ICONS is heavily engaged in Research & Development to reduce global carbon emissions from energy production – CO2 to ZERO by 2050.
- On average 5 tons each per world population
- 6.8 billion people worldwide 2010 (heading to 9 billion)
Our efforts are also extended to the Research & Development in the renewable energy sector to reduce energy prices in order to be twice as cheep. Energy miracle !
- 6.8 billion people worldwide 2010
- Of the above, about 2 billion are without energy
- To reduce poverty the best solution is to lower the price of energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat, which are renewable (naturally replenished).
In 2008, about 19% of global final energy consumption came from renewables, with 13% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.2% from hydroelectricity. New renewables (small hydro, modern biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels) accounted for another 2.7% and are growing very rapidly.
The share of renewables in electricity generation is around 18%, with 15% of global electricity coming from hydroelectricity and 3% from new renewables.
Wind power is growing at the rate of 30% annually, with a worldwide installed capacity of 158 gigawatts (GW) in 2009, and is widely used in Europe, Asia, and the United States. At the end of 2009, cumulative global photovoltaic (PV) installations surpassed 21 GW and PV power stations are popular in Germany and Spain. Solar thermal power stations operate in the USA and Spain, and the largest of these is the 354 megawatt (MW) SEGS power plant in the Mojave Desert. The world’s largest geothermal power installation is The Geysers in California, with a rated capacity of 750 MW. Brazil has one of the largest renewable energy programs in the world, involving production of ethanol fuel from sugar cane, and ethanol now provides 18% of the country’s automotive fuel. Ethanol fuel is also widely available in the USA.
While many renewable energy projects are large-scale, renewable technologies are also suited to rural and remote areas, where energy is often crucial in human development. Globally, an estimated 3 million households get power from small solar PV systems. Micro-hydro systems configured into village-scale or county-scale mini-grids serve many areas. More than 30 million rural households get lighting and cooking from biogas made in household-scale digesters. Biomass cookstoves are used by 160 million households.
Climate change concerns, coupled with high oil prices, peak oil, and increasing government support, are driving increasing renewable energy legislation, incentives and commercialization. New government spending, regulation and policies helped the industry weather the global financial crisis better than many other sectors.
At ICONS we combine our Research & Development activities with the design, implementation and installation of renewable energy projects that avail of the latest state of the art technology. By endeavouring in this mission our objectives are to contribute to the reduction of global carbon emissions from energy production – CO2 to ZERO by 2050 and reduce energy prices in order to be twice as cheep. Energy miracle !