Energy is the basis for human survival and the lifeblood of modern society. Energy is as important to modern society as food is to mankind. Without food, human beings cannot survive; without energy, modern society will be paralyzed. Therefore, the history of human evolution is also a history of constantly requesting energy from the natural world. With the development and utilization of energy, human society has gradually moved from ancient slash and burn to modern civilization. From the perspective of main energy usage, human society has gone through three energy periods: the fuelwood period, the coal period, and the oil period, and is entering the renewable energy period. (Relationship between energy and renewable energy? )

At present, the three traditional fossil energy sources of coal, oil and natural gas are still the three energy pillars of the world economy, and these three pillars are non-renewable. According to the universal energy forecasts in the world, oil will be exhausted in the next 40 years, natural gas will be exhausted in the next 60 years, and coal can only be used for more than 100 years. It can be seen that energy is the “food” of modern society. In the near future, fossil energy, which currently accounts for the majority, will become increasingly exhausted.

The world’s energy and environmental problems are severe. China has a large population and the energy situation is even more severe, and two-thirds of its energy consumption is extremely polluting coal, and the per capita energy possession is only half of the world average. In addition, China’s conventional energy also has the following characteristics:

(1) The distribution of energy is extremely unreasonable. Coal, oil, and natural gas are mainly concentrated in the Three Norths, water resources are mainly concentrated in the south, and the densely populated and economically developed eastern coastal areas are seriously deficient in energy. As a result, the unreasonable pattern of “transporting coal from the north to the south” and “transmitting electricity from the west to the east” has resulted in China, which not only produces a large amount of energy transportation losses, but also increases transportation costs.

(2) China’s energy structure is unreasonable. The excessive proportion of coal causes serious environmental pollution and low energy efficiency.

(3) In recent years, half of the new global energy consumption is China’s new consumption, which has attracted great attention from the international community, and China’s energy pressure is increasing.

Therefore, in addition to environmental issues, the increasingly depleted fossil energy is also an important reason for China’s urgent need to vigorously develop renewable energy.

Electric energy is by far the highest quality energy in human history. It is not only easy to achieve mutual conversion with other energy (such as mechanical energy, thermal energy, light energy, etc.), but also easy to control and transform, which is convenient for large-scale production, long-distance transportation and distribution. At the same time, it is also a carrier of information, playing an irreplaceable role in modern human production, life and scientific research activities. Among the world’s total power generation, the burning coal power generation ranks first, and the environmental pollution caused by this method is also the most serious. Therefore, renewable energy power generation has become the main method of renewable energy development and utilization.

Renewable energy not only has the advantages of low pollution, recyclable use, and wide distribution, but also does not emit CO2, S02, smoke and other pollutants. In addition, wind power generation and solar power generation do not require water. Compared with thermal power generation that requires a large amount of water, it is also a particularly prominent advantage for dry and early water shortage areas. In short, compared with conventional energy power generation, renewable energy power generation has many advantages.

For the economic development of all countries in the world, the development of renewable energy can open up new areas of economic growth. The development and utilization of renewable energy is mainly based on local human and material resources, which is of great significance to promoting regional economic development. At the same time, the rapidly developing renewable energy industry is also a new area of economic growth. At the beginning of the 21st century, the annual growth rate of solar photovoltaic power generation and wind power generation in the world reached more than 30%, and the annual growth rate of solar water heaters in China also reached more than 20%. For the economic development of all countries in the world, the development of renewable energy can open up new areas of economic growth. The development and utilization of renewable energy is mainly based on local human and material resources, which is of great significance to promoting regional economic development. At the same time, the rapidly developing renewable energy industry is also a new area of economic growth. At the beginning of the 21st century, the annual growth rate of solar photovoltaic power generation and wind power generation in the world reached more than 30%, and the annual growth rate of solar water heaters in China also reached more than 20%.

At present, China has made great achievements in both wind power and solar power generation. It has become the world’s largest producer of photovoltaic cells, and its total installed solar capacity also ranks first in the world. Other forms of renewable energy power generation, such as biomass power generation, geothermal power generation, and ocean power generation, are also in a period of active development. However, China’s renewable energy power generation accounts for a small proportion of the total power generation, and its development prospects are huge.