Energy

Where it is

Water energy turned into hydroelectric energy a little more than a century ago and it has undergone a very rapid development which is still continuing in industrialised countries and developing countries of Asia and Latin America, potentially rich in resources. North America is the first producer in the world with 58 million tonnes of oil equivalent, closely followed by Europe (51 million tonnes of oil equivalent), Asia (46 million tonnes of oil equivalent) and Central and South America (45 million tonnes of oil equivalent).
Also in terms of exploitation of available hydroelectric resources, Western Europe and the United States are the world leaders and use almost all the available resources. The use of hydroelectric energy is much more limited in Eastern and developing countries, where the energy produced by hydroelectric power plants could be increased remarkably. The installed capacity of Africa is remarkably low as compared to the huge potential of the continent. In this respect, a dam on the Congo river alone would allow the production of as much energy as it is produced in Italy in one year. In terms of installed capacity and energy efficiency, hydroelectric energy remains one of the most widely exploited resources to produce electric energy. In 2009 hydroelectric energy accounts for over 16.5% of the world production of electric energy, although only 10% of the technically viable water resources are exploited. (Source: International Energy Agency (IEA) – Key World Energy Statistics 2011)