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1 MW of wind energy can offset approximately 2,600 tons Waste heat recovery  file size 4MB of carbon dioxide annually.

29,440 Megawatts (MW) of wind energy are currently installed in the United States, and an additional 5,866 MW are under construction.Over 8,500 MW were installed in the US in 2008 (just beating out China with 6,300 MW). This represents: 50 percent increase from 200742 percent of all new generating capacity installed in 2008$17 billion investment44 million tons of carbon emissions avoided (equivalent of 7 million cars)35,000 new jobs

When looking at a wind powered electric generator, many people see a permanent source of renewable electricity. The problem with this image is that wind generators have shorter life spans than the term “sustainable” would imply. Wooden windmills in Holland that used to power industrial machinery before the invention of steam engines were more durable than these picket lines of propellers along our Columbia Gorge. The composite material and rare earth chemicals they require are both perishable and costly to replace. More important, like fossil fuels, our planet has a finite supply of these materials. Wind power is such an inefficient means of generating electricity that a world that seriously relied on it the way we do fossil fuels would run out of the limited resources needed to build and maintain them long before our present trends would exhaust our vast bounty of hydrocarbons.

Wave energy is produced when electricity generators are placed on the surface of the ocean

Energy output is determined by wave height, wave speed, wavelength, and water density.

The energy provided is most often used in desalination plants, power plants and water pumps.

Solar energy is energy from the sun, it is a renewable source of energy and does not cause pollution.

Advantages: Geothermal energy cost is extremely low compared to many other energy sources. It has low pollution compared to fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source. Almost no environmental impact when using geothermal heat from nuclear decay. Geothermal heat pump systems can reduce your energy use storing heat from the summer/sun and makes use of it in the night and winter. Low maintenance systems.

Disadvantages: The most important disadvantage is absolutely the geological problem.  The heat source is mostly close to volcanic activity of some sort. Chemicals are byproducts of the production electricity with hot ground water. Some geothermal plants use a lot of water and it needs to go somewhere its after use. Some of the poluting chemicals in that water and steam are sulfur, mercury, hydrogen sulfide, arsenic, ammonia. Earth is a changing creature.  A drilled hole in the ground could supply thousands of homes heat and one earthquake could change that in a second.  It can also change gradually over time. Location, location, location.  That is certainly true of geothermal energy.  It cannot be transported over vast distances.  If used to heat up houses or for hot tap water it is only the quality of the pipe that delivers the water that determines how far it can go and if it will be of any use when it arrives. If the heat is used for electrical production it helps to have plants close so the energy loss is not too great. 

Corrosion is a big problem.  Composition of the chemicals can vary but it is always a problem.  It is among other the reason they need to heat up clean water to use and do not use it directly in to heating of houses.  In cases it has been used directly it causes pipes to corrode. In nuclear heating rock the rock cools down over few decades and hundreds of years are needed to get initial heating back.  Power stations of that sort are therefore not considered as profitable. Geothermal Heat pump systems do have high installation cost. Some areas run out of water or run low on ground water during seasonal dry spells. Less water means less heat and less energy to produce. Some drilling sites are too hot to handle.  Yea. Drillers have actually tried and tried some holes and they just can’t get the needed equipment in because the holes shoot it out like guns.   With workers running to stay alive while steel rains down on them. 

Solar energy is the radiant energy produced by the Sun. It is both light and heat

What is solar energy? Solar energy is the radiant energy produced by the Sun. It is both light and heat. It, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, account for the majority of the renewable energy on Earth.

a tidal energy project is moving ahead in Maine, with high costs but high hopes too. But the 180-kilowatt unit that the Ocean Renewable Power Company hopes to put under water next week is really just a first step. The big question is, how well will it withstand the force of the rushing water?

The region, the Bay of Fundy, is famous for strong tides, but the company has picked a spot called Cobscook Bay, where the current is relatively slow, an average of 5.8 knots, or 6.7 miles an hour. That is the speed at which the hardware will produce 180 kilowatts.

The Solar Cells and Solar Panels that are needed to harness solar energy tend to be very expensive when you first purchase them.

Solar powered panels and products are typically extremely easy to install

The constant temperature of the Earth creates underground sources of heat, hot water and steam which become fuel to produce geothermal energy. People have used various forms of geothermal energy for hundreds of years; modern technology accesses these underground reservoirs, steam deposits and hot air by drilling, and then using the heat or hot water directly or using it to create power. Geothermal energy represents an enormous, underused power source that provides clean, renewable energy in virtually unlimited supply.

Biofuels are renewable liquid or gaseous transport fuels derived from biomass (bacterial, plant or animal material).

idal power can be harnessed using a barrage (dam) built across an estuary that captures the potential energy generated by the change in height (or head) between high and low tides. As the tide goes in and out, the water flows through tunnels in the dam. The ebb and flow are used to either turn a water turbine or compress air through a pipe that then turns a turbine, which generates electricity. Tidal Fences and Turbines Tidal fences and turbines can also be used to capture tidal power. Tidal fences are turbines that operate like giant turnstiles, while tidal turbines are similar to wind turbines. In both cases, electricity is generated when the turbines are turned by the tidal currents that occur in coastal waters. Ocean currents generate relatively more energy than wind (air currents) because ocean water has a higher density than air and therefore applies greater force on the turbines.

Tidal energy is a form of hydropower that converts the energy of the tides into electricity or other useful forms of power. The tide is created by the gravitational effect of the sun and the moon on the earth. Tidal energy is therefore a predictable form of renewable energy, which can be harnessed in two forms:

April 4, 2008 Bristol based renewable energy company Marine Current Turbines has completed the first installation phase of the 1.2MW SeaGen Tidal System at Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough - a site chosen for its combination of fast tidal current and ability to provide shelter from bad weather which may hinder the construction process.

Much of the gasoline in the United States is blended with a biofuel—ethanol. This is the same stuff as in alcoholic drinks, except that it's made from corn that has been heavily processed. There are various ways of making biofuels, but they generally use chemical reactions, fermentation, and heat to break down the starches, sugars, and other molecules in plants. The leftover products are then refined to produce a fuel that cars can use.

BC Hydro’s 2002 Green Energy Study for BC estimated the realistic energy potential for tidal current energy generation in BC to be 20 TWhrs/year. The estimated cost was 11 cents/kWhr for a large (800 MW) site, and 25 cents/kWhr for a small (43 MW) site. The best sites are in the Strait of Georgia and Johnstone Strait, which are both relatively close to the main centers of consumption.

Drilling and exploration for deep resources is very expensive. Forecasts for the future of geothermal power depend on assumptions about technology, energy prices, subsidies, and interest rates. Pilot programs like EWEB's customer opt in Green Power Program [6] show that customers would be willing to pay a little more for a renewable energy source like geothermal. But as a result of government assisted research and industry experience, the cost of generating geothermal power has decreased by 25% over the past two decades.[7] In 2001, geothermal energy cost between two and ten cents per kwh.[8]

Ocean waves are generated by wind passing over the surface of the sea - a process which often begins many hundreds or thousands of miles from shore.

Wind is a clean source of renewable energy that produces no air or water pollution.

Wind is the movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. In fact, wind exists because the sun unevenly heats the surface of the Earth. As hot air rises, cooler air moves in to fill the void. As long as the sun shines, the wind will blow. And as long as the wind blows, people will harness it to power their lives.

The wind spins the blades, which turn a shaft connected to a generator that produces electricity. Other turbines work the same way, but the turbine is on a vertical axis and the blades look like a giant egg beater.

One of the most important is that wind power is the least expensive of all other forms of alternative energy.

Wind energy is also a renewable energy, meaning it does not deplete our natural resources like coal or petroleum based products.

As with installing your own solar energy, installing wind energy will help to reduce carbon emissions, which damage the environment and will save money.

It's only downfall is possibly the visual impact it makes on the landscape: A tall 'small scale' generator could attract wide rebuttal from neighbours, and this is worth considering before embarking on a wind generation project. However, if you live in a remote area, which benefits from exposure to the wind, or have neighbours that are happy for you to go ahead with the project, installing wind power can be an economically viable way to capitalise on natural, renewable resources

A wind generator will cost in the region of £3'000 - £15'000, at about £3'000 per kilowatt.