Technology Status - NET Nowak Energie & Technologie AG

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Renewables are the second largest contributor to global electricity
production. They accounted for 19% of power generation in 2000, after coal
(39%), but ahead of nuclear (17%), natural gas (17%) and oil (8%). Most of the
electricity generated from renewables comes from hydro plants (92%)
followed by combustible renewables and waste (5%) and “new” renewables
(3%) including geothermal, solar, wind, tide and others.
Despite the small contribution to global electricity production, “new”
renewables made remarkable progress during the past decades growing by
an average of 9.3% per annum during the period 1971-2000. These growth
rates reflect a 52% p.a. growth in wind energy, 32.5% p.a. growth in
solar energy and 8.8% p.a. growth in geothermal energy during this
period – albeit from a very low base, according to the IEA’s “Renewables
Information 2002.”
Yet, “new” renewables have not fully entered into the mainstream of the
power sector. To accomplish more widespread use, renewables will continue
to depend on a supportive policy environment, vigorous investment in R&D,
and improved management procedures by utilities for on-grid use.
Renewables for Power Generation 2003: Status and Prospects brings together
for the first time the available technical and cost data for the six most
dynamic renewable energy technologies for power generation: wind
power, geothermal power, biopower, concentrating solar power, solar
photovoltaics, and small hydropower. This international comparison allows
a realistic assessment of the cost reduction and technological development
potential of these technologies and their likely market expansion in the
coming years. The publication hopes to assist policy makers by supplying an
accurate and comprehensive overview of the most promising renewable
energy technologies and their prospects for mainstream use.
The Dynamics of Technology Progress and
Market Growth
To build a policy environment that is effective in furthering renewables’
progress toward the mainstream, policy makers should recognise that
technology development and market experience are strongly inter-linked
and can function as a “virtuous cycle” (see Figure 1). The virtuous cycle takes
into account the positive and reinforcing relationships between technology
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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