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Seven countries now generate nearly all their electricity from renewables (2024)

the-independent.com

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Re: Seven countries now generate nearly all their electricity from renewables (2024)

#21

Post by Mordisquitos »

gus_massa wrote: post #12
darkwater wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why geothermal is not renewable? Earth is not going to cool its magma soon enough

Geothermal is powered by fission Uranium and other heavy atoms deep in the Earth. Solar is powered by fusion of Hydrogen in the Sun. I'd use the same classification for both.

No, not quite. Geothermal is powered by the accumulated heat stored in rocks from fission Uranium and other heavy atoms deep in the Earth (and other phenomena).

Geothermal hotspots do not reheat by fission or otherwise at the same speed that we extract their energy (if they did we'd be in trouble if we weren't extracting it!).

As I mentioned in another comment, build a Dyson sphere of solar panels around the Sun and it will last just as long. Build an all-Earth geothermal plant and the heat will be depleted.

Re: Seven countries now generate nearly all their electricity from renewables (2024)

#22

Post by readthenotes1 »

saidnooneever wrote: post #2

i love that in a lot of countries people think these other countries are in the sticks and that they are modern... (ofc depending who u talk to but im sure we all know such a person...) :) a lot of perceptions based on old world views. Love to see these countries do so well on it. There might be many problems to solve still but it provides a degree of self reliance for energy that is really important today for a coun…

Those "countries in the sticks", one report says that the DRC only has at most 20% of the households on electricity. This report says only 10% https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/democratic-r...

On the other hand, balcony solar power will be a game changer for the world, provided your neighbors won't steal the panels like they do the catalytic converters in my neighborhood.

Re: Seven countries now generate nearly all their electricity from renewables (2024)

#23

Post by patall »

Mordisquitos wrote: post #21
gus_massa wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Geothermal is powered by fission Uranium and other heavy atoms deep in the Earth. Solar is powered by fusion of Hydrogen in the Sun. I'd use the same classification for both.

No, not quite. Geothermal is powered by the accumulated heat stored in rocks from fission Uranium and other heavy atoms deep in the Earth (and other phenomena). Geothermal hotspots do not reheat by fission or otherwise at the same speed that we extract their energy (if they did we'd be in trouble if we weren't extracting it!). As I mentioned in another comment, build a Dyson sphere of solar panels around the Sun and…

By that definition, hydroelectric dams are not a renewable energy source for most of the year.

Re: Seven countries now generate nearly all their electricity from renewables (2024)

#25

Post by aqua_coder »

I live in one of those countries, and while renewable electricity helped to cushion the concern for house electricity, most of the logistics (that being the supply chain for basic commodities) are transported by oil (specifically diesel). Which further increases inflation for import dependent countries. Meaning even for those states (except those that don't import oil to move cars in the country) it will regardless cause an economic crisis.

One state is considered to be fully 'renewable' if the means of transport (excluding Airplanes since I can't find a suitable alternative ) for land is done via electric cars

Re: Seven countries now generate nearly all their electricity from renewables (2024)

#26

Post by philipkglass »

realo wrote: post #24

Perovskite Tandem are the best , according to the graph. Why is it that those are reserved for ultra-big utility companies and I cannot buy those for my home or even my balcony?

At present, those tandem cells are still experimental. Nobody is manufacturing them on gigawatt scale like for other solar cell technologies.

Re: Seven countries now generate nearly all their electricity from renewables (2024)

#27

Post by phtrivier »

> Albania, Bhutan, Nepal, Paraguay, Iceland, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo produced more than 99.7 per cent of the electricity they consumed using geothermal, hydro, solar or wind power.

Let's head to electricitymaps.com !

Albania (https://app.electricitymaps.com/map/zone/AL/live/fifteen_min...)

- On 2026-04-12 16:45 GMT+2, 22,67% of electricity consumed by Albania is imported from Greece, which generates 22% of its electricity from gas. Interestingly, Albania exports about as much to Montenegro as it imports from Greece.

Bhutan:

- 100% hydro, makes perfect sense

Nepal:

- 98% hydro, a bit of solar for good measure

Iceland:

- 70% hydro, 30% geo

Paraguay:

- 99,9% hydro

Ethiopia:

- 96,4% hydro

DRC

- 99.6% hydro

So, the lessons for all other countries in the world is pretty clear: grow yourselves some mountains, dig yourselves a big river, and dam, baby, dam !!

(I'm kidding, but I'm sure someone has a pie-in-the-sky geoengineering startup about to disrupt topography using either AI, blockchain, or both.)

Re: Seven countries now generate nearly all their electricity from renewables (2024)

#28

Post by delichon »

ahhhhnoooo wrote: post #11
left-struck wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Technically”

Then solar and wind aren't technically renewable either, because the sun is going to eventually consume the earth and explode. Geothermal is renewable.

And a new star will eventually form from the debris, so "renewable" is a function of time scale.

Re: Seven countries now generate nearly all their electricity from renewables (2024)

#29

Post by realo »

philipkglass wrote: post #26
realo wrote: post #24

Perovskite Tandem are the best , according to the graph. Why is it that those are reserved for ultra-big utility companies and I cannot buy those for my home or even my balcony?

At present, those tandem cells are still experimental. Nobody is manufacturing them on gigawatt scale like for other solar cell technologies.

Well... if you go to the web site , they seem to welcome very large orders. Just not mine or yours.

Might be experimental and unavailable, but just for small orders? Come on ...

Re: Seven countries now generate nearly all their electricity from renewables (2024)

#30

Post by surgical_fire »

Mordisquitos wrote: post #5

Specifically Albania, Bhutan, Nepal, Paraguay, Iceland, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Not to downplay the positive steps that are being taken towards using renewable energy worldwide, but one must point out that all those countries except one are almost exclusively using hydroelectric power, whose availability at such scale is a geographical lottery. As for Iceland, which also relies mostly on hydroe…

Well, when geothermal stops being renewable there will be no humans around to need energy generation.

You are still technically correct, which is the best kind of correct.

But if we follow that rationale, in a long enough timeline, solar and wind is also not renewable.

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