As the world rushes into the next decade, changes in the fuel industry are becoming more and more evident. From the ecological conscience of society to the governmental concern about escalating prices and fuel shortage, the topic continues to be one of much debate. From an industrial standpoint, there are many technologies readily available in renewable energy, but their ability to compete economically with traditional fuel depends on many factors, such as technology development, geographical region and the scale of or amount that the technology can be used. ”Using wind power to generate electricity can be economically competitive, but not necessarily in all locations, and not necessarily for generating enough electricity to meet demand in a large East Coast city.”

Other fuel sources (such as using ethanol derived from corn) have been explored as well over the years, although none have proven to be competitive enough as a replacement fuel. According to a study by the University of Minnesota, even if the entire 2005 U.S. corn crop had been converted to ethanol, it would have supplied only 12 percent of gasoline demand. ”Still, we should be optimistic: we have solved previous energy challenges with new technologies; and the United States is a leader in using the spirit of competition and market incentives to develop the new technologies needed.”