The article describes the features of the current state and future development of renewable energy without taking into account the use of water resources in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and European Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries (except Russia). The energy economy of the observed countries varies significantly in structure and total energy consumption, as well as in the degree and structure of alternative energy sources. The study was based on energy statistics (IRENA, UN Statistics Division. REN21, BP, IEA), etc. The purpose of the paper is to propose a typology of countries according to the level of alternative energy development based on an analysis of the existing conditions for pursue of such innovative energy policy. It is shown that the two different types of countries are distinguished. The first type is the more industrially developed countries, but alternative energy is relatively poorly developed in them. The second type is the agro-industrial countries. But they have higher rates of energy production using alternative energy sources per unit of GDP. © The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2020.