Clearly the way of the future, the ONLY way! Renewable energy is slowly but definitely becoming the preferred source of energy for commercial and private consumers.
With tremendous growth opportunities right now, I think whoever initiates the superior business model for a company based on purveying renewable energy will be wildly successful.

There are many classifications of renewable energy, and the advantages and disadvantages vary widely depending upon intended use, geography, jurisdiction, capital available, and time horizon. Energy uses fall into two broad categories, those that involve transportation, and those that involve electricity, although there is continuing effort to link the two. Many people will use the term Alternative Energy or Alternative Fuels to relate to transportation applications, while reserving the term Renewable Energy for electric generation.
In the US, electricity is currently generated predominantly by coal, with Nuclear second, natural gas and oil third, and hydroelectric fourth. The ratios vary regionally fairly substantially depending mainly on geographic factors. Many will argue that hydro, or some types of hydro are renewable, and from a strict definition standpoint, this is true. However, because renewables tend to be driven from and eco-ethic, and new large hydro is probably the form of energy most destructive to habitats, rules to encourage renewables often exclude hydro.
Where viable, wind is clearly the most cost effective of current renewable energy options due to its reasonable capital and O&M costs. Wind technology has improved tremendously over the last 30 years with relatively small R&D investment (as compared to the huge R&D investments made toward coal, nuclear, and gas technology which have produced only modest improvements so far). Solar electric technologies have not made as drastic improvements, but improvements have been substantial and relatively large (30 MW scale) systems should be operational in NV soon. The problem with Wind and Solar is calm and night respectively. In industry jargon, these sources are not “dispatchable.” That is, it is not necessarily available when needed, and since storing electricity in MW scale is problematic it has to be generated as needed.
Certain biomass to energy technologies are relatively dispatchable, but they are combustion technologies, and have the same environmental issues associated with any combustion technology. Generally the limited availability of biomass fuels constrain the size of biomass technology so that while 30 to 75 MW facilities are fairly numerous, there are very few that could replace even one 2000 or 3000 MW scale coal and nuclear plants that dot the continental US.
In sum, renewable technologies are growing fast for several good reasons, but they are not growing fast enough to meet growing demand, and replacement generation needs. They are not the very small niche contributors they once were, but they are small, and their economics remain very reliant on subsidies or rules that are not yet stable. While coal and nuclear also rely on substantial subsidies, their long existence and large proportion mean that these subsidies are very stable, and therefore more “bankable.” That is, it’s easier to borrow money more cheaply for a traditional coal-fired plant than it would be for a renewable project.
If you are asking from an investment standpoint, I would be very wary of investing in a small renewable energy venture. The good feeling associated with renewables unfortunately attracts unscrupulous business people looking for suckers. Even where the effort is legitimate, renewables are mom-and-pop operations compared to established power and power equipment companies. The best business plans will be those with a strong intellectual property position, a good plan to build a full scale facility proving the technology, and a ready buyer for the business once proven.

Renewable energy sources – What do you think?

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