The technology that will make renewable energy a viable and cost-competitive solution requires innovation to improve cost efficiencies. System costs are directly related to performance and available technologies. To achieve any significant impact in energy production over the next 25 years, innovation and development in technology is crucial, as are optimization strategies for renewable energy.

In 2005, only 8.9% of the total electrical energy produced in the US came from geothermal, solar, wind and hydroelectric energy. Geothermal (with no actionable growth) represents 0.37%. The number of solar and wind power plants may be increasing every year, but they nonetheless only represent 0.014% and 0.44% of the nation’s power supply. The lion’s share at 6.7% (or 75.6% of all renewable energy created) is from hydroelectric power, a technology that was commercialized over 130 years ago and which has very limited opportunities for expansion. With all the advances in new materials and electronics, it’s astounding that only a tiny fraction of the nation’s energy production can be attributed to wind and solar sources.

The arsenal of today’s renewable energy technologies is dated, static, and frighteningly small.

Global electricity consumption in 2005: 17,300,000 GWh

US electricity consumption in 2005: 3,816,000 GWh

US Hydroelectric electricity consumption in 2005: 270,320 GWh

US Biomass electricity consumption in 2005: 54,160 GWh

US Wind electricity consumption in 2005: 17,810 GWh

US Geothermal electricity consumption in 2005: 14,690 GWh

US Solar Thermal electricity consumption in 2005: 350 GWh

US Solar PV electricity consumption in 2005: 200 GWh

Not until the late 1970s did renewable energy became the hot-button topic in the U.S. Then—as now—this policy stemmed from the oil crisis and the nation’s corresponding dependency on foreign oil. A new chapter in energy began…but closed just as quickly. The Department of Energy funded a series of new technologies to be investigated, developed, and tested. These technologies ranged from harnessing the energy of the sun through films and reflectors to capturing the energy of the wind through blades and fins to finding a way to store geothermal energy through the use of enhanced systems. Over the course of ten years, many technologies were developed and tested. However, as the world oil crisis began to fade away, so did 85% of the funding…and any corresponding opportunities in technological advancement.

For over 20 years, developed technologies have lain dormant; for the most part, their only advances have been due to maintenance improvements. Today more than ever, new solutions are needed. In 2006, amidst the awareness of climate change and the increasing dependency of the U.S. on foreign oil, there was a revived push to identify renewable energies. Furthermore, with new advancements in transportation technologies and the probable conversion of gasoline-powered automobile engines to plug-in hybrids and purely electrical engines, there will be a greater strain on the nation’s electrical grid in the future.

Revitalizing the nation’s core technological strength entails building green energy. There is no time to waste--the level of global warming is highly dependent on the actions of the United States, the largest power-consuming nation in the world. Without making the switch to obtaining a significant amount of our power from renewable sources, carbon waste will continue to suffocate our air and sully our environment.

The future needs clean, green renewable energy. This green fuel of the future will enable economical freedom, significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provide clean water production, and will pave the way for the adoption of zero-emission vehicles.