Renewable energy sources as an opportunity for global economic development

Access to cheap sources of energy has been a foundation of economic development of the modern world. High rates of GDP growth affect the dynamic development of civilization and, inter alia, make technological progress possible due to the increase in global energy consumption. Energy costs and energy availability also have a significant impact on the economic competitiveness of particular countries and regions of the world. Dynamic world economic development, population growth and the widespread use of energy in everyday life have led to a rapid increase in the demand for various types of energy, mainly electricity and heat. To meet this demand, it is necessary to increase energy production. In recent decades, energy has been gained mainly from conventional sources, also called primary (fossil fuels), including crude oil, natural gas, hard coal and lignite. In spite of many advantages, obtaining energy from these sources has many important disadvantages. The amount of fossil fuels is limited and further exploitation will lead to their depletion. Only some countries have access to them which can cause big changes in their prices and, consequently, instability in supply. The crucial disadvantage of producing conventional energy is the negative impact on the environment. Growing ecological awareness in societies and the ongoing climate change make conventional way of gaining energy less and less acceptable. Consequently, renewable energy is increasingly being used. Renewable energy represents a great opportunity for the development of the global economy. It provides relatively stable access to energy for most countries. The sources of this energy are practically inexhaustible and their negative environmental impact is considerably less than that of conventional sources. The paper presents the results of an analysis of global energy production from renewable energy. It discusses the primary sources of this energy and their use by global leaders. It also presents the developmental trends of renewable energy sources, in particular, from water, wind, sun, biomass and geothermal sources. Balance sheets and reports also show how important modern energy renewable technologies are for the development of our civilization. The generation of this energy in noticeable quantities in the global balance requires development and application of highly innovative and technically advanced technologies. The presented data and their analysis should provide an important source of information on the current state and global trends in the development of renewable energy. This is particularly important for countries where energy from conventional sources still dominates.