Renewable Energy In The Europe Union For Year 2012

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union have released publication of renewable energy usage in energy consumption for year 2012.
This report indicate that 14% energy is from renewable resources.

In 2012, energy from renewable sources was estimated to have contributed 14.1% of gross final energy consumption in the EU28, compared with 8.3% in 2004, the first year for which this data is available. The share of  renewables in gross final energy consumption is one of the headline indicators of the Europe 2020 strategy.

Wind Maps of Africa, Europe, South America, Central America

International Renewable Energy Agency have posted new maps with wind speed data for Africa, Europe, South America, Central America.

This maps shows wind speeds at 10 km resolution and 10 m height.

The wind maps have been developed and shared by the Spanish National Renewable Energy Center. The maps are calculated by simulating atmospheric conditions with the SKIRON mesoscale model. GFS 12 UTC cycle, from NCAR/NCEP is used as input. 

The calculation periods vary between the simulated areas. The SKIRON long-term simulation is launched to cover the full years, generating hourly maps to the entire simulated period. 

This methodology has been successfully validated with measurements spread over four continents.