About Renewable Energy 

Renewable energy is energy that is produced from clean, naturally replenished resources.

These sources include biomass, hydropower, geothermal, wind, ocean and solar energies. Nuclear energy is not considered a renewable energy because it is produced from uranium, a finite resource. Common uses of renewable energy include electricity generation, transportation fuels, and direct heating. The use of renewable energy precedes fossil fuel use by thousands of years. In fact, it was not until the 20th century that fossil fuels replaced wood, wind, and hydro-power as the primary energy sources used by humans.

How much renewable energy is used in the United States? In 2005, about 6% of all energy consumed, and about 9% of total electricity produced came from renewable energy sources. The largest share of renewable-generated electricity comes from hydroelectric energy (71%), followed by biomass (16%), wind (9%), geothermal (4%), and solar (0.2%). Renewable energy capacity is growing quickly: in 2007, installed wind capacity increased 45% and installed solar capacity increased 21%.

Sources:
U.S. Department of Energy
Energy Information Administration