A Worldwide Renewable Energy Tour: No Passport Required - Dynowatt, Texas

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One of the biggest challenges facing the United States in decades to come is the need to develop new sources of renewable energy. Wind power in Texas, solar power in Arizona, geothermal power in Alaska...Wouldnt it be nice to forget these responsibilities for just a little while and think about renewable energy in beautiful, far-flung locations? Lets travel the planet and learn about some of the best places for generating green energy.

Costa da Morte, Spain - Tidal Energy
Sometimes, you just have to spend some time under the sun with the rich Iberian soil underfoot. The charmingly named Costa da Morte (the Death Coast) is nestled in the peninsula in the north of Spain that extends into the Atlantic Ocean. Youll love the fresh seafood, brought in every day to the many fishing ports. Youll also appreciate, as Science Daily reports, the fact that Costa da Morte features conditions that are extremely favorable for collecting energy from the waves. Researchers from the University of Santiago de Compostela claim that "wave energy along the Costa da Morte can reach 50 kilowatts per meter of water." This means that the ...
... citizens of eastern Spain and beyond could reap the benefits of clean electric power generated by the powerful waves while enjoying the majestic views.

Iceland - Geothermal Energy
Iceland is a great place to go when you want to get away from it all. Surrounded by the cool waters of the North Atlantic, Iceland offers the solitude that helps you recharge along with the European amenities that allow you to relax. Iceland is located on the Mid-Atlantic ridge, a place where two tectonic plates meet. Thats why the island features hot springs: bodies of water that are heated by the lava close to ground level. (At least once, everyone should feel the misty heat of a hot spring while seeing it snow around them.) That water can reach up to 132 degrees Celsius, and supplies the people of Iceland with cheap, plentiful hot water in their homes. When run through steam turbines, this hot water generates clean energy. According to the University of Rochester, it adds up to 660 megawatts of thermal energy; thats quite a bit!

Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, China - Solar Energy
Sure, there are plenty of places in Texas over which the sun makes frequent appearances. The desert of Inner Mongolia, however, is a great place to harness the sunshine and turn it into electricity. First Solar, an Arizona-based solar developer, is building a 2,000-megawatt solar farm in Ordos City. The New York Times states that the project will be completed by 2019 and could potentially power approximately 3 million Chinese homes. Imagine going out to eat and eating "buuz," (meat dumplings boiled or fried in mutton fat) that was cooked with clean, green energy from the sun.

Brazil - Wind Energy
Heading down South America way, youll see some beautiful topography and interact with people who know how to have fun. In Portuguese-speaking Brazil, youll enjoy the lights on the water in Rio de Janeiro, appreciating the fact that the energy to light them could have been generated by the prodigious breezes the country experiences. According to Cleantech, "Brazil has the theoretical potential to produce 143 gigawatts of wind power." This amount of energy could translate into a $100 billion opportunity. Currently, the country is reliant on hydropower for their electricity, but Brazilians are lucky to have the option to work wind power into their energy equation.

Akosombo, Ghana - Hydroelectric
The Akosombo Dam harnesses the power of the felicitously named Volta River in Ghana, a coastal country in the middle of Africa. You can watch the locals celebrate life with traditional music and dance or check out a soccer/football match. (Ghana was, after all, the first African country to win the FIFA Under-20 World Cup.) The bulbs that illuminate the soccer pitch are likely powered by the Akosombo Dam, a generation station that, according to Electricity Forum, has an installed capacity of 588 megawatts. This is an impressive number, particularly on a continent whose power is primarily generated by burning coal. (This number is 46 percent.)

Our brief trip around the world demonstrates a couple things: it would be fun to get some more stamps in our passports, and the goal of incorporating renewable energy into the grids worldwide has a wide range of solutions. Lets hope the United States remains at the forefront of these efforts.