Recognise Potential of Renewable Energy

The leading candidates are solar and wind energy, but both have problems beyond significant investment costs and the fact that they have yet to generate power at competitive rates with more traditional power sources such as oil, coal and natural gas.

Beyond issues of power storage, a further concern is the fickle nature of their sources – the sun doesn’t always shine, and the wind is hardly a constant factor.

So, among renewable, which potential power source is so reliable that admiralties have been publishing detailed charts of its progressions for more than two centuries?

Tides are generated by the gravitational forces of the moon. Should these be disrupted, then investors, power companies and governments will likely have more immediate concerns than the quarterly bottom line.

Similar to solar power, currently battling between photovoltaic power and parabolic mirror steam-generated turbine driven systems, no industry-wide standard for tidal power has yet emerged, but smart investors will follow the money trail.

That said, Britain is swiftly emerging as the cutting edge country for tidal development.

Now the redoubtable International Energy Agency is to publish in July an invaluable guidebook for the perplexed, “Deploying Renewables -- Best and Future Policy Practice,” 182 pages, ISBN 978-92-64-12490-5, paper €100, PDF €80 (2011)

According to the IEA’s bookshop, “Growth is focused on a few of the available technologies, and rapid deployment is confined to a relatively small number of countries. In more advanced markets, managing support costs and system integration of large shares of renewable energy in a time of economic weakness and budget austerity has sparked vigorous political debate.

The IEA’s new report, Deploying Renewables 2011: Best and Future Policy Practice:

• Provides a comprehensive review and analysis of renewable energy policy and market trends,
• Analyses in detail the dynamics of deployment and provides best-practice policy principles for different stages of market maturity,
• Assesses the impact and cost-effectiveness of support policies using new methodological tools and indicators,
• Investigates the strategic reasons underpinning the pursuit of RE deployment by different countries and the prospects for globalization of RE.