RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES ON THE RISE:
BEYOND FOSSIL FUELS
Alternate and renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, biofuel,
geothermal and others, have frequently
made the headlines in recent years, driven
partly by worries over imported oil and
the need for national energy independence, but also by discussion of possible
regulation concerning greenhouse gas
emissions. Laws in many areas of this
country now require a certain percentage
of energy be from renewable sources, so
utilities are working hard to develop or
purchase alternate forms of energy.
RENEWABLES GROWING
EVERYWHERE
China has been building coal-fired power
plants at a frantic pace for some time now,
but in recent years, the country has also
ramped up alternate energy. A Nov. 18,
2009 article in RenewableEnergy World.com
reports China plans to spend $2 trillion over
the next 20 years to restructure the way it
produces and consumes energy, which could
represent a great opportunity for American
companies. Meanwhile, Germany, which
already has a substantial installed base of
renewables, plans to have half of its primary
energy consumption come from renewables
by 2050, according to Germany Trade & Invest.
In Canada, federal energy minister Lisa Raitt
recently reported that 73% of her country’s
energy already comes from renewable
resources and that by 2010, 90% of electricity will be generated from clean, renewable
sources.
Meanwhile, here in the U.S., the Energy
Information Administration reports that just
As the nation—and the world— struggles to find ways to depend less on non-renewable resources, valves and actuators will play critical roles in solar, wind and geothermal applications. BY PETER CLEAVELAND
