They are commercially mature and can be cost-competitive with conventional energy supplies. Of these, hydro-power dominates the statistics for commercially supplied fuels. Tidal power is used in a few locations world-wide. However, it is unlikely to increase much further in the EU, although large schemes are proceeding in other regions, such as South East Asia and South America.
Wind turbines are a distinctive feature of our modern landscape.
The table below shows world installed capacities for 1999. It is one of the commercially more mature renewable energy technologies. One drawback to wind power is that it is limited to exposed sites, which are frequently those protected from development for amenity reasons. A typical windfarm in the United States Solar conversion technologies come in many shapes and forms. Parabolic troughs, central receivers, parabolic dishes and solar ponds can all produce electricity from sunlight.