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Unsettlingly, usually, these discussions involve more strong opinions than data. Some people believe that one of these alternative (they are not all sustainable) energy options is the silver bullet that will solve both the climate and the energy crisis. Other argue that there is no silver bullet and that what is required are a variety of silver BB’s: a mixture of technologies, along with greater energy efficiency and preservation of habitat (forests). Do we really just need to build huge number of nuclear plants or wind farms to solve the problem? If, instead, we are going to use a mix of alternative energy sources, which ones should we use and in what quantities?

That is one reason for the rise of renewable energy middlemen like Clean Currents in Washington, D.C. The company bundles small businesses that want to buy wind power credits and submits a collective application to a utility. The businesses get better rates, and Clean Currents pockets a 1 percent commission.

Distributed generation (DG) and renewable energy sources (RES) are attracting special attention. Both are seen as important in achieving two key goals:Increasing the security of energy supplies by reducing the dependency on imported fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coalReducing the emission of greenhouse gases, specifically carbon dioxide, from the burning of fossil fuels.

In 2007 the cumulative market share of direct drive turbines was around 14%, a percentage that has varied little (between about 13%-15%) during past few years.