In earlier times, wood was earlier considered to be an alternative energy source mainly because it was abundantly available in the forests and it was always believed that the forest cover on this earth will never cease to exist. But the increase in the rate of deforestation, wood is no longer used an alternative energy source although it provides an alternative to oil.

Hydropower or hydro electric energy as it is more commonly called is the alternative energy source generated from running water in the form of electricity. Reservoirs need to be built to collect the running water which can be later used for the purpose of electricity generation. But hydropower cannot be considered to be a true source of alternative energy. The reason is that all the reservoirs in which water is stored to generate electricity eventually get filled with sediment and this causes problems in generating electricity and a dam site can be used only once.

Another promising alternative energy resource being developed is the fuel. These are used for producing electricity and do not cause any pollution.

Alternative energy sources are a viable option that can be used in the future for many purposes efficiently and cost effectively.

During the previous administration in 2008, alternative energy was hailed as “the brightest sector in venture capital over the last year,” by Brian Fan, research director at Cleantech Group, an industry trade organization in San Francisco. The current Obama administration’s efforts to boost alternative energy resources are stoking activity in private venture-capital outreach.

In 2008, investments in alternative energy companies totaled $8.4 billion, up nearly 40% from 2007, according to Cleantech Group. The third quarter alone set a record, with venture capitalists poured $2.6 billion into clean technology. In the fourth quarter, they invested $1.7 billion.
Yet the credit crunch and nose-diving energy prices are prompting companies to scale back or cancel alternative-energy projects.

In 2008, research firm New Energy Finance predicted total spending on clean-energy projects was expected to fall 4% to $142 billion from 2007. But venture capital and private-equity firms are still investing in alternative energy resources, largely due to the President Barack Obama’s administration and its efforts to boost the sector.

Employment opportunities developing alternative energy resources of a different type will develop as well. In February the National Clean Energy Project conference convened to discuss a modernized electric grid for the US. This new network of power lines will be an effective transport system to distribute the energy generated from alternative energy resources. The sheer magnitude of the project will require an enormous amount of engineers and high-skill workers.

Engineers and skilled workers will also be innovating geothermal energy, which is shaping up to be one of the more promising alternative energy resources. A recent analysis concluded that geothermal energy is cheaper than coal, and with further innovation in the technology it could prove to be both highly lucrative and a powerful industry that employs people in the manufacturing, construction, management, and technology sectors. In less than a decade, the global industry of alternative energy resources is projected to explode from a $150-billion-a-year industry to a $600-billion-a-year industry.