Alternative energy is often referenced as: any energy source that is an alternative to fossil fuel. These alternatives are intended to address concerns about such fossil fuels. It causes less pollution too.

The nature of what constitutes an alternative energy source has changed considerably over time, as have controversies regarding energy use. Today, because of the variety of energy choices and differing goals of their advocates, defining some energy types as “alternative” is highly controversial.

In a general sense, alternative energy as it is currently conceived, is that which is produced or recovered without the undesirable consequences inherent in fossil fuel use, particularly high carbon dioxide emissions (greenhouse gas), an important factor in global warming.

While many renewable energy projects are large-scale, renewable technologies are also suited to rural and remote areas and developing countries, where energy is often crucial in human development. United Nations’ Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that renewable energy has the ability to lift the poorest nations to new levels of prosperity. As most of renewables provide electricity, renewable energy deployment is often applied in conjunction with further electrification, which has several benefits: For example, electricity can be converted to heat without losses and even reach higher temperatures than fossil fuels, can be converted into mechanical energy with high efficiency and is clean at the point of consumpion.[11][12] In addition to that electrification with renewable energy is much more efficient and therefore leads to a significant reduction in primary energy requirements, because most renewables don’t have a steam cycle with high losses (fossil power plants usually have losses of 40 to 65%).