Renewable energy is, by definition, energy generated from sources that cannot be depleted. Two well-known examples are wind and solar energy. Renewable energy is considered a very important part of the solution. Its share (including large hydro and biomass) in global primary energy is projected to be between 8% and 17% possibly increasing to above 61% in 2100.

Renewable energy is helping us bring about a new energy future, one that is cleaner, more sustainable, more affordable, more secure and less reliant on carbon-based fossil fuels. While there is no “silver bullet” that will solve the world’s energy problems, it is clear that renewable energy and efficiency technologies are an indispensable component of the solution.

Wind, solar, and geothermal are still considered “alternative” types of energy that just can’t be relied on to power our world. Wind power is projected to experience a fivefold increase, but the EIA does not project any significant offshore wind power in its reference case.

Renewable energy is cost effective compared to nuclear energy and fossil fuels, both financially and environmentally. Presently the cost per watt is about $4 to $5 and projected to be about $1 by the year 2015.

Nuclear should be part of the pie. The key issue is to cut carbon dioxide emissions new; a less important issue is whether or not we will eventually run out of nuclear materials to run nuclear power plants. Nuclear should be the transition energy, that takes us from fossil fuels to the renewable energy sources.

After all, living on nuclear energy is like living on a set amount of capital, but living using renewable energy sources is like living from an everlasting income. Electricity produced from nuclear energy could at least reduce our dependance on burning coal to produce electic power. The U.S. alon e generates a full 60 percent of it’s electric power from burning coal. Burning coal, a non-renewable resource at such rates can only hasten global climate change.

Renewable energy can provide important new ways to reduce pollution, diversify and secure energy supply and help provide access to energy in support of poverty eradication. The burning of fossil fuels is the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions and these emissions need to be reduced to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change in order to achieve the ultimate objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to prevent dangerous climate change.

Renewable energy sources (wind, solar, biomass, hydroelectric, geothermal, etc.) are generally thought of as harmless, but this doesn?t mean they have no environmental consequences at all. Most of them have a significant aesthetic impact and require large areas of land.