square meter. Then there are those that, while widely varying in their population densities and energy consumption, fall in the middle. Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Mexico all have a power consumption per unit land-area roughly equal to the world average, about 0.1 watt per square meter. China, in 1990, was close to the average, but it has since moved considerably away from that line. The United States consumes power per land-area at a rate three times the average. Even though they are more energy efficient, densely populated industrial countries like Germany, Britain and Japan have even bigger power consumption per area. Why is it useful to know how much power is consumed by land-area? Well, almost all renewables are harvested on land, and it is possible to quantify the potential power production from renewables in exactly the same units as consumption: watts per square meter. Concentrating solar power stations in deserts, for example, can produce 15 or 20 watts per square meter, on average, year-round, day and night. Germany's famous solar parks in Bavaria produce about 5 watts per square meter of land area, on average. A hydroelectric facility in Scotland has power per surface area of 11 watts per square meter of lake. Wind farms, if they are in windy locations, produce roughly 2.5 watts per square meter of land or sea, on average. The best energy crops in Europe deliver about 0.5 watt per square meter. So, can the world "easily" live on renewables, setting aside environmental,