Impact of Renewable Energy Sources on Climate Change

Foreword

Renewable energy sources (RES) can be called the main contender for the status of the energy resource of the future, and this is obvious. The uneven distribution of the world’s mineral resources, the rapid growth of the planet’s population, political conflicts have led most countries to seek energy independence. This can partly be achieved just through the production of electricity based on renewable energy sources. At the same time, there is an acute issue of reducing the negative impact on the environment and, in particular, minimizing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, leading to the greenhouse effect.

For example, Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) of electricity generation show that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from renewable energy technologies are generally significantly lower than emissions associated with the use of fossil fuels and, under certain conditions, lower than emissions from fossil fuels with using carbon capture and storage (CCS). Averages for all RES range from 4 to 46 gCO2e/kWh, while averages for fossil fuels range from 469 to 1001 gCO2e/ kWh (excluding emissions from land-use change). And this is another advantage of RES, because there are no greenhouse gas emissions in the process of generating electricity and heat [ 1 - 5 ] .

The rapid development of energy based on renewable energy is expressed in the improvement of existing technologies and the reduction of capital costs and the cost of electricity generated, and this primarily concerns solar and wind energy.

Introduction

Climate change is one of the main challenges of the 21st century. Its most severe consequences can still be avoided if efforts are made to transform current energy systems. Renewable energy sources (RES) have great potential to replace greenhouse gas emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels and thus to mitigate the impacts of climate change [4, 5, 6, 7]. When properly implemented, RES can contribute to social and economic development, providing access to energy, ensuring a reliable and sustainable energy supply, and reducing the negative impact of energy supplies on the environment and human health [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].

This article RES and Climate provides an unbiased assessment of the scientific literature on the potential role of renewable energy in climate change mitigation for policy makers, the private sector, academic researchers and civil society. Covers six types of renewable energy available in Turkmenistan - bioenergy, direct solar energy, geothermal energy, hydropower, marine energy and wind energy, as well as their integration into current and future energy systems. They address the environmental and social impacts associated with the introduction of such technologies and provide strategies to overcome both technical and non- technical barriers to their adoption and diffusion [4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10].

Mitigation Potential and Costs

A significant increase in the use of renewable energy by 2030, 2050 and beyond is noted in most of the scenarios considered in 2008. The total renewable energy production was about 64 EJ/year (12.9% of the total primary energy supply), more than 30 EJ/year was accounted for by traditional biomass. More than 50% of the scenarios assume a level of renewable energy use in 2050 of more than 173 EJ/ year, in some cases reaching levels of more than 400 EJ/year. Considering that the use of traditional biomass is decreasing in most scenarios, the corresponding increase in the level of renewable energy production (excluding traditional biomass) is predicted to be in the order of three to more than ten times.

The share of RES in the global primary energy supply differs significantly in the scenarios. In most of the scenarios, the share of RES is more than 17% of the supply of primary energy in 2030, increasing to more than 27% in 2050. The scenarios with the highest share of renewable energy consumption reach about 43% in 2030 and 77% in 2050 [3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16].

Strategy of Turkmenistan on Climate Change

Strategy of Turkmenistan on climate change Turkmenistan is taking practical steps in the field of climate change: the introduction of modern technologies in all spheres of the economy reduces greenhouse gas emissions;

adopted the National Strategy on Climate Change, the National Strategy for the Development of Renewable Energy until 2030 and the new Law of Turkmenistan “On Renewable Energy Sources”; Millions of trees are planted every year in the country [1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14].

Certain work is underway to fulfill the obligations under the Paris climate agreement. The commitments it proposes are confirmation of the ambitious goal: of Turkmenistan to reduce: greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 in key sectors of the economy. Particular attention in this context is given to reducing methane emissions. In this regard, the Turkmen side welcomes the new initiative on the Global Methane Commitment and expresses interest in its detailed study with a view to possible substantive participation. Turkmenistan plans to achieve in the medium term a zero growth in greenhouse gas emissions starting from 2030, and in the long term - an annual significant reduction. Our country expects to achieve these indicators both at the expense of its own financial resources and with technical and financial support from international organizations and financial institutions.

Energy Demand and the Greenhouse Effect

Energy demand and the greenhouse effect Related services to ensure socio-economic development and improve human well-being and health is growing. All societies need an energy supply to meet basic human needs (eg: lighting, cooking, spatial comfort, movement and communication) and to maintain production processes. Since 1850, the global use of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) has increased and dominated the energy supply, resulting in a skyrocketing carbon dioxide (CO2) emission.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from energy supply have contributed significantly in the past to increasing atmospheric concentrations of GHGs, thus creating the ‘greenhouse effect’. That in the middle of the 20th century, the increase in global average temperature was largely caused by the observed increase in concentrations of anthropogenic greenhouse gases. According to recent data, fossil fuel consumption accounts for the majority of global anthropogenic GHG emissions. Emissions continue to rise and by the end of 2010 CO2 concentrations were over 39% above pre-industrial levels. emission reduction options. RES can help speed up access to energy, especially for the 1.4 billion people without access to electricity and another 1.3 billion people using traditional biomass. Basic levels of access to a modern energy supply can bring significant benefits to a community or household [3, 4, 5, 6, 15, 16].

In many developing countries, decentralized renewable energy networks and the incorporation of renewable energy into centralized grids have expanded and improved access to energy. In addition, non-electric renewable energy technologies also offer opportunities for upgrading energy supply systems, for example, the use of solar energy for heating water and drying agricultural products, biofuels for transportation, biogas and modern biomass for heating, cooling, cooking and lighting, and wind for pumping water. The number of people without access to a modern energy supply is expected to remain unchanged until appropriate domestic policies are implemented, which, if necessary, can be supported or supplemented by international assistance.

There are many options for reducing GHG emissions from the energy system while meeting global demand for energy supply. Some of the options are, for example, energy conservation and energy efficiency, moving away from fossil fuels, renewable energy, nuclear power and carbon capture and storage (CCS). A comprehensive assessment of a portfolio of mitigation options would include an assessment of their respective mitigation potential, as well as their contribution to sustainable development and any associated risks and costs. This article focuses on a review of scientific papers on the application of renewable energy technologies that can play a role in climate mitigation and sustainable development [4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9].

Turkmenistan has great resource potential for climate change mitigation, and RES can provide broad benefits. When properly implemented, renewable energy technologies contribute to social and economic development, access to energy, security of energy supply, as well as reduce negative impacts on the environment and human health. In most cases, increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix will require policies to stimulate changes in the energy system. In recent years, the use of renewable energy technologies in the world has increased dramatically, and according to forecasts, their share will increase significantly in the most ambitious scenarios of international mitigation projects. More political action will be needed to increase the necessary investment in technology and infrastructure.

Heterogeneous Class of Renewable Technologies

RES constitutes a heterogeneous class of technologies: direct solar energy transformations use the energy of solar radiation to produce electricity using photovoltaic cells and concentrate solar energy to produce thermal energy (heating or cooling using either passive or active means), to meet the needs for direct lighting and for potential production of fuel that can be used for transport and other purposes.

The degree of development of solar application technologies ranges from research and development (R&D) (eg: solar-derived fuels) to relatively off-the-shelf and off- the-shelf (eg: passive and active solar heating and silicon wafer photovoltaic) technologies.

Many, but not all, technologies are modular in nature, allowing them to be used in both centralized and decentralized energy systems. Solar energy is volatile and somewhat unpredictable; although the time profile of solar power output under some circumstances correlates relatively well with energy demand. Thermal energy storage offers opportunities for improved energy output management for some technologies such as solar energy concentrations and direct solar heating [5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13].

Will Climate Change Affect Renewable Energy?

Climate change will affect the volume and geographic distribution of the technical potential of RES, but studies on the scale of such possible effects are in their infancy. Due to the fact that renewable energy is largely dependent on climate, global climate change will affect the resource base of renewable energy [5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13]. Will climate change affect renewable energy? Climate change will affect the volume and geographic distribution of the technical potential of RES, but studies on the scale of such possible effects are in their infancy. Due to the fact that renewable energy is largely dependent on climate, global climate change will affect the resource base of renewable energy.

The future technical potential of bioenergy may be influenced by climate change through impacts on biomass production, such as through changes in soil conditions, rainfall, crop yields and other factors. The overall impact of a global mean temperature change of less than 2°C on bioenergy technical potential is expected to be relatively small on a global basis. However, significant regional differences can be expected, and the uncertainties are larger and more difficult to assess compared to other RES options due to the large number of feedback mechanisms involved.

For solar energy, although climate change is expected to affect the distribution and variability of cloud cover, the impact of these changes on the overall technical potential will be small. For hydropower, the overall impacts on global technical capacity are expected to be slightly positive. However, the results also point to the possibility of significant fluctuations across regions and even across countries. Research to date suggests that climate change is not expected to significantly affect the global technical potential for wind energy development, but changes in the regional distribution of wind energy resources can be expected. Climate change is not expected to have a significant impact on the amount or geographic distribution of geothermal or ocean and marine energy resources [4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13].

Conclusion

Thus, the use of local renewable energy resources can reduce the need for fossil fuels in some cases by up to 80 percent. Significant energy savings can be achieved by introducing innovative technologies, from primary energy production to final consumption. The task of introducing renewable energy sources is one of the most relevant and promising for the development of the desert territories of Turkmenistan. Its solution will improve the efficiency of the use of fuel, energy and material resources in the production of a wide range of industrial and agricultural products reduce the energy consumption of fossil fuels and mitigate anthropogenic pressures on climate change [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16].