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Fuel prices are on the rise. The price of petrol at the pumps has peaked to record highs, and some experts are warning that the record could be broken intermittently over the next eight years.

So it seems that high costs are going nowhere. And the current price of fuel is one very accountable effect of the decline in the world’s oil and fossil fuel reserves.

Not only are current energy systems harming the environment, then; they are also hitting consumers where it hurts. More than ever, the need for sustainable energy - and demand to have it implemented.

Renewable and sustainable power can reduce the price of energy consumption on a national and personal level; supply and demand dictates that - if the systems were fully implemented - sustainable energy would more than likely be sold at a cheaper price than current fuel prices, and those who install it for personal consumption can see money saved through energy saving itself.

So, as the government steps up its production of sustainable power - and families begin to develop similar systems for their own houses - it is important to know what types of energy are out there.

Here, then, is a brief introduction to the main types of sustainable and renewable energy.

Solar Power:

When most people think of sustainability, they think of solar power. It does exactly what it says on the tin; ‘photovoltaics’ - the most common method for gathering solar energy, and more commonly known as ’solar panels’ - absorbs solar rays from the sun, and convert them into electricity. So it is possible to light and heat your house with solar power.

Wind Power:

This, as you would expect, is less easy to install for individual houses. It converts wind into electricity through turbines, but it takes a number of turbines in unison to draw out substantial amounts of energy. It accounts for 19% of Denmark’s annual energy output, and also has a fairly substantial output in Portugal in Spain. That said, wind power currently only counts for 1% of the world’s total electricity usage. Plans for Europe’s largest wind farm have been granted approval, and is to be built in Scotland.

Bioenergy:

This takes various forms, but can generally speaking be characterised as energy that is converted from biological sources. So wood, manure or straw are all common raw materials for conversion into bioenergy. A sub-type of bioenergy is biofuel, which uses the same process, but has fuel rather than electricity as an end product. The same can be said for biogas, which breaks down the raw materials and is redistributed as gas.

There are other sustainable energy sources available, but these three are the main types, and they are the ones that most of the world’s governments have implemented, begun developing, or have plans to in the future.

So, with oil prices going up, and world governments looking to invest in sustainable power, get ready to swap coal plants for solar panels and oil depots for wind farms.

Chris Woolfrey is the sustainable power expert at EcoSwitch The environmental social network.