现在替代能源产品已经可以在和化石燃料的价格竞争中打个平手，而这很多人还没有意识到。最新的可再生能源研究表明太阳能、水能、风能和其他替代能源的价格基本上已经传统能源差不多了。
　　太阳能
　　根据国际可再生能源机构(IRENA)上个月发布的报告显示，在过去两年里晶体硅光伏太阳能电池板的价格已经下降60%，平均产生一瓦特电的成 本已经低至一美元且可以与现今居民用电价格进行竞争。该机构报告同时表明，随着投入太阳能产业和其他可再生替代能源的持续增长，未来成本花费将会更低。 
　　水能
　　研究表明水能发电应该是最经济的。一个大型水力发电站在其运转期间产生的电力，平均价格在每千瓦时0.02美分到0.19美分之间。
　　风能
　　报告同时也显示风力涡轮机价格也在下降，风能发电的成本也在下降，以北美地区为例，风能价格在每千瓦时0.04美分到0.05美分之间。 报告显示风能发电的成本可以与天然气发电厂竞争，甚至其成本可能更低。
　　更多的可替代能源可能花费比现在用农业或者林业废料 ，微生物处理获得的能量和热量便宜得多。最具竞争力的发电的成本在每千瓦时0.06美分。
　　天燃气
　　在美国便宜一种颇具竞争力的可替代能源-天燃气-已经引起人们日益关注。美国天燃气创纪录便宜的原因是越来越多的页岩气层钻探。美国能源署 (EIA)这个月早些时候的报告表明，2012年美国天燃气的价格可能将从2011年的4美元每百万英热单位跌至3.49美元每百万英热单位。
　　尽管在过去几个月原油价格也有下降。能源署已将2012年第三季度的汽油平均零售价预期降至3.39美元每加仑。能源署在其近期能源展望中表明 汽油零售价2012年为平均3.53美元每加仑，2013年为平均为3.28美元每加仑，尽管2011年其平均为3.53美元每加仑。
　　这些负担得起的替代能源尽管资源尽有而且丰富，对环境危害比化石燃料小，也有人担心这些可再生能源可能不如诸如煤、天燃气之类的化石燃料有效率。然而，可替代能源的持续增长在参与能源竞争、巩固政策和削减政府开支方面呈现积极的方面。
　　21世纪可再生能源政策网络(REN21)全球数据分析报告表明可再生能源现在已经提供全球16.7%的电力消耗。报告表明去年由于快速降价的可再生能源设备使各国对可再生能源的投资增长额17%，尽管全年有弥散欧洲全年的债务危机。

How affordable is alternative energy?
 

Alternative energy sources that are cost-competitive with fossil fuels may be closer to fruition than most people realize. Recent renewable energy research has shown that solar, hydropower, wind and other alternative sources are closing in on the cost of traditional electricity providers.
Solar
Crystalline silicon PV solar panels have fallen by more than 60 percent in the last two years to as little as $1 a watt, which is competitive with residential electricity, according to a report released last month by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Continued capacity growth in solar energy, along with other renewables, is expected to contribute to further cost reductions, the agency reported.
Hydropower
The most economical alternative energy source for generating electricity could be hydropower, the study showed. The levelized cost of electricity from a large hydropower plant, which considers costs distributed over the project lifetime, typically ranges from 0.02 to 0.19 cents per kilowatt hour, IRENA reported.
Wind
Wind turbines prices also have started to fall, and the cost of electricity from wind energy sites in North America, for example, range from 0.04-0.05 cents/kWh. This is competitive or cheaper than gas-fired generation, according to the report.
Further alternative energy options that can cost less than electricity from the grid include using agricultural and forestry wastes, or biomass, as feedstock to provide power and heat. The most competitive projects produce electricity for 0.06/kWh.
Natural gas
Cheap natural gas also is gaining attention as a competitive alternative energy source in the United States. The price of natural gas is at a record low in the U.S. because of increased drilling of the country’s vast shale gas formations. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported earlier this month that the natural gas spot price, which averaged $4 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2011, is expected to average $2.58 per MMBtu this year.
Crude oil prices, though, have also been dropping over the past month. EIA has lowered the average regular gasoline retail price forecasts for the third quarter of 2012 to $3.39 per gallon. Regular gasoline retail prices, which averaged $3.53 per gallon in 2011, are expected to average $3.49 in 2012 and $3.28 per gallon in 2013, EIA stated in its Short-Term Energy Outlook release.
Affordable alternative energy sources are more readily available, more abundant and generally less damaging to the environment, but skeptics say renewables might not be as efficient as fossil fuels, such as coal and gas. Still, growth in alternative energy continues at an impressive rate considering it has experienced so much competition, consolidation and government cuts.
Renewable sources supplied 16.7 percent of global final energy consumption, according to a 2012 global status report last month from the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21). And investment in renewables increased 17 percent last year despite a widening debt crisis in Europe and rapidly falling prices for renewable power equipment, the report stated.
It all points to the increasing influence of alternative energy in the electric power marketplace.