• The market for renewable power services has been around for a long time, but recent attention has expanded both the field and the market. "Alternative power" refers to sources that are renewable, such as solar, wind and hydro-power, rather than fossil fuels such as coal and oil. Many companies, new and established, are advancing the alternative power industry and bringing alternative energy to consumers. You can put alternative power to use in your home or business in several ways. Energy retailers direct your energy dollars to companies who are using clean, renewable methods of generating electricity. Solar panel retailers outfit your home with its own energy source. Large-scale alternative power companies develop new and better ways to derive and distribute power from renewable resources.
  
  

Green Mountain Energy

• Green Mountain Energy provides electricity services to homes and businesses via wind and solar energy sources. Green Mountain Energy does not itself operate or own energy facilities. Rather, it licenses and brands facilities that contribute energy from these sources to the local electricity grid. You don't have to rewire your home or change anything about your lifestyle to use Green Mountain Energy. By buying your electricity from Green Mountain, you are investing in these solar and wind energy companies, ensuring that a larger portion of the nation's electricity comes from alternative power sources.
  
  

SunPower

• You may want to do more than direct your utility bills to alternative energy retailers. If you're looking to step off the public power grid either totally or partially, look for an alternative power company that deals in solar panels for private home use. SunPower sells and installs solar panels at businesses and homes, allowing you to generate a portion of your home's electricity entirely off the grid. Cut your residential electricity bill significantly by adding a solar panel to the roof. SunPower has dealers throughout the country, and can offer an estimate of your potential savings from months to month, and the initial cost of purchasing and installing your rooftop solar panels. Financing is available to spread out the cost.
  
  

Ocean Power Technologies

• The third type of alternative power company found in the industry is the large-scale, project-based outfit that innovates and improves renewable energy processes. Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) harnesses the power of the ocean's waves and currents and uses it to generate electricity. OPT has developed an off-shore installation called a PowerBuoy that converts this powerful aquatic motion into usable power. The PowerBuoy moves with the rise and fall of the waves, and that movement drives a generator that produces electricity, which is then sent to shore via an underwater cable. OPT is, as of 2010, beginning its foray into the commercial alternative power market.