Renewable energy is becoming more mainstream now humanity realizes that fossils fuels and nuclear are not the energy of the future. Here are some interesting facts about renewable energy.
- Subsidies to fossil fuels worldwide outweigh renewable energy support by a ratio of 12:1
- By 2050 Renewable energy has the potential to meet 95% of our energy demands by 2050.
- Clean energy creates three times more jobs than fossil fuels.
- All the sunlight reaching our planet in an hour is enough to meet our annual demand
- Since 2014, the European country of Denmark has been generating around 40% of its electricity needs from wind power
- When fully completed the Gansu Wind Farm in China may become the world’s biggest collective windfarm
- South Africa receives more than twice as much sunshine than Germany, where over 15 percent of the national electricity supply comes from renewable sources. South Africa is not even near that amount as of 2015
- At the end of 2014 approximately 600 MW of wind and 1 000 MW of PV (Solar Power) are already online. (Excluding small scale developments for own use)
The potential for renewable energy in South Africa is enormous and as a country we should actively promote and invest in this technology.