Distributed Renewable Energies for Off-Grid Communities

Chapter Two

Restructuring Future Energy Generation and Supply

2.1 Basic Challenges

By 2050, humanity will need two to three earths to cover its consumption of resources, if we continue to manage our resources as business as usual.

The global energy system currently relies mainly on hydrocarbons such as oil, gas and coal, which together provide nearly 80 percent of energy resources. Traditional biomass—such as wood and dung—accounts for 11 percent and nuclear for 6 percent, while all renewable sources combined contribute just 3 percent. Energy resources, with the exception of nuclear, are ultimately derived from the sun. Non-renewable resources such as coal, oil and gas are the result of a process that takes millions of years to convert sunlight ...