Notwithstanding these disadvantages, some regions of the European Union, though, are particularly well suited to the installation of wind farms. For example, a 5-megawatt wind farm featuring 10 wind turbines with 500 kW capacity each, has already been constructed in Crete (Greece: Renewable Energy Fact Sheet, 2007, p. 3). Although this wind farm facility is generating electricity, it is also serving as an experimental operation that uses two kinds of

Part of the problem is governmental intransigence. For the past eight years in particular, energy policy has been driven by the oil companies (Environmental News Service, 2008), resulting in clean energy having been sidelined. Another reason is that there is significant opposition from other parties as well. Business groups have opposed clean energy measures, citing fears about higher energy costs (Dorschner, 2008). These groups have proven powerful enough to

Renewable Energy Sources Today: A Review The emergence of modern-day developed economies depended heavily on the availability of cheap and abundant energy, but the planet's oil reserves, which supplies over 35% of the world's energy needs, are projected to be depleted within a hundred years (Balat 19). As this resource is depleted, demand will increase and drive prices to unheard of levels, thereby threatening the stability of economies in some of

There is another, more pressing reason for getting rid of our dependence on fossil fuels. It is not a newly recognized threat; in fact, it has been recognized and warned about almost as long as oil has been the dominant source of energy in the world. The very name "fossil fuel" -- which applies to oil as well as coal and other hydrocarbons found in the ground -- reveals the

renewable energy development from the 1970s to present. Historical changes in energy misuses (i.e. pollution) and consumption (oil reserves) have resulted in increased concern regarding the search and use for alternate and/or renewable energy worldwide. The world faces a critical shortage of non-renewable energy sources in the next decades, and something must be done now to combat the rising disappearance of these energy sources that will eventually cripple transportation

Who is Leading the International Clean Energy Race? The race for clean energy is already underway, but some countries are in vanguard while others remain heavily reliant on fossil fuels. Unfortunately, even the winners of the clean energy race fail to realize the full range of benefits that can accrue to renewable energy sources as long as other countries continue to rely on fossil fuels for their energy needs. To determine