Deloitte's Global Energy & Resources group is delighted to introduce Alternative thinking 2013, which puts renewable energy under the spotlight. The objective of this report is to identify for developers, investors, and policy-makers a few of the important current trends and opportunities in renewable energy, point out where significant barriers to progress lie, and suggest strategies for dealing with them. Issues covered include: Bridging the cost disparity gap with fossil fuels; Enduring the "shale revolution"; Weighing infrastructure investment; Navigating the subsidy environment; and Coming to terms with “energy democratization".