Renewable Energy Systems

With a tremendous increase in the global population, the world reaches new heights in terms of energy needs. The acceleration in the population growth with accompanying higher energy needs poses new issues. The world population was 2.6 billion in 1950, which now tops 7.6 billion and is expected to become 9–10 billion by 2050, which means that the population-doubling period of the world is half a century. The primary energy demand has increased more than 45% in the last 20 years, and this is just the beginning. By 2035, it is expected that the global energy consumption will increase by 35% and 50% by 2050. The end-use energy consumption by industry, in buildings, and in transportation is set to grow
by 45%, 30%, and 40%, respectively. Therefore, an exponential growth in energy need driven by the increasing population and increased use of technology dependent on electrical energy is imminent. The renewable energy resources have made a significant progress in the past 25 years. The environmentalists are drawn to the importance of renewable energy by the emerging threat of climate change. On the other hand, the economists fret about the cost of replacing the fossil fuels. Despite all the controversies, the nonrenewable fuels (fossils) are already being replaced by the renewables as world’s primary energy resources, which is an inevitable and impactful development in this modern world. The change
from petroleum products to renewables in the 21st-century mirrors past energy advances in human history, that is, from wood to coal for heat, and from animal feed to oil for transportation. Recent trends show a significant increase in the use of renewable energy with a global increase of up to 2%–3% in 2020 alone. Moreover, the renewables’ share in global electricity generation increased to 29% in 2020 as compared to 27% in 2019. Therefore, the renewables are on a track to set the new benchmarks in 2021. In 2021, the electricity generation from renewables is set to expand by more than 8% (to reach 8,300 TWh), which is the fastest year-on-year growth since the 1970s. Two-thirds of this renewable growth
is shared by solar photovoltaics (PVs) and wind. Moreover, China accounts for about half of the global increase in electricity generation in 2021 followed by the USA, the European Union, and India.