Explaining our categorisations
We decided that one of the most effective ways to mitigate the impacts of climate change is to invest in renewable energy sources to replace fossil fuels which are widely used today. However, every country has a different potential for renewable energy sources. For example, countries in the Sahel region, like Niger would have a good potential for solar power because of the dry, sunny climate in this location. However, Iceland would not have this potential because sunlight is not consistent in this area of the world and during the winter months they would not produce the amount of power would need. ​We think it is pointless to tell all countries to invest in lots of different types of renewable energy, when it makes best sense to work to the strengths of an area.
With this in mind we have decided to invest in three types of renewable energy; wind, solar and geothermal energy. We decided on these from looking at data the IPCC published in 2011, where they compared the ranges of potential each energy source has yearly. We chose the top three energy sources because this would have the biggest impact.
Solar power - Niger
Niger acts as an ideal location for solar power as indicated by the adjacent map. It draws large levels of sunlight, and simulatneously it is lacking serious development infrastructure. Through our initiative we will be paving the way for the country to be able to implement a large solar scheme. Our organisation provides the funding for the initial start-up and then we follow through by entrenching the infrastructure by developing cheaper solar batteries. Niger has previously been subject to high-import taxes and poor-quality products on the solar market - we want to change this.
Geothermal - India
India presents an exciting opportunity to greater expand the geothermal energy sector. India has good potential to exploit geothermal but has not yet properly expanded into the industry due to financial constraints. Geothermal energy is a complicated process requiring advanced technology, something which we wish to invest in. India is currently very reliant on coal, which is clearly damaging to the environment and contributing to climate change. We wish to invest in the required technology and to train up local residents in the engineering field, to allow them to operate it independently. The potential geothermal provinces can produce 10,600 MW of power - this needs to be harnessed.
Wind - Denmark
Denmark currently has 42.1% of its energy produced by wind. By funding this research, the bioinspired wind turbines (which would be modelled off dragonfly wings) could increase the percentage of energy produced from 50% by 2020 to 67.5%. Furthermore, by 2035, Denmark could produce 113.4% of its energy from wind. The country of Denmark is already highly developed, but represents the potential that wind power can have if harnessed in an effective manner. We aim to further invest in the already strong renewable infrastructure to fulfill the country's full potential, and to act as a model to other countries in the wind power category.
