Renewables could supply 99.5 of power by 2050
UNITED KINGDOM - Renewable energies could furnish 99.5 percent of European Union electricity needs by 2050 if nuclear loses its priority access to distribution networks, Greenpeace said in a report recently released.
The environmental campaigners said that windfarms are "often stopped in peak production periods to give priority access" to electricity generated by nuclear reactors and coal-fired power stations.
Greenpeace researchers said that solar energy in Europe's south and wind energy from the north could supply 68 percent of the 27-nation EU's electricity needs in 2030 and 99.5 percent by the middle of the century.
However, the group claimed that would require governments to change policy tack and favor investments in green energy to the tune of 94 billion dollars by 2030.
"It's a question of choice," said campaign figurehead Jan Vande Putte.
Renewables produced 16.1 percent of German electricity needs in 2009, more than double the total six years earlier, according to the German federation of renewable energy producers.
Greenpeace is trying to influence the debate in the run-up to a February 4 summit of EU leaders representing half a billion people.
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WASHINGTON - Last year saw wind generation in the U.S. overtake hydroelectric generation for the first time, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Released Wednesday, the figures from the EIA’s “Electric Power Monthly” report show that yearly wind generation hit a little over 300 million megawatt hours (MWh) in 2019. This was roughly 26 million MWh more than hydroelectric production.
Wind now represents the “most-used renewable electricity generation source” in the U.S., the EIA said.
Overall, total renewable electricity generation — which includes sources such as solar photovoltaic, geothermal and landfill gas — at utility scale facilities hit more…
