The 5 sources of renewable electricity

The production of renewable electricity is based on 5 different sources: hydraulic power, wind power, the biomass, solar power and geothermal sources.

Hydraulic power

The principal of hydroelectricity is based of the use of the power of water, obtained by the force generated by difference in water levels, which is used to power turbines to generate electricity.
Hydraulic power groups together very different forms, from a few kilowatts generated by a small water mill to several gigawatts generated by a large dam.
Small hydraulic power plants include installations with capacity of less than 10MW. Their development encourages the production of electricity integrated into ecosystems with a minimum impact.
In 2004, more than 90% of the production of renewable electricity was generated from hydraulic power (1).

An example to follow: the Norwegian model with 99% of electricity produced by hydroelectric plants.

Wind Power

The principal of wind power is based on the conversion of this power to produce electricity by wind driven turbines.
In 2004, wind power represented only 0.5% of world production and 0.1% in France.
These low figures do not however reflect the dynamism of the sector, nor its development perspectives, which are considerable. Each year, technological progress helps to design more efficient wind generators capable of fulfilling the needs in power demand and the profitability of the installations.
Europe alone produces more than 70% of the installed wind power in the world (28% growth on average since 1994 (1)). This established sector constitutes significant opportunities for overseas markets.
Germany is the number one producer of wind power in the world (30% of world production) followed by the USA and Spain (17% each) (1).

Biomass

This is the production of energy by the combustion of materials from the biomass. This now established technique has an optimal yield though cogeneration, producing electricity and heat simultaneously.
The solid biomass (wood, residues, animal waste), municipal and industrial waste renewable and biogas. In 2004, this represented a mere 0.9% of the world's electricity (1).
Europe plans to catch up on the time lost through a program for waste treatment and the use of the biomass.

Solar power

More than 80% of electricity produced by solar 80% is photovoltaic conversion.
The 3,2TWh of electricity produced is low in terms world of production (1), but the growth prospects are great, notably in industrialised countries, with attractive applications such as for rural electrification.

Geothermal power

The principal of geothermal power consists of using the heat of underground water (from 150 to 350° C) to generate steam for turbines for the generation of electricity.
This sector represents only 0.3% of the world production of electricity (in 2004) (1). It is mostly concentrated in certain countries: USA, Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico and Italy, which together represent 80% of the world production. Geothermal energy has also potential for the production of heat.