10 interesting renewable energy facts

Whether from the sun's light, the power of the wind, the heat of subterranean lava, or the flow of rivers and oceans, the Earth offers a myriad of renewable energy sources for us to harness.

Want to know more about renewables? Here are 10 interesting facts about renewable energy that you might not know.

1. Solar panels on rooftops around the world are a common sight, but did you know rooftop solar dates back to 1884? When inventor Charles Fritts installed the very first solar panels on a New York City roof¹.
2. The world's tides contain around 3,000 gigawatts of energy. And although less than 15% of that amount can be easily captured², one gigawatt is enough to power about one million UK homes for one hour³.
3. Air source heat pumps are a sustainable alternative to gas boilers, and the UK Government will give you a £5,000 grant towards the cost of installation.
4. At any given moment, the sun sends more 173,000 terawatts of solar energy to the Earth⁴. That’s more than 10,000 times the world's total energy use for an entire year⁴.
5. The UK boasts more than 11,000 wind turbines on and offshore across the country, producing more than a quarter of the UK’s electricity⁵, and also has the world's largest offshore windfarm – off the coast in Yorkshire⁶.
6. Iceland is the world's renewable energy leader – almost 100% of its electricity and heating generation is renewable. Around 69% comes from hydropower and 31% from geothermal sources⁷.
7. Experts believe the clean energy transition will create more than 10.3 million net new jobs around the world – offsetting the 2.7 million fossil fuel jobs expected to be lost and creating a wealth of further opportunities⁸.
8. Biomass energy is generated from burning any organic, renewable material such as wood, plants or household waste to make electricity or heat. And while not all forms of biomass energy production are sustainable, E.ON's Blackburn Meadows plant runs on waste wood sourced from within 50 miles (80km) of the plant.
9. You may have heard people say that the UK’s electricity grid won’t be able to handle the increase in electric vehicles. But even if everyone in the UK switched to electric vehicles from petrol and diesel overnight, the grid would only experience a 10% increase in demand— easily within its capacity⁹.
10. Renewable energy could power the world by 2050, but is only attainable if policymakers, business leaders and other stakeholders take urgent action for climate¹⁰. 

At E.ON, we’ve invested more than £3.3 billion in UK renewable energy – from developing our first onshore wind farm in 1991 to innovating wind, solar and biomass technologies to help tackle climate change and create a sustainable energy system for the future.

And we’re committed to helping our customers to take action for climate too – offering solar panels and battery storage, electric vehicle charging points, air source heat pumps and 100% renewables-backed electricity for our E.ON Next customers.

Find out more about how we’re taking action for climate at eonenergy.com/action

^{1. Smithsonian Magazine: A Brief History of Solar Panels}

^{2. Britannica: Tidal power}

^{3. Energy Saving Trust: Balancing the grid with smart meters}

^{4. MIT News: Shining brightly}

^{5. BBC News: How many more wind turbines will the UK build?}

^{6. ONS: Wind energy in the UK: June 2021}

^{7. IES: Iceland}

^{8. World Economic Forum: How many jobs could the clean energy transition create?}

^{9. National Grid: 6 myths about electric vehicles busted}

^{10. World Economic Forum: Renewable energy could power the world by 2050. Here’s what that future might look like}