The known oil reserves will last to mankind for 56 years, gas – 55 years, and coal – more than 100 years. This is stated in the annual report of the World Energy Council /WEC/ “World Energy Resources 2013”.

These calculations are based on the fact that the available oil reserves are estimated at 223 billion ton, gas – 209 trillion cubic meters, and coal – 891 billion ton. The report wasintroduced today in South Korea’s Daegu at the 22nd World Energy Congress.

Experts point out that the development of renewable energy sources /RE/ is happening weaker than 20 years ago – now they account for only 5% of electricity production. Coal remains the primary source for electricity production – its share is 40%. In particular, 79 percent of electricity in China and 40 percent in the USA are produced due to coal.

General Secretary of the Council of World Energy, a professor of international energy policy of the State University of Technology (Lausanne, Switzerland), ChritophFrei said: “Renewable energies will play an important role in our future energy mix. In particular, our study shows that solar energy will have a bright future. However, a number of challenges for renewables remain. There is huge unexploited hydropower potential especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America, but a number of large projects are facing local resistance. There is a significant potential of biomass energy, particularly in Latin America.”

WEC says that last year, net investments in renewable energy are estimated at $ 228 billion vs $ 148 billion which were invested in the development of hydrocarbon energy sources.

WEC is the largest Energy international non-governmental organization established in 1923 on the initiative of the business and the UK energy sectors and several industrialized countries in Europe and North America.

Source: greenevolution.ru