Photo Gallery Harnessing Wind and Waves
European companies are at the forefront of investment in renewable energy technology. Wind turbines, like those pictured here near the German town of Dessau, are increasingly common on the continent.
A newer sector of renewable development is wave turbines, which harness the power of the ocean's currents and tides. This rendering shows a prototype developed by a British company. Test generators of this kind are already in use off the British coast.
A British research group has estimated that the world's oceans have the capacity to produce as much as 4,000 terawatt hours of electricity per year -- more than 10 times Britain's annual energy needs.
Europeans are not alone in working to harness the power of the ocean. Australia's first commercial wave-generated power station went into service near Sydney in 2007. The wave model is powered by an internal turbine, rather than the rotating blades used to harness currents farther out at sea.
Denmark has built 11 off-shore wind farms since 1991, including this one, the Horns Reef wind farm.
The Scandinavian country aims to generate 75 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2025.
Germany has become a global leader in solar panel manufacturing, despite the nation's often cloudy climate. Solar panels grace the roofs of houses in Jühnde in the state of Lower Saxony.
A solar power facility in Brandis, near Leipzig, is scheduled to become the world's largest. By 2009, the plant aims to generate 40 megawatts of electricity each year.
