Cement, Energy and Environment

GW by 2020, to more than 460 GW by 2050. PV on the other hand is poised for a huge leap from 150 GW in 2020 to 962 GW by 2050. As regards contribution of RE technologies to electricity consumption (TWh), by 2020, the largest contribution will come from wind (477 TWh), hydropower (384 TWh) and biomass (180 TWh) . By 2030, this picture changes slightly and wind (833 TWh) will be closely followed by PV (556 TWh) and hydropower (398 TWh). Wind and PV continue being the largest contributors up to 2050, but geothermal electricity will see the biggest increase in absolute terms between 2030 and 2050 (+72%). While the increase of concentrated solar power (CSP) and ocean energy between 2020 and 2030 remains moderate, both technologies will see a significant increase towards 2050, accounting for about 8 per cent and 3.2 per cent respectively of the EU's total electricity demand. Renewable heating and cooling up to 2050 The heating and cooling sector accounts for 49 per cent of the overall final energy demand in the EU and will most likely maintain a high share in the future too . In order to meet the EU target of 20 per cent by 2020, the share of renewable heating and cooling (RES-H&C) needs to almost triple compared to the current share of about 10%. Between 2020 and 2050, RES-H&C is expected to witness an increase of about 30% amounting to around 470 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 2050. Biomass will remain the main source of renewable heat supply up to 2050, while geothermal is expected to provide about 140 Mtoe of the heat demand, and solar thermal would follow closely behind with more than 120 Mtoe, supplying about 26 per cent of the EU's total heat consumption. Renewable transport up to 2050 The transport sector in Europe is heavily dependent on oil with total GHG emissions form this sector (excluding international aviation and maritime transport) increasing by 26 per cent between 1990 and 2007. As per the Renewable Energy Directive issued by the EU, the share of renewable energy in transport should be at least 10 per cent by 2020, and a large chunk of this is expected to be met by biofuels. A significant increase in biofuel production is predicted for the post-2020 years when advanced conversion technologies such as lignocellulosic bioethonal attain commercialization. During the period 2020-50, biofuels production is expected to increase threefold from 34 Mtoe to 102 Mtoe. The share of renewable transport fuels in overall final energy consumption is expected to increase from 3 per cent by 2020 to 4 per cent by 2030 and to 10 per cent by 2050. In terms of the share of RE in total transport fuel demand, this equals about 12 per cent by 2030 and approximately 70 per cent by 2050. Courtesy: Green Energy, Vo/.6, No.5, Sep-Oct.2010, Pl. CALIFORNIA LEADS THE WAY IN RE POLICY AND DEVELOPMENT California has always remained in the forefront of renewable energy promotion and the industry has been receiving support through the enactment of various enabling policies. In 1998, the California Energy Commission launched the Renewable Energy Programme to help increase total renewable electricity production statewide. The programme sought to support existing renewable electricity facilities through various incentives, stimulate renewable market growth by providing rebates to purchasers of on-site RE generation, and inform the 70