RenewableS 2013 GlObal STaTUS RePORT - REN21

■■Heating and Cooling Sector
Modern biomass, solar thermal, and geothermal energy
currently supply hot water and space heating (and some cooling
with the use of heat pumps and absorption chillers) for tens
of millions of domestic and commercial buildings worldwide.
These resources are also used to supply heat for industrial
processing and agricultural applications. Passive solar building
designs provide a significant amount of heat (and light), and
their numbers are on the rise, but due to lack of data they are
not included in this report.
Modern biomass accounts for the vast majority of renewable
heating worldwide. 61 Europe is the leading region for bio-heat
consumption, but demand is rising elsewhere, and biogas is
becoming an increasingly important source of cooking fuel in a
growing number of developing countries. 62
Solar collectors are used in more than 56 countries worldwide
for water (and increasingly for space) heating in homes, schools,
hospitals, hotels, and government and commercial buildings. 63
Their use is extensive in China, where solar water heaters cost
less over their lifetimes than do natural gas or electric heaters. 64
Geothermal energy is used by at least 78 countries for direct
heating purposes, including district heat systems, bathing
and swimming applications, industrial purposes, agricultural
drying, and other uses. 65 Ground-source heat pumps can both
heat and cool space and represent the largest and historically
fastest-growing segment of geothermal direct use. 66
Use of renewable energy technologies for heating and cooling is
still limited relative to their potential for meeting global demand.
But interest is on the rise, and countries (particularly in the EU)
are starting to better track the share of heat derived from renewable
sources and to enact supporting policies. For example,
renewables met 10.4% of Germany’s heating demand (mostly
with biomass) in 2012, and Denmark has banned the use of
fossil-fuel fired boilers in new buildings as of 2013. 67 Consumers
in some countries—including Denmark, Japan, and the United
Kingdom—now can choose “green heat” through voluntary
purchasing programmes, although options are relatively limited
compared to green power. 68
Trends in the heating (and cooling) sector include the use of
larger systems, increasing use of combined heat and power
(CHP), the feeding of renewable heat and cooling into district
schemes, and the growing use of renewable heat for industrial
purposes. In addition, some EU countries are starting to see
hybrid systems that link solar thermal and other heat sources,
such as biomass. Some are using district heat systems (often
based on renewable sources) to balance electricity generation
from variable sources, for example by using excess power
generation on very windy days to heat water directly or with
heat pumps. 69
■■TransportATION Sector
Renewable energy is currently used in the transport sector in
the form of liquid and gaseous biofuels, as well as electricity for
trains and electric vehicles, and it offers the potential to power
fuel-cell vehicles through renewably produced hydrogen.
Liquid biofuels currently provide over 2.5% of global transport
fuels (3.4% of road transport fuels and a very small but growing
share of aviation fuels), and account for the largest share of
transport fuels derived from renewable energy sources. 70
Limited but growing quantities of gaseous biofuels (mainly
biomethane from purified biogas) are fuelling cars, local trains,
buses, and other vehicles in several EU countries (most notably
Germany and Sweden) and in some communities in North
America and elsewhere. 71 Plans are under way in many countries,
including in the Middle East and Asia, to develop facilities
for biomethane production and vehicle fuelling. 72
Electricity is used to power trains, city transit, and a growing
number of electric passenger road vehicles and motorised
cycles, scooters, and motor bikes. There are limited but
increasing initiatives to link electric transport systems with
renewable electricity. In early 2013, for example, Deutsche
Bahn announced plans for at least 75% of long-distance journeys
in Germany to be powered by renewable energy. 73 In some
locations, particularly at the local level, electric transport is tied
directly to renewable electricity through specific projects and
policies. (See Policy Landscape section.)
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Renewables 2013 Global Status Report 25