternative energy facts show the world’s resource base for geothermal energy is larger than the resource base for coal, oil, gas and uranium combined.

20. Hydropower is the biggest source of renewable energy

According to renewable energy facts, over 100 cities in the world rely on renewable energy to generate around 70% of their power. Hydropower is the biggest source of this energy, followed by wind and solar energy.

Why is Renewable Energy Important?

Renewable energy sources have a wealth of benefits to the people, the economy and the planet in general. Here are some of the biggest benefits:

Inexhaustible energy

Sources of renewable energy are in abundant supply and can be replenished. These sources can provide us with a vast and inexhaustible supply of energy.

Less global warming

Electricity production is our biggest source of greenhouse gases. Unlike fossil fuels, renewable energy sources do not emit greenhouse gases.

Improved public health

Air and water pollution emitted by coal and natural gas plants is linked with breathing problems, neurological damage, heart attacks, cancer, premature death, and a host of other serious problems. Wind, solar, and hydroelectric systems generate electricity without emitting any air or water pollution.

Economic boost

Fossil fuel technologies are typically mechanized and capital intensive while the renewable energy industry is more labor-intensive. This means that on average, more jobs are created for each unit of electricity generated from renewable sources than from fossil fuels.

Conclusion

As you can see from these renewable energy facts, renewable energy is by far better for our health, our economy, and, most importantly, our planet.

Fossil fuels may be an easy and cheap source of energy, they are slowly depleting our nonrenewable resources and destroying our planet. It’s therefore clear that this is the time to switch to green energy!

Sources: Clean Technica, Green Energy Development, Fortune, National Geographic

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