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Ranked: Latin American Countries By Green Energy Use

by Aran Ali
This post is by Aran Ali from Visual Capitalist

This graphic shows how much electricity production Latin American countries derive from green energy relative to fossil fuels

Ranked: Latin American Countries By Green Energy Use

The global push for increasing green energy use is well underway, as countries around the world are feeling pressure to revamp their climate-impacting practices.

But with different populations, energy use requirements, and access to natural resources, certain regions will have a more significant role to play. With a population of 664 million and an abundance of natural resources, Latin America (LatAm) is one such region.

How green is LatAm’s energy today? This graphic from Latinometrics charts countries’ electricity production from renewables relative to fossil fuels and highlights the significant disparities between certain nations.

Green Energy Use in Latin America

As of 2020, many LatAm countries actually produced 50% or more of their electricity from renewable sources including nuclear energy. Let’s take a deeper look at some of the outliers:

Paraguay

Hydropower is Paraguay’s primary renewable energy source, and plentiful. In fact, the country produces surplus electricity and exports the remainder to Argentina and Brazil. Altogether, 60% of Paraguay’s hydroelectric power is exported, contributing to 6% of its GDP.

The primary resource for this hydropower—the Itaipú Dam—sits between Paraguay and Brazil and is jointly owned by both. The dam is responsible for 79% of Paraguay’s total power capacity.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica has been running on at least 98% renewable energy since 2014. Both within the Americas and on a global scale, the country’s green energy usage ranks extremely high, primarily driven by hydropower:

Costa Rica's Renewable Energy Sources% of (Read more...)

Visualizing the New Era of Energy

by Govind Bhutada
This post is by Govind Bhutada from Visual Capitalist

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The following content is sponsored by Surge Battery Metals
new era of energy

The New Era of Energy

Energy is the pulse of our daily lives, powering everything from our homes to our cars and electronic gadgets. 

Over the last two decades, there’s been an ongoing shift in how we produce and consume energy, largely due to rising climate awareness among both governments and consumers.

The above infographic from Surge Battery Metals highlights the increasing uptake of clean energy technologies and explains the need for the raw materials that power them. This is part two of three infographics in the Energy Independence Series.

The Growth of Clean Energy

Government policies, falling production costs, and climate consciousness have all contributed to the exponential adoption of green energy technologies. 

For example, only a few countries were actively encouraging EV adoption a decade ago, but today, millions of consumers can take advantage of EV tax concessions and purchase subsidies with governments committed to phasing out internal combustion engines. Partly as a result, electric vehicles (EVs) are well on their way to mainstream adoption. 

Here’s a look at how the number of electric cars on the road has grown since 2011, including both battery EVs and plug-in hybrids:

Country/Region2011 Electric Car Stock2021 Electric Car Stock
China10,0007,800,000
Europe20,0005,500,000
U.S.20,0002,000,000
Other20,0001,100,000
Total70,00016,400,000

In (Read more...)

Mapped: Average Wind Speed Across the U.S.

by Omri Wallach
This post is by Omri Wallach from Visual Capitalist

a map of average wind speed across the continental U.S. in 2021

Click to view a larger version of the graphic.

Mapped: Average Wind Speed Across the U.S.

Wind energy is a hot topic in North America and around the world as a decarbonization tool, but full utilization requires a lot of wind.

This graphic from the team at the Woodwell Climate Research Center maps the average wind speed of the continental U.S. based on NOAA data from 2021.

Zooming in, you can examine North America’s wind regions and patterns in great detail. Clearly visible is the concentration of high wind speeds in the Great Plains (known as the Prairies in Canada), which has the greatest potential for wind power. You can also follow westerly winds traveling through the North American Cordillera of mountains, including the Rocky Mountains and Cascades.

Meanwhile, the Eastern U.S. and Canada have significantly lower average wind speeds, especially in the American South. That’s despite hurricanes with extremely high winds occasionally moving northward along the Eastern Seaboard towards the North Atlantic.

For more on on U.S. energy, head to Visualizing the Flow of U.S. Energy Consumption.

Ranked: The 50 Companies That Use the Highest Percentage of Green Energy

by Anshool Deshmukh
This post is by Anshool Deshmukh from Visual Capitalist

The 50 Companies Using the Highest Percentage of Green Energy

Which Companies Use the Most Green Energy?

Green energy was once a niche segment of the wider energy industry, but it’s quickly becoming an essential energy source in many regions and nations across the globe.

Based on data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this infographic by SolarPower.Guide shows the top 50 greenest companies, based on the highest proportion of green energy used in their overall consumption mix.

Leaders in Green Energy Use

As green energy becomes more affordable, some major businesses like Google, Wells Fargo, and Apple are embracing it in a big way.

It also helps that institutional investors are nudging companies in that direction anyways, especially as they become more focused on incorporating environment, social and governance (ESG) into their portfolios.

Here are the top 15 U.S. companies that use the highest percentage of green energy:

RankCompanyGreen Power useAnnual Green Power Use (kWh)
#1The Estee Lauder Companies Inc.139%91,843,084
#2Voya Financial120%40,000,000
#3BNY Mellon113%268,000,000
#4Sephora112%112,323,000
#5Bank of America109%1,855,505,589
#6Church & Dwight Co.107%159,445,000
#7Google LLC106%7,492,567,647
#8The Hartford Financial Services Group106%68,835,000
#9Wells Fargo105%1,843,545,975
#10Equinix104%2,360,296,352
#11State Street Corp.104%158,991,503
#12Aldi103%984,430,521
#13Apple Inc.101%2,202,581,271
#14Starbucks101%1,119,392,000
#15TD Bank101%210,209,954

Note: The values reflect the amount of green power as a percentage of a company’s total electricity (Read more...)