Making Money from Energy

Alternative energy may be a favorite of environmentalists, but its successful induction into business or daily life depends a lot on economics and perception. Innovative marketing strategies are required to increase the penetration of these earth friendly technologies and improve the prospects of entrepreneurs in this energy niche.

So what is Solar Energy and how is it being harnessed throughout the world? Rising crude oil prices and increasing awareness on climate change have intensified research in this field and brought about interesting innovations and applications.

Millions of dollars are being invested by photovoltaic (PV) panel manufacturers to ramp up production capacity in expectation of high sustained growth in PV demand.

Due to its favorable economics, wind power is one of the most important and fastest growing segments of the energy market.

Biomass has the highest potential for small scale business development and mass employment. Characterized by low cost technologies and freely available raw material it is still one of the leading sources of primary energy for most countries.

There has been a sudden increase in the use of Wind Energy to generate clean power, and the installed capacities in many countries have consistently registered double digit growth figures.

Most organic waste that was earlier relegated to landfills outside cities is now being used to generate power.

Hydro power is one of the largest and cleanest sources of electricity in the world. Many believe that its potential has been reached but newer and more efficient turbine technologies combined with a closer look at micro hydro power could change this belief.

The feasibility of large scale use of solar power is governed by a multitude of factors.Sound policy making could fuel demand and encourage research while distorting fuel subsidies and price insulation could mean solar power will remain financially unviable.

Unlike thermal or hydel power, biomass energy does not enjoy presence of established markets for its raw material. So far this has discouraged deployment of biomass power projects on a very large scale.

Despite having a much higher potential - both theoretical and otherwise - solar power still lags far behind wind power in electricity generation.