CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The world today is in a state of increasing energy demand, rising energy prices with more emphasis placed on reinforcing countermeasures to defend against the ever present problem of global warming .The result of this situation being the development of alternative sources of energy. In 2006 the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected that the world’s energy consumption would increase by 2% per year until 2030. The EIA and other organizations project that resources will be adequate to meet the world’s growing energy needs, but many critics disagree. Issues such as climate change also undermine the credibility of such forecast .Also according to the IEA world energy outlook, the world’s primary energy supply has increased by 58% in 25 years.
The energy crisis in the world today is a major concern that the world’s demands on the limited natural resources are diminishing as the demand rises. The glaring issue being that these natural resources are in limited supply. While they do occur naturally, it can take hundreds of thousands of years to replenish the reserves. Governments and concerned organizations   are working to make the use of renewable resources a priority, and to lessen the irresponsible use of natural supplies through increased conservation.
The world relies on coal, oil and gas (fossil fuels) for over 80% of our current energy needs, this being a situation which shows little sign change apparent over the medium-term without drastic policy and philosophical changes (EIA, 2006). On top of this energy demand is expected to grow by almost half over the next two decades. Understandably this may instill the fear that our energy resources are starting to run out, thus of course posing devastating consequences for the global economy and quality of life. The potential for crisis if we run out of energy is very real but seeing the occurrence of such situation isn’t in the nearest future, coupled with the ever growing size of fossil fuel reserves in the world, the importance for alternative sources of energy is being overlooked. In the past two decades proven gas reserves have increased by 70% and proven oil reserves by 40% (EIA, 2006). At expected rates of demand growth we have enough for thirty years supply. Moreover, better technology means that new oil and gas fields are being discovered while enhanced recovery techniques are opening up a potentially huge and profitable array of unconventional sources, including tar sands, shale gas and ultra-deepwater. Ultimately, the near-unlimited supply potential of renewable energy sources would ensure that the world does not fall short of its energy needs. (EIA, 2006)
The EIA further asserts that closely related to the overdependence of the world on fossil fuels is the ever growing destructive effect of such fuels on the environment and climate. Over the past century, human activities have produced and released large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The majority of greenhouse gases come from burning fossil fuels to produce energy amongst deforestation, industrial processes, and some agricultural practices .Clean air is essential to life and good health but in contrast several important pollutants are produced by fossil fuel combustion: carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and hydrocarbons.
The EIA further expressed thus; impacts of the emission of these pollutants include global warming, air quality deterioration, oil spills, and acid rain.Fossil fuels for all its benefits pose a severe threat to the future of the world with regards to energy generation and climatic and environmental issues whose solution will be the development and employment of alternative, renewable and clean sources of energy. Renewable energy still remains unused is most of the countries, most especially developing countries. Most of the energy comes from non-renewable sources like coal. It still remains the top choice to produce energy. Unless we give renewable energy a serious thought, the problem of energy crisis cannot be solved. Renewable energy sources can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and also helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.The world's population has now exceeded 6 billion people, and growth projections (FAO, 2000) indicate that the total population will be over 8 billion by 2030. More than half the world's population lives in rural areas, and the vast majority of these, some 2.8 billion people, live in rural areas in developing countries. There are 2 billion people without access to adequate, affordable and convenient sources of energy. At least two-thirds of them are dependent on the traditional fuels: wood, dung and crop residues for cooking and space heating. These traditional fuels have low energy conversion efficiencies. Their use, especially in arid and semi-arid areas, can lead to environmental damage through excess stripping of forests and woodlands, and to adverse health effects due to smoke inhalation causing respiratory diseases.