I believe that renewable energy sources is a better method, but it is more expensive. If you could also provide statistics/facts I would appreciate it!
Wind power is actually very cheap, but the only problem is it can't provide baseload power. It only provides power when the wind is blowing. However, it can provide power at 7-10 cents per kWh, competetive with coal.
http://climateprogress.org/2008/05/17/wind-power-a-core-climate-solution/
Geothermal is also looking extremely promising, and can also potentially provide affordable power. It can provide power 24/7 as well (baseload power).
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2199/76/
http://climateprogress.org/2008/09/27/us-geothermal-is-hot/
Concentrated solar thermal is another great option, and can store energy to be used as baseload. It can be potentially as cheap as coal.
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2205/83/
http://climateprogress.org/2008/07/28/solar-baseload-update/
There are others like solar photovoltaic, tidal, etc.
There's no question that renewable energy is preferable to traditional (mainly coal) energy, because it's clean and the fuel source will never run out.