Renewable Energy

Renewable energy is generated from replenishible resources such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal heat, as opposed to finite resources such as coal and oil. ¹ Most renewable energy, including biomass, hydropower, wind power and solar power, is directly or indirectly derived from the sun. Most renewable technologies are forms of clean energy because they generate few greenhouse gas emissions and inflict less overall harm on the environment. In the US policies such as tax credits, targets like the Renewable Portfolio Standard, and markets like Renewable Energy Certificates have been created to promote the use of renewable energy. ²

In 2007 51 % of renewable power consumed in the United States was used by power companies to generate electricity, and roughly 49% came from biomass. ³ The most common forms, from most to least generated, were 71% hydroelectric,  16% biomass, 9% wind, 4% geothermal and .2% solar. ⁴ The sectors with the fastest rates of growth were wind electricity with an increase of 21% from 2006, and solar electricity with a growth rate of 19%. ⁵ In the first half of 2008, renewable sources comprised over 10% of the energy generated in the United States, and wind power again saw the largest growth rate. ⁶