In our economic infrastructure, energy is one of the major components as a majority of our activities rely on it. Energy is required in every sector be it agricultural, industrial, economical and residential. There are two sources of energy, conventional and non-conventional. A conventional source of energy cannot be reused as it is non-renewable. This includes coal, oil, fuelwood, thermal power plant and nuclear energy. For a very long time, we have mostly relied on conventional source of energy and due to such high consumption, the resources are depleting at an accelerating rate. Due to the shortage of resources and the harmful impacts of the conventional sources of energy, many countries are now shifting towards non-conventional sources. However, this shift can be seen mainly in developed countries as they have the economic power to make this transformation easily. Whereas, a major part of the world still relies on fossil fuels to fulfil their energy requirements. This is why almost five years ago the most used energy sources were oil, coal, and gas. In 2015, oil accounted for almost 39% of energy consumption on the global level. Coal and gas accounted for 28% and 22% of global consumption respectively.
While energy sources help us to progress they simultaneously harm our environment as well, whether they’re conventional or non-conventional (renewable). However, conventional energy does substantially more harm to our environment. The energy that is produced through the burning of fossil fuels has been accounted for generating more than three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions. By 2017 we had extracted 136 billion tonnes of crude oil to fuel our power states, drive our automobiles, and to heat our homes. In 2017, 19.88 million of petroleum was consumed in the United States alone every day. This consumption of conventional energy has been the major factor in climate change. It has changed our weather pattern, threatened food production, and rose sea levels, etc. This rising temperature has also led to an increase of evaporation, causing the water cycle to speed up.
This is why while conventional energy sources remain popular in today’s world, there has been a major increase in alternative, renewable energy sources. In the United States, during the first four months of 2020, renewable energy produced 27.1% more electricity than coal. Moreover, renewable energy sources produced 2.5% more electricity than nuclear power. On a global level, wind power accounted for the largest share of renewable energy in 2018 as the demand increased by 2.1%. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), in 2017 renewable energy accounted for 25% of global electricity generation. In addition, the demand for coal dropped by 3.3% in 2019. A closer look indicates that the decline in coal consumption has been mainly in the European Union. Juxtaposed to this, there was an increase in coal consumption in the Asia Pacific region. By 2018 China accounted for 40% of the total growth in wind and solar PV whereas the United States accounted for 40% of the increase in hydropower. In 2020, due to the worldwide lockdowns, global energy demand decreased by 3.8% in the first quarter. The global oil and coal demand decreased the most. For instance, oil demand decreased by 5% in the first quarter due to the reduction in mobility and aviation.
According to the International Energy Agency in 2020 renewable energy was the only source that demonstrated growth in demand due to larger installed capacity and priority dispatched. Moreover, many businesses have also shifted towards renewable energy to drive profits. Existing research showcase that by switching to renewable energy, companies have derived bottom-line advantages by no longer facing fluctuating fossil fuel prices. Also, in longer-run, renewable energy is more cost-effective. The three fastest-growing energy sources in 2020 have been solar photovoltaic, wind, and hydropower. Both the types of solar energy, solar photovoltaic and solar thermal, saw a progressive growth in the last couple of years. In 2019 the global solar power market size was $163.70 billion and by 2027 it is expected to reach $194.75 billion. Even wind power had massive growth in recent years. For instance, in 2000 wind power was generating less than 1% of the United States electricity and by 2018 the rate climbed to almost 7%. The key players in the United States are SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR), Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE), Avangrid (NYSE: AGR) and First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR).
Having said that, due to COVID-19 the whole world faced supply disruption due to which the market faced unprecedented challenges in growth. This is why while analyzing the fastest-growing energy we have taken the past performance and future growth estimation into consideration. Moreover, the sources we have taken into account are International Energy Agency, Mordor Intelligence, and Fortune Business Insight, etc. So without further ado, let’s take a look at the energy sources looking to dominate the sector over the next several years, starting with number 10:
10. Nuclear
Starting with number 10 we have nuclear. Nuclear energy provides 55% of the United States’ clean energy. What makes it an ideal energy source is the fact that while generating electricity, it does not emit greenhouse gas. It is 1.5 to 2 times more reliable than natural gas and 2.5 to 3.5 times more reliable than wind and solar plants. All over the world, 440 nuclear reactors are currently generating 10% of global electricity. According to International Atomic Energy Agency, by 2025 the nuclear capacity would be double. Of course, due to COVID-19, the growth of nuclear energy was halted in 2020, but even then an increase of 3% is expected in 2021.
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9. Solar Thermal
Solar thermal collects sunlight to produce high-temperature heat that is required to generate electricity. The growth of solar thermal has been consistently positive on a global level as by 2000 to 2010 there was an average growth of about 21%. In 2019 there was +1.5% growth in the solar thermal market in the European Union. Moreover, around 381.6 MW solar thermal projects were built all over the world and hence, the increase rate was of 6.29%. The two sectors in which solar thermal has experienced the most steady growth are district heating and industrial processes
According to Mordor Intelligence, by 2020 to 2025, the solar thermal market is expected to have a compound annual growth of 3%. According to the International Energy Agency, solar thermal heat consumption in the building sector is expected to increase by 40% by 2025.
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8. Floating turbine
A floating turbine is an offshore turbine that is mounted on a floating structure. The floating turbine market has faced a progressive growth in the past few years. It is anticipated that the market growth will escalate by 2024. As per Business Wire, from 2019 to 2020 there was an incremental growth of 582 megawatts. Japan also started the construction of the largest commercial floating tribune in the mid-2020. According to the International Energy Agency, a floating turbine alone has the potential to increase Japan’s absolute power demand by nine-fold and it can meet the world’s total electricity demand as well. According to Fortune Business Insight, the floating turbine is expected to have a CAGR of 49.9% in the next coming years. The value of the floating turbine is expected to grow from $24,683.3 million to $68,869.3 million from 2019 to 2026. 1n 2020, Equinor ASA also started the construction of the world’s largest floating turbine.
7. Ocean energy
Ocean energy is a form of renewable energy that drives energy from the sea. There are three types of ocean energy; wave, tidal, and ocean thermal. By 2019, in Europe 1.52 million watts installations were added. In 2019, Europe was generating 3.4 million watts tidal stream whereas the remaining world was at 1.8 million watts. Amidst the pandemic, the global market for ocean energy was estimated at 2.7 million kilowatts. Moreover, by 2027 the market is expected to reach 27.2 million kilowatts. In 2020, the United States accounted for over 30.3% of the global ocean energy market. By 2030 according to the International Energy Agency, the market is expected to grow by 15%.
6. Geothermal
The word geo and thermal are Greek words that mean earth and heat respectively. Thus, geothermal energy is heat that is produced within the earth. Geothermal energy is a renewable energy because the heat is being continuously produced within the earth. In 2020, geothermal, along with hydropower and biomass, was producing 21.6% of total electrical output in the United States. In 2019, the global geothermal power market was valued at $1.403 billion and by 2025 it is expected to reach a total market size of $1.649 billion, having a CAGR of 2.72%. The top three geothermal countries are the United States, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
5. Solid waste (waste-to-energy)
Solid waste biomass is the conversion of energy from waste. The waste-to-energy plants burn municipal solid waste that is used to generate electricity. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration for every 100 pounds of municipal solid waste in the United States, about 85 pounds can be burned as fuel to generate electricity. By 2025, the worldwide waste-to-energy (WTE) technologies market is expected to grow by 6.54%. In 2019 the global waste-to-energy was valued at $35.1 billion and by 2027 it is expected to reach $50.1 billion. According to research on a global level, solid biomass waste provides approximately 14% of the world’s energy needs.
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4. Agricultural biomass
Agricultural biomass is the plant residue left in the plantation field after the harvesting process. This is also known as rural biomass energy. Agricultural Biomass is an important source of renewable energy because of its abundant supply and cheap price. Agriculture biomass is highly important as according to the Asian Development Bank in 2003 in China the 20% of the climate-altering greenhouse gas emission came from agriculture production and residual left behind in fields. The global biomass power market size had a value of $49.8 billion in 2019 and is now estimated to grow at CAGR of 9.2%.
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3. Hydropower
According to the International Energy Agency, hydropower is the largest source of renewable electricity in the world as it provides utmost flexibility. By 2015, hydropower had a global share of more than 6% with a 10-year average growth rate of 3.3%. The Asia Pacific accounts for a major share in its steady growth. Among all the countries, China has the world’s biggest hydropower plant, the Three Gorges Dam. In 2011, this plant grew by 15.7%. The installed global hydropower capacity in 2019 was 1307 gigawatt. The progressive growth of hydroelectric power consumption is also because of its relatively low cost per unit. From 2020 to 2025, the hydropower market is expected to have a CAGR of more than 2.5%. The most famous key players are Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras SA, Ontario Power Generation, Statkraft and Duke Energy.
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2. Wind Energy
Wind energy is a process through which wind is used to generate electricity. The kinetic energy in the wind is turned into mechanical power by the wind turbines. Then the mechanical power is converted to electricity by a generator. China, United States, Germany, and India are the top four countries with the most wind turbines. In 2016, China added 19.3 gigawatts of wind power generation capacity and as a result, it provided 4% of total national electricity consumption. China was able to double its construction of new wind and solar power plants in 2020. It also signed over 400 wind power companies at the end of 2020, according to the Beijing Declaration. In 2018, the cumulative world capacity of wind energy was 650.7 gigawatts. As compared to 2019, the wind power generation increased in Europe by 7% in 2020. The most famous wind manufacturers are Vestas, Siemens Gamesa, Goldwind and General Electric (NYSE: GE).
1. Solar Photovoltaic
Solar photovoltaic is our top energy source in the list of 5 fastest-growing energy sources in 2020. Solar photovoltaic is a technology that produced electricity from sunlight. Unlike the wind turbine, it does not have any moving part. In a photovoltaic cell, sunlight removes electrons from their host silicon atoms. While solar photovoltaic produces electricity, solar thermal produces heat. According to the International Energy Agency in 2019 the power generation from solar photovoltaic increased by 22%. Due to this increase, the solar PV share in global electricity generation became almost 3%. In 2019, solar photovoltaic was also the third-largest renewable source of energy. The most famous solar thermal companies in the world are JinkSolar, Candian Solar and SunPower Corporation.
See also: 15 largest energy companies and 10 largest wind energy companies in the world
Soonthorn Wongsaita/Shutterstock.com
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This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.