Renewable forms of energy, or renewables, constitute a suite of energy production alternatives to nuclear power and the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas). Sources of renewable power generation include wind power, solar energy, geothermal heat, hydroelectricity, and biofuels (e.g., ethanol).

Here at the World Resources Institute (WRI) there are several projects that provide information about renewable energy:

* EarthTrends features several datasets of national consumption totals for different renewable energy resources in our searchable database and our energy consumption data table. Data are from the International Energy Agency.

* The Green Power Market Development Group is a collaboration between WRI and corporations whose goal is to develop corporate markets for cost competitive "green" power. Current programs are operating in the United States and the European Union. Their website features several publications, including corporate guides and case studies that document how to effectively assess, implement, and inventory renewable energy initiatives.

* The Biofuels Production and Policy project researches the impact of biofuel production on the environment and agricultural structure, and how policy influences feedstock production, technology change and the environment.

* In the recent publication by WRI, Growing in the Greenhouse, there are several chapters that directly discuss Brazil's use of biofuels as a model case study for the effective utilization (both economic and environmental gains) of renewable energy.

Additionally, the Renewables 2005: Global Status Report is a comprehensive overview of worldwide renewable energy use. Produced and published by the Worldwatch Institute, this landmark report provides detailed information regarding current global renewable energy capacity, including statistics of national consumption and production, investment in renewables, industry trends, and renewables policies. This report was sponsered by the REN21 Renewable Energy Policy Network.

Other websites that provide substantial amounts of general information regarding renewable energy include:

The United States Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (http://www.eere.energy.gov/), The National Renewables Laboratory (http://www.nrel.gov/), and the Energy Information Administration (http://www.eia.doe.gov/).

http://www.renewableenergy.com/, part of the World News Network, a self-proclaimed unbiased online news repository, features a wealth of information regarding the who, what, and where of renewable energy use from a more international perspective.

Numerous other sources of more specific national information and data are also available. If you have additional suggestions for renewable energy reference sites or publications, please let us know.