The United States leads the way in wind power capacity, with Germany and China following not far behind.

Wind Power

1. United States - 35,296 MW
2. Germany - 25,777 MW
3. China - 25,104 MW
4. Spain - 19,149 MW
5. India - 10,925 MW
6. Italy - 4,850 MW
7. France - 4,492 MW
8. United Kingdom - 4,051 MW
9. Portugal - 3,535 MW
10. Canada - 3,319 MW

Hydro power is most available in China by more than twice the MW of Brazil, the country with the second largest capacity. The United States has the third largest capacity for hydro power.

Hydro Power

1. China - 179,056 MW
2. Brazil - 81,955 MW
3. United States - 78,054 MW
4. Canada - 75,287 MW
5. Russia - 46,756 MW
6. India - 39,546 MW
7. Norway - 29,317 MW
8. Japan - 22,089 MW
9. France - 20,850 MW
10. Sweden - 16,266 MW

Germany's capacity for photovoltaic solar power is roughly 6 times larger than that of the U.S. However, the United States still has the largest capacity of concentrated solar power.

Solar (PV) Power

1. Germany - 6526.00 MW
2. Spain - 5504.76 MW
3. Japan - 2347.00 MW
4. United States - 1487.71 MW
5. Italy - 908.59 MW
6. Republic of Korea - 557.60 MW
7. France - 253.42 MW
8. China - 223.00 MW
9. India - 223.00 MW
10. Australia - 114.39 MW

Solar (CSP) Power

1. United States - 900.0 MW
2. Spain - 130.0 MW
3. Australia - 37.0 MW
4. Mexico - 25.0 MW
5. Algeria - 20.0 MW
6. Morocco - 20.0 MW
7. Italy - 5.0 MW
8. N/A
9. N/A
10. N/A

The range in capacities for geothermal power as a renewable energy resource is drastic. The United States has roughly 3000 more MWe of geothermal energy available than the Russian Federation, which ranks tenth on the list.

Geothermal Power

1. United States - 3153.0 MW
2. Philippines - 2195.3 MW
3. Indonesia - 1132.0 MW
4. Mexico - 965.0 MW
5. Italy - 810.0 MW
6. New Zealand - 577.0 MW
7. Japan - 535.0 MW
8. Kenya - 169.0 MW
9. Turkey - 83.0 MW
10. Russian Federation - 81.0 MW

Germany has by far the largest capacity for energy available from biogas, a type of biofuel that can be used as a low-cost fuel for any heating purpose. When compressed, biogas can also be used to power motor vehicles. In the UK alone, biogas is estimated to have the potential to replace 17% of vehicle fuel.

Biogas Power

1. Germany - 3,594 MW
2. United Kingdom - 1,425 MW
3. United States - 1,047 MW
4. Italy - 477 MW
5. Australia - 427 MW
6. Spain - 194 MW
7. Netherlands - 130 MW
8. France - 120 MW
9. Canada - 117 MW
10. Sweden - 64 MW

Biomass energy, derived from living or recently living organisms, is most heavily available in the United States. Several countries have large capacities for biomass as a renewable energy resource.

Biomass Power

1. United States - 9,391 MW
2. Germany - 5,890 MW
3. Sweden - 4,522 MW
4. Brazil - 3,970 MW
5. Japan - 2,834 MW
6. Netherlands - 2,531 MW
7. China - 2,381 MW
8. Finland - 2,352 MW
9. India - 2,117 MW
10. Canada - 1,885 MW

There are renewable energy resources available in countries around the world. The next step is figuring out how to utilize them...

Until next time,

-Hilary