Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources, including sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat which are renewable. Renewable energy technologies include solar power, wind power, hydroelectricity ,biomass and biofuels.

In 2006, over 15% of global energy consumption originated from renewable sources, with the majority generated from traditional biomass such as wood-burning. Hydroelectricity is the next largest renewable source, providing 3%, then hot water heating. Modern technologies such as geothermal, wind, solar, and ocean energy together provided less than 1% of energy consumption. The theoretical potential for large scale usage is enormous, exceeding all other sources, including fossil fuels. The challenge is to make renewable energy sources a primary source of power.
These topics are discussed in detail at the environmental forum at www.onebiosphere.com This is a website dedicated to finding pragmatic solutions to critical environmental issues that must be addressed.
The use of alternative energy sources in the U.S. is exploding due to concerns about global warming and skyrocketing fossil-fuel prices. For instance, the use of wind and solar power increased by 40% in 2007. The U.S. consumed over 600,000 barrels of ethanol a day during the summer of 2008 which is over 40% higher than in 2007. In terms of venture capital, private investment in the alternative energy sector was approximately $2.6 billion dollars in 2007.

Alternative energy is progressively breaking into the mainstream. However, there are various roadblocks. A multiplicity of projects are underway to study and solve these problems.

For example, solar companies are working on reducing the costs of solar energy. There have been dramatic decreases in the cost of solar energy. Advanced technologies contribute to the decreases in price. Also, the increasing number of solar energy users and manufacturing volumes have made solar systems more affordable. As more users realize the benefits of solar energy, solar energy cost will continue to decline.

As the market increases, more users will adopt affordable solar solutions. Because governments have recognized the benefits, financial incentives are available from state, federal and local governments as well as utility companies.

Wind power is intermittent and is a diffuse source which means low energy production and a large numbers of wind generators. Wind power requires large land masses, noise, and unsightly turbines present environmental drawbacks from the perspective of some environmentalists.

Common Problems & Solutions

Alternative energy technologies suffer from some common problems. First, several sources are intermittent and unreliable. These are natural resources so the wind does not always blow, the sun does not always shine and waves do not always occur. This gives rise to the inherent problem of providing a constant power supply to energy users.