There is only ever a finite amount of any resource at any given time. This is especially true as the dwindling amount of fossil fuels leads to governments and businesses seeking out alternative sources of energy.

Of those alternative sources, renewable energy has been on the rise across the globe.

Countries like Germany and China have dedicated a significant amount of their gross domestic product (GDP) towards developing a reliable source of renewable energy.

Renewable energy, as its name implies, is a source of electricity that is infinitely reproducible. This is done through the processing of various natural elements of nature such as the flow and motion of water, the heat and energy projected by the sun and the winds that blow across the earth, among others.

The methods to utilize such energy vary by their means of production. Water and wind alternatives are based around the motion generated by the flow and current of the water or the strength of the gusts of wind.

The water or wind pushes a turbine that generates the necessary electricity to charge and store in cells, much like the emergency flashlights found in disaster kits, which require the user to wind up and charge the battery cell through motion.

Meanwhile, solar energy is generated by the absorption of sunlight with battery cells that use the sunlight to generate direct current (DC) energy and then convert it into usable alternating current (AC) energy with the help of inverter technology.

Renewable energy is not only a source of electricity. The countries that decide to pursue the technology associated with it find that the long term financial savings are substantial enough that the tech is able to pay for itself.

At one point, after a New Year’s celebration, Germany found itself in a situation that allowed for a brief period of time to run solely on their renewable energy sources. Other countries are constantly in a race to one-up each other.

Recently, the largest wind farm has been completed off the coast of England in the Irish Sea, with 87 turbines that stand 640 feet tall and generate enough electricity to power more than half a million homes.

This record is likely not to stand for long, as businesses and other countries constantly have new projects underway that will finish throughout the year.

While countries abroad have pushed forward and lead the charge on renewable energy, the Trump administration has focused more on the subsidization of coal and natural gas based energy.

It is likely that at some point in the future the United States will join the global stage in the support of renewable energy.