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Library >> Renewable
Energy Resource Maps >> North America
Renewable Energy Resources in NORTH AMERICA
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Renewable energy can contribute substantially
to the entire North American electricity supply, to
biomass based transport fuels and for space
and hot water heating in buildings and industry.
Both distributed forms of renewable energy and central
large-scale technology options are possible.
Both wind and biomass fuels could contribute
in a major way to enhancing rural economic development.
Worldwide, the rates of growth of wind
and solar energy are the most rapid of any
technology. Wind power installations have been doubling
every three years between 1994 and 2001, and now total
over 23,000 MW. (Brown, 2002, Sawin, 2001). Likewise
photovoltaic shipments have been doubling at a comparable
rate between 1996 and 2001, and now approach 400 MWp.
These growth rates are from a small base, but vastly
exceed any other form of energy technology. Unfortunately,
North America has a declining share of this accelerating
market in renewable technology.
A number of policy barriers within each
of the three North American nations need to be addressed,
and national and NAFTA trading rules need to be reconciled
in order for renewable energy to achieve its full
potential. It is also essential to adopt a long-term
perspective for expanding the role of renewable energy
in North America over the next several decades. (1)
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