The 1973 Unesco Congress The Sun in The Service of Mankind:

Global Renewable Energy Implementation

to date

Paris, Unesco, 3 October 2013 Wolfgang Palz, WCRE

The Big Bang for Renewable Energies 1973

The Big Bang for Modern Electricity in 1800: Volta presents to Napoleon in Paris his

electrochemical battery

The Discovery of PV in Paris 1839: Edmond Becquerel

World’s First Demonstration of Solar Energy: Augustin Mouchot, Paris 1860s

Background of the 1973 Unesco Congress

• Recognition of pressing Energy problems on human scale – Global change – Limits of fossil resources (Peak Oil...)

• Political concern for National Energy Independence RE are locally available everywhere

• A first UN Congress on RE in Rome in 1961 mobilised 2000 people. It motivated the French Marcel Perrot to set up the association Comples for co-operation of the Mediterranean Nations on RE

Prof Marcel Perrot: Author of “La houille d’or (the golden coal)” Key Initiator of the 1973 Unesco Congress

Other Protagonists of the 1973 Congress

Félix Trombe Pierre Auger

Other Key Actors of the 1973 Congress

Michel Rodot, CNRS Pierre Vasseur, Polytechnique et CNES Jean-Pierre Girardier, Sofretes Alain Liébard, Energies pour le Monde Philippe Chartier, INRA Wolfgang Palz, CNES And hundreds of others from all over the

World: USA, Germany, Soviet Union....

What gave the 1973 Congress its particular Importance?

A few weeks after the Congress came the first Oil Price shock

Immediate Follow ups of the 1973 Unesco Congress in France

• Government: Jean-Claude Colli in charge • CNRS: Robert Chabbal creates PIRDES • COMES: Henri Durand first President • 1981: AFME, Philippe Chartier DG (exists

until today as ADEME)

Activities in the US and Europe related to the 1973 Unesco Congress

• First EU R&D Programme on the RE – Proposed by the EU Commission as suggested

by France in 1974 – Adopted by the EU Council in 1975

• Major Market developments on PV and

Wind Power in the United States (President Carter, California Governor Brown)

Nairobi 1981: UN Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy

• As a Result, a Programme of Action was adopted by the UN General Assembly

• But in reality, the Conference marked a preliminary halt to global interest in the RE

• A high wall had built up against the RE triggered by an euphoria on Nuclear power. Only the Chernobyl disaster gave some relief.

1988: Here comes the Man for the SOLAR AGE

Hermann Scheer

1993 in Paris: 20th Anniversary of the 1973 Unesco Congress

Spreading our Wings!

• Organisers: Unesco, EU, ISES, Eurosolar, ADEME, IEA, Energies pour le Monde

• Follow ups. – World Solar Programme adopted by UN General

Assembly – European Solar Council (Club de Paris)

1997: EU Action Plan for RE by 2010 (EU 15) EU Commission Communication COM(97)599

• PV: – 1 million systems. – 3 GW accumulated in 2010 from .003 GW in 95 – Globally: 2.4 GW annual production by 2010

• Wind Power: – 40 GW accumulated from 1 GW in 95

• Bio-Power: – 32 mToe for Power Generation

• New Jobs: 500 000

Bonn 2004: Governmental RE Conference 3000 delegates from 154 nations

• Follow ups – German Government (Schröder) initiates REN21

in Paris – German Government (Merkel) initiates IRENA

creation process

– In 2004, The European Parliament “urges the Commission and the Council to start the political process of setting RE targets of 20% implementation by 2020”. Was adopted as demanded in 2009 under French and German Council Presidency (2009/29/EC)

The RE Achievements from 2000 to 2013

• Wind Power, PV & Bio-power Capacities – World:

• 510 GW now from 47 GW in 2000 – Europe:

• 213 GW now from 11 GW in 2000 – Germany: 75 GW now from 0 GW in 1995

• Wind Power, PV & Bio-power New Jobs – World:

• 5.7 million – Europe:

• 1.2 million (Germany 380 000) • World Bio-fuels (mainly the USA and Brazil):

– 100 bln litres from 16 bln litres in 2000

PV Capacity Installations this Century

• World: 130 GW now from 1.4 GW in 2000

• Europe: 80 GW now from 0 GW in 2000

• Germany: 35 GW now from 0.076 GW in

2000

Wind Power Capacity Installations from 1995

• World: 320 GW from 5 GW

• Europe: 115 GW from 1 GW

• Germany: 35 GW from 0 GW

New Bio-power Capacities this Century

• World: 89 GW now from 29 GW

• Europe: 28 GW from <10 GW

• Germany: 6.5 GW from .5 GW