With environmental concerns as they are today, renewable energy is enjoying a time of heightened interest. Renewable energy can come from a number of sources such as wind, water, sunlight and heat from geothermal sources. Today, approximately 20% of the energy in the world comes from renewable sources. While most of this comes from burning wood a very large amount also comes from hydroelectricity.

Presently, approximately 20% of all the energy in the world comes from renewable sources. The most popular is simply the burning of wood to provide us with warmth and light and the second most common form of renewable energy comes on the rapidly increasing industry of hydroelectricity which is currently supplying approximately three per cent of the world’s electrical power.

One of the most common forms of renewable energy is hydroelectricity, which comes from water. One of the main advantages of hydroelectric power, is that it produces a great deal of electricity and is not particularly costly to run. Hydroelectricity can come from dams, water mills and water wheels. Of a number of other things that can help to supply hydroelectric power, waves and tides.

Another popular form of renewable energy is of course solar power, which is derived from sunlight reflected on to solar panels and converted into electricity. It is quite common these days in certain households, where people have their own solar panels installed and can sell any electricity that they generate back into the grid. So, not only is it an environmentally friendly form of energy, but it is also economically viable for the people who use it.

Another form of renewable energy is biofuel, which is derived from recently dead biological material, as opposed to fossil fuels which come from organic matter left by creatures and plant life long dead. The technology that utilises biofuel is rapidly becoming more popular, with a number of flexible fuel cars starting to appear on the market.

Renewable energy can also come from tapping directly to the natural heat sources of the planet. This type of renewable energy is called geothermal energy. The kind of power stations which are required to convert the earth’s heat into energy is, unfortunately rather expensive, although quite economical to run.

The market for renewable energy is rapidly growing, especially the wind power industry, which is currently experiencing a remarkable 30 per cent annual growth rate. In addition to this, or more people are getting solar power panels installed into their homes.

In these worrying times of environmental destruction coupled with the rapidly growing worldwide population, it does give us some hope when governments and individuals and companies are starting to be really aware of the problem and start producing more environmentally friendly solutions. Hopefully, we can expect to see further technological advancement in the near future and the rapidly increasing use of renewable energy sources. It is the only hope for the future of the planet.