You have realized that the days of using fossil-based fuels is nearing its end and want to set up your own R & D unit to find alternate energy sources. How do you go about it? First of all, you have to begin your enterprise as a non-profit organization. Then, you would need grants from the state as well as federal governments. One of the points to note regarding procuring government grants for alternate energy research and development is that it has been the sole domain of politicians at the local, state as well as the federal levels. This has more to do with the realization that a time is not far when we would not have access to cheap fossil fuel any more and that it has become imperative that we find alternate energy sources, as the existing fuel sources have done irreparable damage to the environment.