Commercialization of Renewable Energy

The ways to popularize the use of renewable energy or the commercialization of renewable energy is the most pertinent and recurrent issue doing the rounds in any discussion on environmental issues. The global concern over the depletion of reserves of non-renewable energy and the phenomenon of environmental pollution has made environmentalists all over the world sit up and take notice of the present scenario. The development of the different technologies that have played an important role in the use of renewable sources of energy can be divided into three distinct stages. The first stage occurred during the Industrial Revolution of 1750 in England and included methods like biomass combustion, use of hydroelectric power along with the use of geothermal energy. The technological advances that were made during the second stage included the invention of solar heating devices, power generated from windmills and solar photo voltaic projects. On the other hand, the third generation of technology resulted in the discovery and subsequent use of ocean energy and geothermal power.

The various renewable sources of energy include wind, tides, sunlight and geothermal heat. An estimate of the increase in wind energy, according to the Global Wind Energy Council, is 74,223 MW. There has been a significant contribution from this sector to the total energy production with Spain and Germany leading the way in this regard.

Solar energy is probably the most widely used form of renewable energy. This energy helps to generate a large volume, close to billions of kilowatt hours of electricity. Geothermal energy is put to commercial use in a large number of countries. Renewable energy commercialization is the top priority of environmentalists looking forward to a greener and brighter future.