Wind turbines, sleeker and more efficient than in decades past, are multiplying in Oregon, Alberta and California. Renewable energy advocates say such disparities show green options have a long way to go before they're mainstream. In modern times, renewable energy has been a bit player. Worldwide, renewable energy accounts for 14 per cent of total final energy consumption, and just more than 12 per cent of total primary energy supply, according to the World Energy Council, an industry group based in London. Conventional use of biomass, such as burning materials including wood and animal dung, can lead to problems such as deforestation and toxic emissions.
Modern biomass uses plant waste to produce energy with modern low-emission techniques.
About 62 per cent of Canada's total electricity comes from renewable hyrdroelectricity. In its 2000 review, the World Energy Council said renewables had grown more slowly than expected since 1993, when the group began to work toward a more sustainable, and equitable, energy market. But momentum is building. Part of that jump came as U.S. corporations scrambled to invest in wind projects before a federal tax credit for such investments expired. But the firm said the growth rate for renewables, after slowing in the near term, should pick up again by 2004.