The journey so far

The history of renewable energy sources dates back thousands of years ago. Our ancestors, without knowing it, laid the foundation for the use of natural phenomena. Here are just a few examples that are amazing in their engineering, given the time of their discovery and use.

Water energy: In ancient times, people learned to predict and use the ebb and flow of tides for going out to sea or fishing. Water energy itself was not yet known, but the use of water phenomena was not new already in BC times. It wasn't until 300 BC, when the Roman Empire started to use water to power wheels to grind grain into flour. Several centuries later, in the writings of Vitruvius, there were already references to aqueducts, some of which have survived to this day. Later, approximately during the Middle Ages (Between 500 and 1,500 AD), various variations of mills appeared, such as wave and tide mills.
The first steam engine, which can also be considered in some way a form of using water energy, may have been created and used by Ferdinand Verbiest around 1672 in his invention, a steam-powered toy made for the Chinese Emperor. The first reliably known steam engine was built in the 17th century by the French physicist Denis Papin and was a cylinder with a piston that rose under the action of steam and was lowered by atmospheric pressure after condensing the exhaust steam.

Solar: With the first attempts of the Greeks and Egyptians to polish the surfaces of metals (mostly bronze or silver, ca. 7-15 centuries BC), people were able to harness the energy of the sun and use the reflection of the sun's rays not only for illumination, but also for heat. The fact that the sun is a huge source of energy has always been known and in some civilizations (Maya, Egypt, etc.) it was worshiped as the supreme god. However, the photovoltaic effect was discovered only in 1839 by the French scientist Alexandre Becquerel.

Wind: The first full use of wind energy can most likely be considered the appearance of the first sailing ships. It is difficult to determine exactly who exactly owns this invention, but it is known that the history of the sail dates back to approx. 4.5 - 5.5 thousand years BC. These were small boats made of knitted papyrus bundles with a straight, narrow rectangular sail, which was used to assist the oars. Already a thousand years later they were in use in Ancient Egypt, Phoenicia, China, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome and were used on rowing ships as an additional propulsion device. Later (closer to 200-500 AD) references to the first windmills appear, but the most plausible date can be considered 1000 AD, when the first windmills appeared in Persia, although their design was not familiar to modern imagination - they were horizontal. The first vertical mill appeared only in 1185 in a small Yorkshire village, from where it, having crossed the English Channel, set off to wander around Europe.

Geothermal: Some evidence records the use of geothermal springs for cooking and household purposes by ancient indigenous people of the Americas, which may be true, however the Romans were the first to discover and use hot springs for medicinal purposes - for the first time between the sixth and 16th year AD in Pompeii, what can be considered the first spa ever. No specific use of geothermal energy was known until 1817, when Count François de Larderel developed a technology for collecting steam from natural geothermal sources. The man who tested the first geothermal generator was Piero Ginori Conti. This happened on July 4, 1904 in the Italian city of Larderello. The generator was able to successfully light four light bulbs. Later, in 1911, the world's first geothermal power plant was built in the same locality, and it is still in operation.


Biomass: If we consider Biomass Energy as being obtained from materials of biological origin such as plants and animals, then biomass is the oldest source of energy used by humans. The most primitive use of biomass as fertilizer goes back more than one thousand and maybe tens of thousands of years. Some sources say that the Assyrians used biogas to heat bath waters in 900 BC, however, even if such an application was small, there was hardly any talk about its intentionality and full understanding of the process. But it is still known for sure that, for example, people learned to make oil of vegetable origin a very long time ago (from mustard oil, which appeared in Babylon and India about 10,000 years ago, to soybean oil, which was known already 4,000 years ago in Australia, China and even America). Some sorts of vegetable oils are flammable and thus suitable as fuel for pottery lamps. Until the Industrial Revolution prompted a shift to fossil fuels in the mid-18th century, biomass energy was the world's dominant fuel source.

Now the demand for fossil fuels is falling and, although, of course, no one is going to return to small lamps on vegetable oil, the demand for bio-technologies will only grow. We are mainly talking about biogas stations, which have already significantly strengthened their position, mainly in the EU countries (especially in Germany) and the production of biofuels, bio-CNG, and bio-LNG, which are obtained during the processing of biogas obtained at biogas stations and its subsequent purification to biomethane, which is a more environmentally friendly analogue of natural gas.

Key policy strategies for the past three decades

1997 – Kyoto protocol
2006 – Green New Deal (GND)
2009 – The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
2015 – The Paris Agreement
2019 – European Green Deal (EGD)
2023 – Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA)

Associations

2001 – World Nuclear Association (WNA)
2005 – Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC)
2008 – World Bioenergy Association (WBA)
2015 – International Solar Alliance (ISA)
2013 – Ocean Energy Europe (OEE)




The year 1997 - To prevent or reduce climate change, the Kyoto Protocol was adopted, which created the basis for the global carbon market. This protocol has been ratified by about 200 countries. Since 2005, the EU has started trading CO2 emission allowances.

The year 2006 - a Green New Deal was created by the Green New Deal Task Force in the US that was the start for so-called environmental-friendly policy across the US,claiming one hundred percent clean, renewable energy by 2030, however it stayed mostly at the shelf for the Green Party candidates, same effort was made in the UK in 2008 but it comes back for the UK after 2020

The year 2006 - IRENA was officially founded in Bonn, Germany. Its Founding Conference remains a significant milestone for world renewable energy deployment. Governments worldwide made clear their commitment to changing the global energy paradigm, with 75 states signing the IRENA Statute at the time.

The year 2015 - The Kyoto Protocol was replaced by the Paris Agreement, which, instead of quoting emissions for countries, proposed a voluntary reduction in emissions and absorption of greenhouse gasses, and not only for states, but for individual regions and cities. Many have presented their goals up to 2030, and some up to mid-century or even 2060. An important component of the agreement is the adoption in 2021 of the rules and procedures for the implementation of international cooperation mechanisms. Some countries (including the United States under the leadership of Joseph Biden) are planning to rejoin this agreement.

The year 2022 - At the beginning of the year, more than 60 carbon pricing schemes (quota markets and taxes) were in operation or planned to be launched around the world, covering about a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. The price of carbon has varied significantly and varies across countries and regions, it can be around $1/t CO2,and can reach $100-150/t and more. It all depends on the specific conditions and existing restrictions.

The 4th energy transition is currently underway, which is aimed at ridding humanity of hydrocarbon dependence or replacing fossil energy sources with renewable ones. At the same time, it is important to note that the majority of developing economies, and in recent times also developed ones, are in no hurry to abandon even coal. And the share of fossil fuels is still around 90%, having declined slightly in recent times.