Chapter 104 Renewable Energy
Maximizing our ability to produce oil & gas just makes good economic sense, in the short term. The reason I say “short term” is that this resource is not infinite. My longer-term concern is that, as a country, we are not placing a high enough priority on developing renewable energy sources. There is no question that these most of these sources (other than hydroelectric & nuclear) will lead to higher costs for energy. Some argue that when the costs associated with the carbon footprint are added to the cost equation the increased costs for “renewables” may not be too excessive. I have hard data on this assertion.
Regardless, development of renewables is an area where the USA is not taking a leadership role. We have the ability to develop and also improve renewable technology. The issue is simply one of priorities. In that regard short term almost always trumps the longer view. There are 25 countries that produce 80% or more of their electricity with renewables and over 100 that produce more than the US which stands at 14%
It is important to take a look at what strides other countries have made regarding renewables:
List of countries by electricity production from renewable sources
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Country | Year | Renewables as % of total generation |
Generation, all
sources (GWh) |
Total renewable
(GWh) |
Hydropower (GWh) |
Wind power (GWh) |
Biomass and waste (GWh) |
Solar power (GWh) |
Geothermal (GWh) |
Wave and tidal (GWh) | Ref |
| Albania | 2015 | 100.0% | 5,866 | 5,866 | 5,866 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Bhutan | 2015 | 100.0% | 7,732 | 7,731 | 7,731 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Ethiopia | 2015 | 100.0% | 10,341 | 10,337 | 9,577 | 760 | – | – | 0 | – | |
| Iceland | 2015 | 100.0% | 18,558 | 18,554 | 13,541 | 10 | – | – | 5,003 | – | |
| Lesotho | 2015 | 100.0% | 600 | 600 | 600 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Nepal | 2015 | 100.0% | 3,493 | 3,493 | 3,461 | – | – | 32 | – | – | |
| Paraguay | 2015 | 100.0% | 55,191 | 55,190 | 55,190 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Congo (Kinshasa) | 2015 | 99.8% | 8,852 | 8,837 | 8,827 | – | 10 | – | – | – | |
| Costa Rica | 2015 | 99.1% | 10,725 | 10,623 | 7,986 | 1,080 | 179 | 3 | 1,375 | – | |
| Malawi | 2015 | 99.1% | 2,120 | 2,100 | 2,100 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Norway | 2015 | 98.5% | 142,381 | 140,240 | 137,306 | 2,515 | 419 | – | – | – | |
| Tajikistan | 2015 | 98.5% | 16,977 | 16,731 | 16,731 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Namibia | 2015 | 97.9% | 1,519 | 1,487 | 1,487 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Zambia | 2015 | 97.1% | 13,285 | 12,905 | 12,905 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Laos | 2015 | 96.5% | 11,460 | 11,060 | 11,060 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Belize | 2015 | 95.2% | 248 | 236 | 236 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Uruguay | 2015 | 89.1% | 13,564 | 12,086 | 8,183 | 2,065 | 1,788 | 50 | – | – | |
| Kenya | 2015 | 88.2% | 9,568 | 8,435 | 3,749 | 60 | 122 | 24 | 4,480 | – | |
| Burundi | 2015 | 87.0% | 230 | 200 | 200 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Mozambique | 2015 | 87.0% | 19,579 | 17,035 | 17,035 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Central African Republic | 2015 | 86.2% | 174 | 150 | 150 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Afghanistan | 2015 | 86.1% | 1,034 | 890 | 890 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Kyrgyzstan | 2015 | 85.8% | 12,803 | 10,989 | 10,989 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| New Zealand | 2015 | 80.8% | 42,912 | 34,689 | 24,292 | 2,333 | 620 | 33 | 7,411 | – | |
| Uganda | 2015 | 80.8% | 3,235 | 2,615 | 2,615 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Austria | 2015 | 80.0% | 56,940 | 45,553 | 34,919 | 4,561 | 5,190 | 883 | 0 | – | |
| United States | 2015 | 14.0% | 4,097,027 | 572,409 | 249,080 | 190,719 | 77,660 | 39,032 | 15,918 | – |