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As the world moves to implement increasing amounts of renewable energy production, the economics of this rapidly expanding industry become a higher priority for governments and companies around the world. Countries such as China scramble to secure contracts to build hydroelectric dams in Latin America, Africa, and Asia while Spain works with Morocco to build massive solar installations. From large-scale projects to small home installations, the demand for efficient and affordable renewable energy has prompted researchers to rush to advance the technology of renewable energy. Governments and companies also are investing in the research and development of more efficient photo-voltaic cells for solar panels, more efficient wind and hydroelectric turbines, and batteries that can hold more charge for longer periods of time. Researching, manufacturing, and installing renewable energy plants gives an edge economically if you can corner the market, and also increases standing in the international community as the world moves away from fossil fuels. As I mentioned in my last post, China is stepping up as a major power in renewable energy.
The solar power market in particular is something China is dominating, using their significant manufacturing potential to mass produce highly efficient solar cells. This Reuters article discusses some of the ways China is shaping the solar industry. Currently, the most advanced and most efficient solar technology is used in places such as satellites. However, China is pushing the industry in mass producing these advanced solar cells in order to make them more affordable, thus making them more attractive to users in public sectors. China is also ramping up production of single silicon crystalline cell solar cells, which are becoming cheaper to make than multi crystal cells which aren’t as efficient but were used for their lower cost. Some predictions even say that these single crystalline cells will make up 50 percent of the market, up from the 20 percent they are at today. These cells aren’t a new discovery, but lower costs will drive up energy production as their installation and use becomes more widespread. This CNN article has a neat little video of a solar farm in China that floats on a flooded coal mine, and also has additional information on China’s impact on the solar industry in the article itself.
As for wind energy, the US government has some information available to the public on the Department of Energy’s website about their next generation of wind turbines. A very small bit of background for wind energy in the US first. Wind turbines today are much more efficient and cost-effective than those installed in the previous decades, as to be expected. For example, wind turbines today have a productivity value of about 35 percent on average, which is a fair increase from before 1998 (at 22 percent) and 2000 (at 30 percent). The price of energy generated from wind turbines in the US has dropped significantly from 1980 as well, going from over 55 cents per kilowatt-hour to under 3 cents per kWh. While the wind turbines may not seem as effective as solar panels, it is worth noting that they require significantly less land area to operate optimally. Clicking on the image below will lead to a time-lapse video of a wind turbine being constructed. 
The Department of Energy is also working on researching and studying the interactions between energy grids and renewable energy sources such as solar or wind farms. They hope to learn how to modify existing energy grids to be able to accept and distribute all of the energy created by these sources, without being overwhelmed as they are currently. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is also researching this issue, albeit with emphasis on offshore wind farms. Their website has neatly outlined information on what it is they do, and hope to achieve. They also are taking into consideration factors such as shipping routes, fishing areas, protected wildlife sanctuaries, as well as general ecological impact of installing and running offshore wind farms. NREL works with the DOE on more than just offshore wind farms. The lab strives to make wind energy a more accessible means of energy production on land as well. some of their research is aimed towards reducing costs of installation and increasing the capacity and efficiency of turbines and plants, as well as make it easier to obtain certification to build smaller scale turbines. In addition, they partner with manufacturers in order to come up with better components and overall designs to decrease manufacturing costs, keep up with demand, and lower costs for consumers.
Overall, the world as a whole is researching and implementing better technology and methods of renewable energy production and storage. Many companies around the world are competing to become the forefront of their respective sectors of the energy industry, and governments are more than willing to invest to get an edge on rivals. No matter what the motives behind the technological advancements, a shared result is the decreased use of fossil fuels as renewable energy becomes an ever-increasing source of power around the world. The International Energy Agency was originally founded in 1974 to help countries respond to oil supply disruptions. This group now focuses on helping its member countries and the international community as a whole gain access to means of renewable energy production. They also work to keep track of and predict global renewable energy production. This page on their site has many interactive graphs and graphics detailing recent changes in production as well as predictions on the growth of renewable energy globally. 
The page notes that in the coming years, three countries will contribute to most of the world’s expansion of renewable energy sources. These are the two largest economies in the world China and the United States, as well as one of the large rapidly growing economies: India.
With these three nations leading the world in renewable energy production, hopefully we will see a decrease in energy prices, more innovation to use and adapt these technologies in other ways such as transportation, and a global decrease in reliance on fossil fuels. I personally hope it will lead to some more cooperation between these nations in other areas as well.
Alternative Energy Potenial 