Renewable and alternative energy sources are set to play an increasingly important role in providing the electricity, heat, cooling and fuels that society needs. There is a wide range of energy sources such as solar (both photovoltaic and solar thermal), wind, bio-fuels and biomass, hydro-electric, geothermal and heat pumps. - Description added by: David Lockie

The most important groups of fuels are fossil fuels, bio-fuels, hydrogen and nuclear fuel (uranium). Of these fuels, only bio-fuels and hydrogen are strictly renewable, but in both cases, this really depends on the energy source used to produce it. We have traditionally been heavily dependent on fossil fuels (first coal, then oil and now natural gas) and more recently on nuclear power. In the future, we will need a more sustainable range of fuels for all potential uses. New technologies such as fuel cells may require a wider range of fuels (e.g. hydrogen) and widen the range of applications for which fuels may be used (e.g. methanol-fuelled fuel cells to power laptops). There are many controversial topics surrounding fuels, from carbon emissions and climate change through the potential for bio-fuel crops to compete with food crops to the whole debate around nuclear power generation. - Description added by: David Lockie