The Basic Research Needs report, published by the Department of Energy September 2012, describes the state of the science and the research needed to overcome current roadblocks to widespread
use of alternative energy technologies.
Mindful of the important role of a
range of alternative energy technologies, we recognize, in particular, the need for research, development, and large - scale demonstration of and cooperation on carbon capture and storage.
The environmental threats and economic costs of continued reliance on fossil fuel technologies are sufficiently urgent to warrant substantially larger public support in the form of private - sector R&D incentives and a refocusing of effort by the national energy laboratories on the development and
diffusion of alternative energy technologies.
Compared to the average person, I was fairly well informed about the latest trends and advances in renewable energy... I still had only a cursory idea of where and how the energy we consumed in our house and on the road was produced... I didn't have a clear sense of the big picture, of how — or if — the
dozens of alternative energy technologies we hear so much about every day really added up to something new and viable.
Against this argument, in some parts of the world — notably the European Union and China — substantial efforts are being made to reduce emissions and accelerate the development
of alternative energy technologies.