Where in the world is renewable energy used the most and what are the barriers to full-scale adoption in the UK?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Discussions surrounding the future of renewable energy and mitigating the effects of climate change have been intensifying for a number of years now as, all over the world, countries and their governments & leaders are making the transition from gas & oil to renewable energy solutions. But, where in the world is renewable energy used the most and, particularly here in the UK, what are the current barriers to full-scale adoption?

Where in the world is renewable energy used the most?

As of October 2022, the following countries are considered to be the top 5 renewable energy countries around the world -

Iceland: The front runner of renewable energy generation and adoption, almost 100% of Iceland’s electricity is generated from renewable energy - with around 73% coming from hydropower (water) and approximately 27% coming from geothermal power; this due partially to ice caps and groundwater, as well as Iceland’s 32 volcanoes - the heat produced from those volcanoes being channeled into domestic and commercial buildings.

Norway: 98% of Norway’s electricity comes from renewable energy - largely hydropower, to be exact, with much also coming from waste and biogas during the winter months. What’s more, work is ongoing to transition Norway’s public transport infrastructure to 100% renewable energy - electric, biofuels and hydrogen powered vehicles - with Oslo becoming home to the world's first fully electric public transit system this year.

Costa Rica: With similar numbers to Norway, Costa Rica has derived approximately 98% of its electricity from renewables in recent years, although - that being said - 70% of Costa Rica’s overall energy generation does still come from gas & oil.

Uruguay: Wind & solar power are key to Uruguay’s 97% renewable energy adoption since 1997, with nearly 4,000 megawatts of installed capacity coming from wind. Alongside this, it's worth noting that the country is implementing a pilot project to explore the use of clean hydrogen in transportation.

Kenya: approximately 93% of Kenya’s energy comes from renewables; with the vast  majority of its total 2.7 GW installed capacity coming from hydropower and geothermal energy. Within this, thanks to renewable energy adoption and growth across the county in recent years, more and more people are gaining access to electricity.

What are the barriers to full-scale renewable energy adoption in the UK?

The UK government has been putting plans in place for a number of years now to ensure the country reaches Net Zero by 2050; with investment in Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) initiatives and green hydrogen initiatives being the front runners in 2023.

However, electricity derived from renewable energy reached 47.8% in June 2023 which, although impressive and extremely promising for the future of renewables in this country, is still far behind the likes of Iceland, Norway, and indeed any of the 5 countries listed above.

So, what are the barriers to full-scale renewable energy adoption in the UK? Indeed, there are many opinions that come with answering this question.

The first being that there’s a lack of vision from the UK government regarding green energy and insufficient & outdated energy networks which, at least as recently as May 2023, were said to be leaving Britain suffering the longest backlog in Europe; with renewable energy projects said to be waiting over a decade to connect to the electricity grid.

In fact, it's been said that wind farms, solar arrays, and battery projects are stuck in gridlock for up to 15 years due to the UK’s electricity and gas grid struggling to keep up with the appetite for clean & renewable energy.

Another opinion as to the barriers to full-scale renewable energy adoption in the UK is a lack of liquidity and insufficient regulation that are said to be putting investors off of renewable energy projects, as well as the high costs involved in renewable energy projects.

Ultimately, then, the barriers to renewable energy in the UK seem to come down to 2 main factors: an outdated and insufficient energy network and a lack of investment on the ground (and beyond government funding).

However, alongside this, there feels some cause to mention another possible contributing factor in renewable energy barriers which - although not as pressing as network connection or investment - could still be very relevant: public perceptions.

Particularly relevant to the likes of hydrogen and CCUS, public perceptions and appetite are arguably what drives the government to introduce new policies, launch initiative and change current policies and, currently, the public perceives hydrogen to be too expensive and inefficient for domestic use, as well as perceiving [clean] green carbon derived from anaerobic digestion and used within the food & beverage industry to be of lesser quality than its fossil fuel counterpart, due to the most common AD feedstock of animal waste. This, especially with CCUS technologies in their relative infancy, have posed challenges for the sale of green CO2 to certain industries.

Although, it does have to be said that - according to a study published on Statistica in July 2023 where 4,373 UK households were asked via an online survey to state their level of support or opposition for the use of renewable energy to provide electricity, heat & fuel to the UK - 85% of those surveyed either strongly support or support renewable energy production and use.

Essentially, for the UK to fully adopt renewable energy, the gas and electricity network(s) must be modernised in order to handle the demand for green energy, investment needs to be made more attractive, and the transition to renewable energy - at least on a domestic level - needs to be as comfortable and non-intrusive as possible for the public.