The article describes the main renewable energy sources and their geographical use, which is dictated by energy policy. According to forecasts, the world’s population is expected to grow from the current 7 billion people to 9-10 billion by the middle of the XXI century. Estimates show that global energy consumption will have increased several times by that time. Such an increase in energy consumption on the planet needs to be provided with energy raw materials sources. The solution to this problem should be started today since the widespread introduction of new technologies in energy generation will take more than a decade. This study allowed us to identify the main factors influencing the solution of energy supply and energy consumption problems as conditions for sustainable and proportional development of regional economies. In this regard, regional energy consumption strategies should be based on the

implementation of recommendations for energy conservation, fuel, and energy resource saving, and the policy of energy substitution with alternative energy.

Highlights

• The capacity of renewable energy sources is much higher than the total consumption of fuel and energy resources. However, the possibilities of their exploitation depend not only on the level of technical solutions implementation, terrain features, and climate conditions but also on economic feasibility. Self-renewable energy sources are diffused over large areas.