Green Industry in US continues to flourish despite the general apathy towards global warming from a significant section of the population and parties. USA is the hotbed of green innovation despite stiff challenge by China which is spending billions of dollars to become the No.1 in Green Industry and Technology. US has the lead in Fuel Cell Technology with a number of top companies like Fuel Cell Energy, Bloom Energy. Now a start up ClearEdge Power has got one of the biggest fuel cell orders in the world worth $85 million from Austria’s Gussing Renewable Energy. The deal calls for supplying of 50 megawatts of power by the year 2020.

Renewable Energy is one of the most read about and discussed topics in the world however various misconceptions remain about the advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy.Note Renewable Energy is a a very large topic and encompasses many different alternative energy forms which have their own distinct pros and cons.A Better Way to understand and explain Renewable Energy would be to look at each different forms of Clean Energy like Solar,Wind,Nuclear,Hydro,Tidal,Biomass and Geothermal Energy.Renewable Energy itself compared to Fossil Fuel forms of Non-Renewable Energy has substantial advantages and some disadvantages as well the biggest of which is Cost.Also note Fossil Fuel Energy has got a massive established base,industry and lobby.

The Biggest Disadvantage of Renewable Energy is the relatively higher cost of most forms of alternative energy compared to fossil fuel sources of energy.This has prevented the higher penetration of clean energy as compared to the non-renewable sources of energy.Also the massive old energy lobbies have successfully used their massive influence and power to inhibit the growth of renewable sources of energy.The recent lobbying by oil and gas firms like the Koch Brothers and Valero is quite pertinent.Note the oil and gas lobbies receive almost 10 times the subsidy received by clean energy sources like wind and solar despite their massive established bases.

The importance of Clean and Renewable Energy is growing driven by the twin factors of increasing fossil fuel prices and Global Warming.Other factors contributing to the importance and growing use of Alternative Energy is national energy security as geopolitical tensions in major oil and gas countries grows by the day.Also renewable sources of energy like solar energy promote the democratization of energy production which is centralized by power utilities today.There are a number of alternative sources of energy such as solar,wind,geothermal,tidal,hydro and nuclear energy.Some people may not consider nuclear and hydro energy to be green but it is a fact that these 2 energy sources do not produce GHG emissions and cannot be classified as fossil fuels sources.Each clean energy source has its own advantages and many of the pros overlap with each other as well.However each Green Energy source has its unique benefits which define and separate it from the other clean sources.While Renewable Energy advantages over Non-Renewable can be easily be understood as

Biomass Energy accounted for most of Human Energy Consumption before the 20th century before fossil fuels took over.Biomass Energy still accounts for 1/3rd of Energy requirements in a lot of countries and is the primary energy source for heating and cooking in rural communities.Biomass Electricity accounts for around 1% of the world’s electricity capacity of around 5000 GW.With advancement in Biomass Technology a number of Large Scale Biomass Energy Plants are being built in Europe.Even in developing countries like India,the government is strongly supportive of biomass energy and is giving various subsidies to support this alternative energy.Biomass Energy can play an essential role in off grid markets where there is a decent availability of feedstock.Each year millions of tons of crop residue and animal waste is converted into carbon emissions without being used up.Biomass Energy can convert this feedstock into useful electricity without adding carbon to the atmosphere.Waste to Energy is the most unexploited forms of energy and there exists enormous potential here also.Here is a list of the Biomass Energy and Wood Pellet Companies in the World.Note most of the companies are small in nature compared to the wind and solar companies.Most of the biomass electricity companies still have their biomass plants in the drawing or construction stage.Wood Pellet Companies are mostly private companies and not traded on the Stock Exchange.

India’s Biomass Electricity Capacity at 2 GW (including cogeneration) is around 4% of the world’s total Biomass Power Capacity of around 50 GW.US is the leader in Biomass Capacity with around 20% of the world’s biomass potential.India has set ambitious plans for expanding the biomass power capacity in the next 10 years.India’s Ministry of Renewable Energy has set a very high target of multiplying the power capacity by 10 times in the next 10 years.India’s Total Biomass Potential with existing Technology is around 25 GW of which around 8% has been realized till date.India produce s 500 million tonnes of biomass per year, 120-150 million tonnes is surplus