Though fossil fuels are sustainble, we are facing a huge obstacle ahead of us as they are not renewable and not to add their rising pollution index. I would like to discuss here about all the other alternative energy sources which can be made sustainable and renewable at the most and as well as having low pollution index. I guess its time for us to take it seriously before we reach a dead end. I would like to know wat others think about it.

Though fossil fuels are sustainble, we are facing a huge obstacle ahead of us as they are not renewable and not to add their rising pollution index. I would like to discuss here about all the other alternative energy sources which can be made sustainable and renewable at the most and as well as having low pollution index. I guess its time for us to take it seriously before we reach a dead end. I would like to know wat others think about it.

Welcome to the forum. The subject you picked for a topic has been discussed many times on many threads. With a little searching you could probably locate several without much effort.

It is a good subject, but no matter how good a topic is, it can be over worked. At least if you review what's already been said, maybe you can come up with a new angle that would be interesting.

If you are new to forums in general, it's usually a good idea to pick a few key words and use the search function above, then focus your topic a bit.

The reason I'm saying this is I'm sure you are looking for a good response, but over worked subjects tend to get ignored and if you don't get a good response it's sometimes hard not to take it personally.

Another thing that helps new comers is to start a topic in the following sub-forum About the Members (http://www.sciforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=86)

I guarantee you will get to know many of the regulars and have fun doing it.

Welcome to SciForums. Good to meet you. :)

I agree with the Klown, take a look around, wouldn't hurt to start by saying "hi" to everyone and introducing yourself a little. :o

Though fossil fuels are sustainble

"Sustainable" means "can go on forever." Fossil fuels are made very, very slowly, so we would have to cut back our usage of them by several orders of magnitude before we were using them in a sustainable manner. Unfortunately the trend is in the other direction (more usage.)

I found this interesting article on the financing of renewable energy and it makes a great deal of sense.


Accelerating renewable energy deployment with peer to peer financing mechanisms

Ms Kadra Branker
Queen's University

Prof Joshua Pearce
Michigan Technological University
Published on 6 September 2011

The need for increasing the use of renewable energy technologies (RETs) is clear considering our growing energy needs and the adverse effects of conventional energy sources like fossil fuels (Pearce, 2002). However, lack of access to capital and appropriate financing mechanisms is limiting RET deployment. This barrier to financing is most acute in the world's poor who suffer from a lack of energy security as well (2/3 of world population live on less than US$1400/ year). Feed-in tariff (FIT) programs, that exist in more than 64 jurisdictions in the world, are meant to make RETs more economically feasible. Unfortunately, there is a slow uptake of FIT programs since the large upfront capital costs of RETs is still difficult to finance fairly, especially given the policy of traditional financial institutions.

In this research, an innovative peer to peer(P2P) lending mechanism is proposed and analyzed with the goal of increasing RET deployment under FITs (Branker et al., 2011, Branker and Pearce, 2011) and/or in isolated off-grid scenarios (Branker and Pearce, 2011). The goal is to allow a larger proportion of society to be able to invest in and benefit from RETs, regardless of financial capacity.

Formal or traditional financial institutions have rigid collateral and minimum loan size requirements which make loans inaccessible to lower income individuals. Even with middle class income cases, taking out a second mortgage is undesirable. Sadly, banks often still do not consider the strength of the FIT contract or energy generation technology separate from the individual’s credit history. P2P lending mechanisms allow lending between individuals or pools of individuals without the direct involvement of formal financial institutions. Lenders have the ability to target socially responsible initiatives such as RETs, which both improve the standard of living for an individual (borrower) and reduce the adverse effects of a dirtier energy source.

Various P2P lending business models and organizations exist (Branker et al., 2011). However, most require some modifications to be able to finance the higher costs of a RET systems. The main requirements are:

1. Larger and longer term loans (in line with true costs and payback for a system)

2. Methods to invoke Online Trust and reduce Risk of Default (employ social networks, guarantors and recommendations)

3. Loan security (By ensuring the system has insurance and third party verification and only using products with best available warranties)

4. Ensuring that tax deductions or carbon offsets will be recognized by lenders’ countries

Under the proposed framework, for a project under a FIT, it is mandated that the income first go to the lender's repayments, with the left over going to the borrower. This ensures that the loan payments are not tied in with the usual disposable income for the individual. Another important aspect of the proposed model is the appearance of a Holding account. Here, the lender's money can be "held" at a specific interest rate like an investment, allowing the lender to accept a lower interest rate from the borrower, knowing that the overall interest rate will be higher after the "held" money earns additional interest. This is beneficial for both the borrower and lender. This is especially important since the study found that under a certain combination of interest rate and tax rate, the borrower loses money, which is undesirable overall.

Another useful consideration is that RETs represent a potential for carbon dioxide offsets when they replace a dirtier energy source. For projects on-grid under a FIT or off-grid, the lender may be able to get a carbon offset + tax deduction if a donation is made, representing a gain that can be acceptable instead of interest.

Peer-to-peer lending platforms, with some adjustment, provide an ideal system to allow micro-entrepreneurs with little or poor credit history to qualify for the favorable loan rates that would allow them to deploy RETs on their properties. This enables government policy to reach its full potential by including lower income families in RET deployment.

I wil definitely make sure to search next time before posting.. Thanks for your info.. And the quoted article helped. Planning on to conduct a study on renewable sources..