Sustainable energy 'fastest growing energy sub-sector'

A UN report has revealed that sustainable or green energy is the fastest-growing sub-sector in the global energy mix.

It was found that between 2000 and 2011, the total production of renewables had increased some 277 per cent. This was compared to just 68 per cent of coal growth.

Furthermore, in 2011 global investment in the renewables sector was also seen to increase by 17 per cent, according to the report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Biofuel output was seen to grow by 0.7 per cent during the 12 months - a lower level than in previous years.

Experts believe this drop in growth was due in part to the poor sugarcane crop in Brazil, which is the world’s largest producer of ethanol from sugarcane. Furthermore, it is believed that rising costs for feedstock commodities used in biofuels production are also to blame.

The figures revealed that in the US, some 40 per cent of corn crop and 14 per cent of soybean oil production were used to generate biofuels and other products in the 2010-2011 marketing year.

It was also noted that while the US became a net exporter of ethanol biofuel during 2010, the nation saw imports of Brazilian sugarcane rise.

Furthermore, the report set out how different countries are tackling the advent of biofuels differently.

While China has no mandatory-use programs for fuel ethanol and biodiesel, India is aiming to replace 20 per cent of fossil motor fuel consumption with biofuel by the year 2017.

However, this is a challenging aim for the country, as India’s supply of ethanol during the 2011-12 fiscal years was just enough to meet its two per cent blending with gasoline.

Furthermore, members of the European Union must achieve a minimum of ten per cent for renewable energy in transport by the year 2020.