In the United States alone there are some 600 + power plants in operation. The vast majority of these power plants are coal based conventional power plants.

Of recent times we have seen a shift to new energy sources, wind power in the US now accounts for 18,302 MW (mega watts) of energy usage which relates to around 4.5 million households being supplied. More recently we have also seen the largest solar thermal production plant ever built, churning out around 354MW per annum.

Unfortunately the demand for energy in the U.S. far outstrips that which these resources can provide. In the summer of ’07 usage ran at a staggering 783GW (Giga watts) and the winter clicked in at a hefty 640GW.

As we look toward the future things only look grimmer, NERC (North American Electricity Reliability Corporation) has stated in 2017 summer time usage is forecast to be around a frightening 950GW and 756GW in winter time.

With dwindling resources and the fact that power sources such as coal have devastating environmental impacts (currently coal fed boilers supply around 49% of our electricity needs) it is imperative we find a greener and renewable energy source and we need to find it quickly!.

It is a sad state of affairs when two environmentally safe and renewable energies, solar and wind power, account for a meager 0.1% and 0.7% of annual power production respectively.

The good news is more and more households are starting to take matters in to their own hands. As the public has become more aware of the very real environmental crisis we are facing, we have seen a shift to renewable energy with more than 10% of residential households switching to alternative energies.

Many householders have even gone to the length of setting up DIY Solar and Wind power systems for their homes.

We can only hope corporations and big business take the example set by the homemade energy brigade and follow suit

To read more about ways you can become one of the people turning away from coal based fuels, and to look into setting up your own solar or wind power DIY project [Click Here]

You can also read reviews of a number of the leading DIY Solar Power and DIY Wind Power kits here DIY Solar Power Kits Reviewed