GC: n

CT: IRENA initiated a global collection of existing materials on renewable energy potentials. This led to more than 10, 000 references being collated from those available over the internet. The references broadly cover different types of information, from GIS-based systems, to grey literature providing some information on a country. The geographic scale of the different references also varies widely, from global analyses to continent, country or regions.
The definition of renewable energy potentials was considered in its broader sense. In reality, most of the studies provide an indication of a renewable energy resource – the incoming energy, and a very few studies indicate the potential – the energy usable for human applications. The choice of definition was deliberate allowing for the collection of available information even from those topics that are rarely studied, and where any indication of a potential resource has value in initiating further investigations.

S: http://www.irena.org/potential_studies/ (last access: 26 February 2015)

N: The potential capacity of renewable energy that can be harnessed by commercially available technologies is enormous. Even without widespread adoption of energy efficiency, the projected 2050 U.S. electricity demand can be met many times over by renewables. Actual demand could be 10–45% lower after efficiency improvements.

S: http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-US_renewable_energy_potential (last access: 26 February 2015)

SYN:
S:

CR: hybrid car, renewable energy.