Renewable Energy in Europe and the Middle East

The U.S. Department of Energy compiles energy data on most countries around the world, including their domestic use of renewable energy.

WASHINGTON, DC, US, 2001-08-08 [SolarAccess.com] The U.S. Department of Energy compiles energy data on most countries around the world, including their domestic use of renewable energy. The reports are published by DOE’s Energy Information Administration. Israel has generation capacity of 8.6 gigawatts, of which 70 percent is coal, 25 percent is oil and 5 percent gasoil. Renewable energy consumption is 65 trillion Btu, a 4 percent increase. Israel is a world leader in solar technology and relies heavily on solar energy for water heating. Its power demand is increasing rapidly (7% annually, 13% in 2000), and the IEC estimates that growing power demand will require an increase in production capacity to 10 GW by 2002. By 2010, IEC foresees installed generating capacity reaching 14.3 GW and is converting its oil and diesel generators to natural gas and plans to generate 25 percent of its electricity from gas by 2005. As part of an effort to increase privatization of the country’s power sector, Israel has directed IEC to purchase at least 900 MW of power from IPPs by 2005, of 150 MW are expected to come from solar and wind facilities. India’s power generation totals 454 billion kWh, of which 79 percent is thermal, 18 percent hydro and 2 percent nuclear. Renewable energy consumption was 9 trillion Btu, a 2 percent increase and includes hydro power, solar, wind, tide, geothermal, solid biomass and animal products, biomass gas and liquids, industrial and municipal waste. Portugal’s electricity capacity is 9.8 GW and the generation of 41.7 billion kWh is 80 percent thermal, 17 percent hydro, plus 3 percent from biomass, geothermal, solar and wind. Increased rainfall boosted the share from hydroelectric plants to 82 percent last year, up from 54 percent in 1999. Installed capacity for hydro has grown while installed capacity for thermal has decreased, and hydropower now exceeds oil (the largest thermal source) in terms of installed capacity. Renewable energy consumption remains static at 185 trillion Btu. Tajikistan’s total capacity is 4.4 GW, most of which comes from seven large hydro plants with combined capacity of 4,050 MW. Hydroelectricity accounts for 15.3 billion kWh of the country’s total 15.6 BkWh. The government is resuming a program to build 15 small hydroelectric plants. Renewable energy consumption is 146.3 trillion Btu, a 2 percent increase. All countries of the former Yugoslavia and Albania are net importers of electricity, except Slovenia which is the second-largest total generator in the Balkans Region (includes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia and the current Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), as well as Albania). Total generation is 72.2 billion kWh, of which 54 percent is thermal, 39 percent is hydro, and 6 percent is nuclear. Croatia depends on hydro for 50 percent of capacity, and Albania uses it for 80 percent of capacity. Other countries examined by the EIA include Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Caspian region.