News
Sep 18, 2009From Black Gold to Green Gold: Renewable Energy is the Future
Oil worked for us in the past, but renewable energy is the future. It is obvious that our supply of oil is depleting rapidly, but maybe more importantly, our dependability on it has polluted the earth. Sen. Edgardo J. Angara writes how renewable energy has become the new hot spot for global investments, reaching a record $100 bilion just two years ago. As of 2007, the world reached 240 gigawatts from renewable energy. Even though this only accounts for 3.4% of our energy generation so far, it also only represents 5% of the globe’s power capacity. If renewable energies continue to be invested in consistently, the world could be running on clean, unlimited energy by 2090, or if you’re positive like Greenpeace, they think it can be done by 2050.
The big news here, is that the Philippines may be leading the world when it comes to renewable energy production, using their massive potential for geothermal energy. “According to the 2008 Global Energy [R]evolution: Global Sustainable Energy Outlook, the average investment in the power sector for the next three decades can reach $590 billion per year. The same study identified the Philippines among the “hot spots” of new power-generation investment, along with China, North America, Europe, Indonesia and Thailand.”
Right now, the Philippines is producing 80% of what the United States is with geothermal energy, and with recent plans to expand this clean resource (announced by the Energy Development Corp.), the Philippines can expect to become the largest geothermal energy producer in the world within a decade.
“Unleashing this massive potential in renewable energy entails a paradigm shift in how we produce and use electricity,” says Sen. Edgardo J. Angara, “a process that we have already initiated through the passage of the Renewable Energy Act last year.”
Southeast Asia has been extremely proactive in implementing the necessary steps to incorporate renewable energy into their agenda. The Renewable Energy Act was enabled to provide the necessary framework to facilitate and promote renewable energy technologies in Southeast Asia.
Canada has yet to integrate these necessary steps into our future energy plans. Currently, Canada is producing an alarming 0 megawatts of geothermal electricity, even though the resource is widely available and the technology is extremely accessible. It is clear that Canada is being left behind in the renewable energy game, and it’s time for our Canadian government to wake up. Projects for geothermal energy in Canada have yet to be implemented due to our lack of policy, or the fact that it just hasn’t been effective. In order to jump-start this remarkable, clean resource, the government needs to put forth the means in which policy can be made. This requires more research so that policies can be backed up by science.
If you’re passionate about Canada becoming more efficient and “green,” please let the government know where you stand! Solar and wind can only get us so far as they are not continuous; however, geothermal electricity grants us a much greater and continual energy output.
To read the full article, “Philippines: Saudi Arabia of Renewable Energy” please click here.
