1. Renewable energy

2. Overview

3. In 2008, about 19% of global final energy consumption came from renewables 13% is coming from traditional biomass Renewable energy replaces conventional fuels in four distinct areas: power generation, hot water/ space heating, transport fuels, and rural (off-grid) energy services volatility in fuel prices and supplies

4. World top renewable electricity producers 1.China 2.USA 3.Brazil 4.Canada 5.Russia 6.India 7.Norway

5. UK The UK still only gets 1.8% of its energy from renewables The UK is committed to producing 15% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 Due to the island location of the UK, the country has great potential for generating electricity from wave powerand tidal power.

6. Developing country markets In rural and remote areas, transmission and distribution of energy generated from fossil fuels can be difficult and expensive Producing renewable energy locally can offer a viable alternative Renewable energy projects in many developing countries have demonstrated that renewable energy can directly contribute to poverty alleviation by providing the energy needed for creating businesses and employment indirect contributions to alleviating poverty by providing energy for cooking, space heating, and lighting,electricity to schools.

7. Criticism: not cheap, not clean hydro for river habitat destruction, solar for desert overdevelopment, highly uneconomic, land intensive biomass for air emissions, uneconomic much of it is currently used in ways that are neither renewable nor sustainable. geothermal (steam energy that is generated by the Earth's heated core) for depletion and toxic discharges

8. Wind power Wind power is currently the environmentalists' favorite source of renewable energy and is thought be the most likely renewable energy source to replace fossil fuel in the generation of electricity in the 21st century however wind remains uneconomic despite heavy subsidies from ratepayers and taxpayers over the last two decades. wind farms are noisy, land intensive, unsightly, and hazardous to birds, including endangered species Unreliable: peak demand for electricity and peak wind speeds do not always coincide air emissions associated with the construction of wind capacity

9. Traditional sources Natural gas, in fact, has emerged as a fierce competitor over subsidized renewable generatio. Decreased air pollution from existing and new natural-gas-powered plants