In addition to the many environmental benefits, green power also has major economic advantages as well, creating thousands of jobs and revitalizing rural economies. Hydropower is currently the most commonly used green power resource, providing enough power to meet the needs of 28.3 million consumers. A hydro plant uses the force of flowing or falling water to run generators. Biomass resources include wood and wood wastes, agricultural crops and crop byproducts, municipal solid waste and animal waste. Biomass currently supplies about four percent of the energy produced in the United States.
Wind turbines capture the energy of the wind to produce electricity.
The U.S. Department of Energy expects wind power to supply at least five percent of the nation's electricity by 2020. According to the American Solar Energy Society, enough sunlight falls on the earth's surface each minute to meet world energy demand for an entire year. Geothermal power plants work by tapping into steam or hot water reservoirs underground. Geothermal energy currently provides more than 2,700 megawatts of electricity nationwide - the equivalent of three nuclear power plants, or enough to power more than 3.5 million homes. With green power providing less than 10 percent of our energy needs, it might seem like there's no hope for change.