Renewable energy sources -
Hydropower harnesses the energy of water moving from higher to lower elevations. It can be generated from reservoirs and rivers.
Reservoir hydropower plants rely on stored water in a reservoir, while run-of-river hydropower plants harness energy from the available flow of the river. Hydropower reservoirs often have multiple uses - providing drinking water, water for irrigation, flood and drought control, navigation services, as well as energy supply.
Hydropower currently is the largest source of renewable energy in the electricity sector. It relies on generally stable rainfall patterns, and can be negatively impacted by climate-induced droughts or changes to ecosystems which impact rainfall patterns.
The infrastructure needed to create hydropower can also impact on ecosystems in adverse ways. For this reason, many consider small-scale hydro a more environmentally-friendly option , and especially suitable for communities in remote locations. Ocean energy derives from technologies that use the kinetic and thermal energy of seawater - waves or currents for instance - to produce electricity or heat.
Ocean energy systems are still at an early stage of development, with a number of prototype wave and tidal current devices being explored. The theoretical potential for ocean energy easily exceeds present human energy requirements. Bioenergy is produced from a variety of organic materials, called biomass, such as wood, charcoal, dung and other manures for heat and power production, and agricultural crops for liquid biofuels.
Most biomass is used in rural areas for cooking, lighting and space heating, generally by poorer populations in developing countries. Modern biomass systems include dedicated crops or trees, residues from agriculture and forestry, and various organic waste streams.
Energy created by burning biomass creates greenhouse gas emissions, but at lower levels than burning fossil fuels like coal, oil or gas.
However, bioenergy should only be used in limited applications, given potential negative environmental impacts related to large-scale increases in forest and bioenergy plantations, and resulting deforestation and land-use change.
International Energy Agency Renewables. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Renewable Sources of Energy. UN Environment Programme Roadmap to a Carbon-Free Future.
Sustainable Energy for All Renewable Energy. What is renewable energy and why does it matter? Second, solar photovoltaic technology uses solar cells to convert sunlight directly into electricity.
The potential for solar energy varies across Canada. The potential is lower in coastal areas, due to increased cloud coverage, and is higher in the central regions.
The solar potential varies even more around the globe. In general, many Canadian cities have a solar potential that is comparable internationally with that of many major cities. Installed capacity for solar thermal power has seen annual compound growth rate of The period was marked by the significant growth of installed capacity for solar photovoltaic power, which in , reached 1, megawatts of installed capacity.
In the first instance, geothermal energy can be captured from naturally occurring underground steam and be used to produce electricity. In the second instance, heating and cooling can be achieved by taking advantage of the temperature differential between outside air and the ground or groundwater.
The highest temperature geothermal resources are located in British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Alberta; heat and power generation projects are being considered with the demonstration projects under way.
The South Meager project in British Columbia is the most advanced geothermal power project in Canada. Furthermore, in , there were over 95, ground-source heat pumps representing about 1, megawatts of thermal energy MWth of installed capacity and producing an estimated 1, gigawatt hours equivalent annually.
The ocean is a vast source of energy that can be harnessed to produce different forms of usable energy. For instance, technologies have been developed to convert the energy of ocean waves and tides into electricity or other useful forms of power.
However, a number of technical, economic and environmental barriers remain and, as a result, ocean energy is currently not a widely exploited energy source. Being landlocked only along its southern border, much of Canada is surrounded by oceans, meaning it has access to a significant energy potential.
Currently, Canada has a tidal power plant in Nova Scotia with a generating capacity of 20 megawatts of electricity. Tidal current technology demonstration projects have been deployed in British Columbia and Nova Scotia.
Over the next several years, roughly 13 megawatts of tidal current capacity is expected to be installed in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia. You will not receive a reply.
For enquiries, contact us. Content Key Descriptors What is Renewable Energy? Hydro Energy Bioenergy Wind Energy Solar Energy Geothermal Energy Ocean Energy Key Descriptors Canada, with its large landmass and diversified geography, has substantial renewable resources that can be used to produce energy; these resources include moving water, wind, biomass, solar, geothermal, and ocean energy.
Renewable energy sources currently provide about Moving water is the most important renewable energy source in Canada, providing In fact, Canada is the second largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world.
Wind is the second most important renewable energy source in Canada. It accounts for 3. Wind and solar photovoltaic energy are the fastest growing sources of electricity in Canada.
What is Renewable Energy? The Renewable Energy Universe Larger image Text Version The table describes the renewable energy transformational universe from the state of a natural resource to the state of useful forms of energy. Larger image Text Version The bar chart displays installed wind power capacity in Canada since , in megawatts.
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Date modified: Traditional biomass — which can be an important energy source in lower-income settings is not included. Note that this data is based on primary energy calculated by the 'substitution method' which attempts to correct for the inefficiencies in fossil fuel production.
It does this by converting non-fossil fuel sources to their 'input equivalents': the amount of primary energy that would be required to produce the same amount of energy if it came from fossil fuels. Approximately one-seventh of the world's primary energy is now sourced from renewable technologies.
Note that this is based on renewable energy's share in the energy mix. Energy consumption represents the sum of electricity, transport, and heating.
We look at the electricity mix later in this article. In the section above we looked at what share renewable technologies collectively accounted for in the energy mix. In the charts shown here, we look at the breakdown of renewable technologies by their components — hydropower, solar, wind, and others.
The first chart shows this as a stacked area chart, which allows us to more readily see the breakdown of the renewable mix and the relative contribution of each. The second chart is shown as a line chart, allowing us to see more clearly how each source is changing over time.
Globally we see that hydropower is by far the largest modern renewable source. But we also see wind and solar power are both growing rapidly. In the sections above we looked at the role of renewables in the total energy mix.
This includes not only electricity but also transport and heating. Electricity forms only one component of energy consumption. Since transport and heating tend to be harder to decarbonize — they are more reliant on oil and gas — renewables tend to have a higher share in the electricity mix versus the total energy mix.
This interactive chart shows the share of electricity that comes from renewable technologies. Globally, almost one-third of our electricity comes from renewables. Hydroelectric power has been one of our oldest and largest sources of low-carbon energy. Hydroelectric generation at scale dates back more than a century, and is still our largest renewable source — excluding traditional biomass, it still accounts for approximately half of renewable generation.
However, the scale of hydroelectric power generation varies significantly across the world. This interactive chart shows its contribution by country.
This interactive chart shows the share of primary energy that comes from hydropower. This interactive chart shows the share of electricity that comes from hydropower.
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