Renewable Energy’s Future Direction

Imagine a world where petroleum is not the dominant source of energy. If you think about it we are a lot closer to that possibility then we were just a few years ago. Over the last twenty years, the burning of oil and gas is forecast to peak and the use of renewable energy to increase. By 2050, renewable energy could supply half of the world's energy requirements. The solar community has been forecasting possibilities for some time I but now they are also coming from the oil industry.

There is no doubt that the world will undergo a major position in energy sources and infrastructure systems over the next few decades. Oil industry analysts expect increased price pressure on petroleum as demand outstrips supply. The global distribution of fossil fuels creates strategic ramifications for the security of energy supply. Without a secure and affordable energy supply, cities become vulnerable to economic, environmental and societal decay.
 

Light is a energy, as well as heat. Electricity is a form of energy too, the trouble is harnessing it. To create or harness electricity, you need to turn one form of energy into another. This fact is very important because it explains how we get electricity, which we use in so many ways. We use electricity to light streets and buildings and run our devices every day.

For years the way we get electricity is by burning coal or fossil fuels. This, in turn, makes creates heat, and the heat then makes water boil and turn to steam. The steam runs a machine called a turbine that produces electricity. Often this electricity then goes into a public power system that sends it out, through wires, to homes, schools, and businesses over a wide area.

This system of creating electricity has been widely popular for the last 120 years, but the tide is turning. Because this method of making electricity is old and pollutes the earth, people are turning to renewable sources of electricity. One of the best sources is solar panels. Another way to make electricity is to use the sunlight we get every day. Sunshine is free and it will never get used up. More energy hits the earth every hour than we humans use in a year. That is why we created something called a solar cell, which can make electricity right from sunlight.

Affordable Supply

An affordable energy supply is now recognized as one that neither compromises the ability to pay for energy nor jeopardizes the ecosystems on which humans depend.  Security of energy supply is crucial to maintaining independence; nations that depend heavily on imported energy sources from overseas risk security of supply. 

As the era of cheap oil draws to a close, other energy options must be developed to power buildings as well as transportation, agriculture, and industry. These options must be more sustainable and have a minimum ecological impact. It may come as a surprise to many architects and their clients, but every building they design that relies on fossil fuel may become obsolete within its lifetime. 
 

Buildings Use over Half of Energy Consumption

Buildings and their processes account for roughly one half of all energy consumption. When the energy required to mine, produce, deliver and assemble materials for the construction of buildings is included, the total impact far surpasses that amount. For developed nations to continue to like the comforts that are taken for granted, and for the developing world to ever hope to attain them, sustainability must become the cornerstone of our design philosophy. If you’d like more information, click here.

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