Alternative energy

Introduction
Pros
- Pro 1: Alternative energies not only can but must replace fossil fuels if we want to continue living on Earth.
- Pro 2: Many countries are already operating on significant renewable energy sources.
- Pro 3: Nuclear energy, a low-carbon source of alternative energy, is the quickest way to end dependence on fossil fuels.
Cons
- Con 1: Natural gas, a fossil fuel, is an appropriate and necessary bridge fuel to meet net-zero emissions goals.
- Con 2: The idea that renewable energies will fill the energy needs of large countries anytime soon hinders realistic change for the better.
- Con 3: Nuclear energy is too dangerous and ineffective to be a serious solution to global warming.
Alternative energy sources explained
- Biomass
- Geothermal
- Hydroelectric
- Nuclear
- Solar
- Wind
United States energy use by source
- Fossil fuel energy use
- Renewable energy
- Nuclear energy
State-by-state energy use
- 2023 state-by-state fossil fuel power consumption
- 2023 state-by-state nuclear power consumption
- 2023 state-by-state renewable power consumption
Historical timeline
- 2000 bce–1499
  - 2000 bce - Chinese first to use coal as an energy source
  - 200 bce - Chinese develop natural gas as an energy source
  - 200 bce - Europeans harness water energy to power mills
  - 1st Century - Chinese first to refine petroleum (oil) for use as an energy source
  - 10th Century - Windmills built in Persia to grind grain and pump water
- 1500–1799
  - 1590s - Dutch build windmills for multiple uses
  - 1600s - Development of coal coke in England aids iron production and helps to pave the way for the Industrial Revolution
  - 1700s - Coal begins to displace use of other energies
  - 1712 - First steam engine developed in England to pump water out of coal mines
  - 1748 - First commercial coal production in the U.S. begins in Richmond, Virginia
- 1800–99
  - 1821 - First natural gas well in the U.S. is drilled
  - 1830 - Coal becomes primary train fuel in the U.S., displacing wood
  - 1830s - First coal powered iron forges are developed in New England
  - 1830s - Ethanol blend becomes popular lamp fuel in the U.S., displacing whale oil
  - 1838 - First hydrogen fuel cell developed to generate electricity
  - 1850s - Windmill becomes popular water-pumping tool of Western homesteaders and railroad builders
  - 1859 - First commercial oil well drilled by Edwin Drake in Pennsylvania; kerosene begins to displace other lamp fuels
  - 1860 - First solar power system developed in France to produce steam to drive machinery
  - 1862 - Abraham Lincoln enacts an ethanol tax to help finance the Civil War, severely hampering the ethanol fuel industry
  - 1870 - John D. Rockefeller forms Standard Oil and develops petroleum as a major energy source in the U.S.
  - 1876 - First demonstration of generating electricity directly from sunlight in a selenium solar cell
  - September 4, 1882 - First electric plant built by Thomas Edison in New York
  - September 30, 1882 - First commercial scale hydroelectric plant goes into operation in Appleton, Wisconsin
  - 1888 - First windmill to generate electricity developed in Cleveland
  - 1892 - World’s first geothermal district heating system built in Boise, Idaho
- 1900–49
  - 1900 - First diesel engine to run on vegetable oil demonstrated at World’s Fair in Paris
  - 1901 - Birth of the modern oil industry: Lucas Gusher and the discovery of Texas’s vast Spindletop oil field
  - June 8, 1906 - The “free alcohol bill” is signed to promote the use of alcohol as an alternative to gasoline
  - 1906–08 - Studies on alcohol fuel (ethanol) find advantages over petroleum fuels such as gasoline and kerosene
  - May 15, 1911 - U.S. Supreme Court orders dissolution of Standard Oil Trust for engaging in monopolistic practices
  - 1921 - World’s first geothermal power plant is built in California
  - 1924 - First federal law established to control pollution from the oil industry
  - 1927 - First commercial wind turbines sold to generate electricity on remote farms
  - 1930s - Alcohol fuel production promoted to combat the Great Depression
  - 1935 - Hoover Dam, the world’s largest hydroelectric power plant, is built
  - 1938 - Natural Gas Act: First direct federal regulation of natural gas industry
  - December 1942 - First controlled nuclear chain reaction
  - 1946 - Atomic Energy Act of 1946: U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) created
- 1950s
  - 1950 - Petroleum becomes most used fuel in the U.S.
  - 1950s - Natural gas becomes a major fuel in the U.S. with extensive construction of natural gas pipelines
  - December 20, 1951 - First nuclear power reactor to generate electricity built in Idaho
  - 1953 - First silicon solar cell developed at Bell Laboratories
  - August 30, 1954 - U.S. Congress passes Atomic Energy Act of 1954
  - June 1956 - M. King Hubbert develops the “Hubbert’s peak theory” for measuring oil supply; peak of U.S. oil production correctly predicted
  - September 2, 1957 - Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act of 1957 passed to stimulate the development of the private nuclear energy industry
  - December 2, 1957 - First commercial nuclear power plant begins operation in Shippingport, Pennsylvania
  - 1958 - First U.S. satellite in orbit utilizes solar cells for power
- 1960s
  - 1960s - General Electric (GE) develops hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity for Apollo and Gemini space missions
  - 1960 - First commercial scale geothermal electric plants in the U.S. built in California
  - September 10-14, 1960 - Formation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Baghdad, Iraq
  - January 28, 1969 - Santa Barbara oil spill draws national attention
- 1970s
  - 1970 - Geothermal steam Act of 1970 passed to allow the leasing of federal land for geothermal energy development
  - 1970 - Oil production peaks in the lower 48 states
  - 1973 - OPEC oil embargo against the U.S. causes gas shortages and rationing
  - November 16, 1973 - Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act of 1973 passed to increase domestic oil supplies in wake of oil embargo
  - October 11, 1974 - Congress creates the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to replace the Atomic Energy Commission
  - 1975 - Federal involvement in wind energy development advances wind energy technology
  - December 22, 1975 - Formation of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; President Gerald Ford signs into law the Energy Policy and Conservation Act
  - 1977 - Formation of the Solar Energy Research Institute
  - August 4, 1977 - Department of Energy Organization Act is signed, creating the U.S. Department of Energy
  - 1978 - World’s first solar powered village: Tohono O’odham Reservation, Arizona
  - 1979 - Soldier’s Grove Wisconsin also claims “First Solar Village” title
  - March 28, 1979 - Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania creates widespread public opposition to nuclear power
- 1980s
  - December 1980 - World’s first wind farm built in New Hampshire
  - 1981 - Solar One: First large scale solar-thermal power plant begins operation in Daggett, California
  - 1981 - Construction begins on the world’s largest wind farm in California’s Altamont Pass; bird deaths from wind turbines number in the thousands
  - 1982 - First complete decontamination and decommissioning of a nuclear reactor in the U.S.
  - April 26, 1986 - Largest nuclear accident ever takes place at Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union
  - March 24, 1989 - Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska becomes the largest oil spill in U.S. waters
- 1990s
  - 1994 - U.S. begins importing more petroleum than it produces
  - April 1996 - Solar two plant demonstrates low-cost method of storing solar energy
- 2000s
  - February 2008 - First commercial cellulosic ethanol plant goes into production in Wyoming
  - December 22, 2008 - Worst coal ash spill in U.S. history in Kingston, Tennessee
- 2010s
  - April 20, 2010 -
  - March 11, 2011 - Earthquake off coast of Japan damages six power plants at Fukushima Daiichi; nuclear crisis eventually reaches level 7, the highest level possible
  - February 9, 2012 - U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approves new nuclear power plants for first time since 1978; two new reactors to be built in Georgia
  - March 27, 2012 - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces first Clean Air Act standard for carbon pollution from new power plants
  - April 17, 2012 - EPA issues first clean air rules for natural gas produced by fracking
  - February 13, 2014 - Ivanpah, the world’s largest concentrated solar power generation plant, goes online
  - September 22, 2014 - Rockefellers and over 800 global investors announce fossil-fuel divestment
  - July 31, 2017 - Two nuclear power reactors in South Carolina abandoned before construction completed
  - May 9, 2018 - Solar power to be required on all new California homes by 2020
  - March 22, 2019 - New Mexico commits to 100 percent renewable energy for electricity by 2050
  - September 20, 2019 - Three Mile Island to close, site of worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S.
- 2020s
  - April 15, 2020 - Oil and electricity demands drop during COVID-19 pandemic
  - April 2020 - Big banks refuse funds for some fossil fuel projects
  - December 9, 2020 - New York says employee pension fund will divest from oil and gas companies if not aligned with Paris agreement
  - April 2021 - Indian Point nuclear plant to close
  - May 11, 2021 - U.S. approves first major American offshore wind project
  - September 21, 2021 - China announces end to building coal-burning power plants abroad
  - November 9, 2021 - Rolls-Royce announces plans to build nuclear power plants in Britain
  - December 15, 2021 - New York City to ban new natural gas connections
  - April 7, 2022 - Stanford University engineers create solar panels that generate electricity at night
  - April 2022 - American Lung Association says switch to zero-emission transportation and noncombustion electricity could save 110,000 lives
  - September 20, 2022 - World’s largest wealth fund to decarbonize holdings
  - August 14, 2023 - Montana judge rules in favor of youth: State violated their constitutional right to clean environment
  - December 13, 2023 - Nearly 200 countries agree to transition away from fossil fuels
  - September 2024 - Three Mile Island to reopen
  - December 15, 2024 - Tankers dump 2,400 metric tons oil in Black Sea in accident
  - March 2025 - Finland set to open first permanent underground nuclear waste disposal site
  - March 11, 2025 - Solar gains outpace other energy sources in 2024
  - April 9, 2025 - Gallup reports near record high for nuclear energy
  - June 2025 - New York plans new nuclear power plant
  - October 2025 - Globally, renewable electricity generation outpaces coal for first time
  - January 2026 - Coal power rebounds, increasing U.S. emissions
Assessment quiz
1-minute survey
Discussion questions
Sources

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Solar panel installation

Alternative energy: References & Edit History

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

The Editors of ProCon
ProCon's editors write and verify new content and update existing content. ProCon presents the pro and con arguments to debatable issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan, freely accessible way.

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type	Description	Contributor	Date
	Discussion questions standardized.	The Editors of ProCon	Jul 24, 2026
	Overall update and clean-up.	The Editors of ProCon	May 18, 2026
	Illustration added.	The Editors of ProCon	Mar 10, 2026
	Tables in “Alternative Energy Sources Explained” updated to match nuclear and wind power articles.	The Editors of ProCon	Mar 10, 2026
	Spacing issue fixed.	The Editors of ProCon	Feb 19, 2026
	Links added.	The Editors of ProCon	Feb 19, 2026
	Link to ProCon's wind article added.	The Editors of ProCon	Dec 11, 2025
	Statistics updated.	The Editors of ProCon	Dec 11, 2025
	Word change.	The Editors of ProCon	Nov 06, 2025
	Source updated.	The Editors of ProCon	Nov 05, 2025
	Quiz added.	The Editors of ProCon	Oct 23, 2025
	Update to energy use percentages in US.	The Editors of ProCon	Oct 22, 2025
	Videos added.	The Editors of ProCon	Oct 16, 2025
	Timeline additions, 2024 & 25; reformatting for style	The Editors of ProCon	Jul 23, 2025
	Invalidated site: Bluegrass Debate Coalition - Can Alternative Energy Effectively Replace Fossil Fuels? (PDF).	Emily Rodriguez	May 22, 2025
	Survey added.	The Editors of ProCon	May 07, 2025
	Add new Web site: Bluegrass Debate Coalition - Can Alternative Energy Effectively Replace Fossil Fuels? (PDF).	Grace Young	Mar 28, 2025
	Trump's first day executive actions added to timeline.	The Editors of ProCon	Jan 21, 2025
	Links fixed.	The Editors of ProCon	Jan 14, 2025
	Links added.	The Editors of ProCon	Jan 13, 2025
	Added content to con 3.	The Editors of ProCon	Jan 09, 2025
	Footnote added.	The Editors of ProCon	Jan 08, 2025
	Updates to timeline including Russian oil spill, U.S. House declaration to expand oil drilling, and Biden ban on new drilling.	The Editors of ProCon	Jan 08, 2025
	New article added.	The Editors of ProCon	Oct 24, 2024