How Energy Is Produced - The Renaissance of Renewable Energy - page 102

savings (Weiss and Mauthner 2011 ) , it is very low if compared with the 85 exajoules of
global residential energy consumption (IEA 2012a ).

Policy makers in many countries have tended to pay less attention to solar thermal
technologies than to other renewable energy technologies, and the possible contribution
of solar heat has been neglected in many academic and institutional energy projections.
However,solarthermaltechnologyhasaconsiderable potential inthehousehold,domestic,
and industry sectors, and might satisfy a high proportion of energy demand in many
countries, especially if combined with improved insulation and building design (see
Chapter 7 ) .
The precise technical potential of solar energy for heating purposes is difficult to assess.
In a 2008 study commissioned by Dutch environmental consultants Ecofys, scientists
Monique Hoogwijk and Wena Graus ventured a conservative estimate of 123 exajoules per
year for solar water heating (Arvizu et al. 2011a ) , more than enough to meet current and
future residential energy demand and much more than the meagre 0.58 exajoules that are
currently supplied worldwide (see Table 4.2 ).

Table 4.2. Estimated annual technical potential of solar energy in various regions
of the world, not differentiated by conversion technology

Regions Range of estimates

North America 181-7,410 EJ

Latin America and Caribbean 113-3,385 EJ

Western Europe 25-914 EJ

Central and Eastern Europe 4-154 EJ

Former Soviet Union 199-8,655 EJ

Middle East and North Africa 412-11,060 EJ

Sub-Saharan Africa 372-9,528 EJ

Pacific Asia 41-994 EJ