The next few years are predicted to be good ones in terms of overall growth for the global power industry, with the latest forecasts expecting annual average regional growth of 1.3 per cent between 2011 and 2015. But what does this mean for specific countries or specific types of energy, such as renewables?
Hitting renewable energy targets is expected to loom ever more prominent in the coming years. For example, all members of the European Union have agreed to reduce their energy consumption to meet EU targets by 2020, while President Obama arguably made a bolder assertion in his State of the Union Address 2011 in which he called for 80 per cent of all US electricity to be generated by renewable sources by 2035.
How will these ambitious targets be achieved? At present, wind power shows the greatest promise in many countries, with offshore wind technology expected to play an ever larger role in power generation for countries that benefit from the geographical possibilities of kinetic energy. Several European nations have committed themselves to developing offshore wind installations, including France, Germany and the UK, while North America's own plans have been hindered by delays in final approval.
Solar power is another common renewable energy source that shouldn't be overlooked in the years to come, with the year 2010-11 seeing solar power gain prominence in the US in particular. This is partly thanks to declining costs for solar PV panels and other equipment that should serve to make solar power more affordable by everyone within the next decade.
As far as traditional combustion fuel sources are concerned, the market share of coal will shrink significantly in the years ahead, whereas the share of natural gas will rise. This is sure to be welcomed by environmentalists, who have long pointed out the cleaner benefits of natural gas over coal.
Another aspect of energy production that can't be overlooked when analysing industry trends is nuclear power, which still contributes a significant proportion of total electricity generation for many countries. However, high profile incidents such as the nuclear accidents in Japan are expected to polarise public opinion over nuclear power even more in the next few years - possibly to the point that more countries follow Italy's example and impose a ban on nuclear power generation.
Seven nuclear plants have already been shut down in Germany following the Fukushima accident, while France remains one of the most committed nations to nuclear energy in the EU.
Paul Buchanan writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.
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