Though the entire world is now aware of the imminence of switching to alternate energy sources, Germany is one country which has beaten them all by taking a leadership role in not only the production of alternate energies but bringing it down at the level of domestic use also. In 2006, the German people set a world record by investing over 10 billion dollars in the production, research, development and use of wind turbines, biogas generating plants as well as solar power generation and usage.  

The production and utilization of such alternate energies come under the purview of the German electricity 'feed laws' which allow every homeowner to sell all excess energy produced at home to the power providers at retail market prices. This has acted as a tremendous incentive for the German people and has catapulted Germany as the number one nation in the field of manufacturing and using solar, biogas and wind powers. The amount of power produced through these sources adds up to 50 terawatt hours, which is about 10% of the nation's energy production per year. It is worthwhile to note that in 2006 Germany installed over 100,000 solar power harnessing units.  

In the US, the initiatives for gradually shifting towards green energy are noteworthy too. The BP Corporation has established EBI or the Energy Biosciences Institute which focuses on the research and development of cleaner fuels for running vehicles. These are primarily biofuels for vehicles that ply on the ground. The investment promised by the corporation would be close to $50 million USD annually in the coming decade. The location of this institute is in University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where the University is working in partnership with the institute. It is responsible for the research and development of new biofuel crops, agricultural infrastructure which can facilitate the distribution of biofuels and the machinery which can produce such liquid fuels for vehicular consumption. The University promises to further the research in the field of genetic engineering with special focus on more advanced crops to be used as biofuel sources. On the other hand the EBI would focus on technological innovations which can help in the conversion of heavy hydrocarbons into energy-efficient fuels.