Four approaches to renewable energy
Publication Date/Time
2018-04-11T09:00:00+00:00
Where to start?
Using sustainable and green energy sources can contribute to the
preservation of the planet. Until now, European consumers and
industries are still dependent on fossil fuels, such as oil, gas and
coal. Renewable energy is a sustainable alternative for using fossil
fuels and can be generated from the sun, wind, water, earth warmth and
biomass. Several European countries that work with these sustainable
energy sources and collect data on the process will be touched upon in
this article.

In Belgium, an approach has been chosen to focus on the climate policy
on a city council level, which seeks to reduce the CO2 pollution with
at least 20% by 2020 and proposing goals for 2030. One way to do this
is by generating energy in newly build hydroelectric stations and
existing ones such as sluices, as the report REV2030
[https://www.europeandataportal.eu/data/en/dataset/http-data-gov-be-dataset-vlaanderen-0809e2f9-b760-4a54-8fec-b2f6d5956dd4]
shows.

In Switzerland, an Energy City Label
[https://www.europeandataportal.eu/data/en/dataset/https-opendata-swiss-dataset-cbff7bd4-8b48-4f93-bd1d-a535960a3efa]
is introduced to certify municipalities that develop and implement
sustainable energy policies. Several municipalities have been awarded
the label, based on their efforts to promote renewable energy,
ecological mobility and their focus on the efficient use of resources.

One of Luxembourg's key areas is solar energy. This related overview
of figures
[https://www.europeandataportal.eu/data/en/dataset/la-production-denergie-electrique]
shows that the kWh's coming from solar energy have been rising every
year. In addition to this, the kWh's coming from gas have been
decreasing since 2015.

The United Kingdom keeps a Renewable Energy Planning Database
[https://www.europeandataportal.eu/data/en/dataset/repd], which tracks
the progress of renewable energy projects. The planning and
application, as well as the construction and operational side of the
process, is monitored.

By focusing on renewable energy, the European countries could become
less dependent on scarce resources. Are you curious on how your
country's activities in renewable energy are progressing? Look it up
in the European Data Portal [https://www.europeandataportal.eu/en] and
find out yourself!

