Renewable energy is a term used for forms of energy that are naturally obtained from the environment and from sources that can be replenished naturally. These include solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, hydropower, and biomass.
The term renewable energy should not be confused with alternative energy, which describes sources of energy outside the regular forms like gasoline that are considered more environment-friendly or less harmful.
credits: international energy agency
Advantages of Renewable Energy
Advantages of using renewable sources of energy are −
- Less maintenance cost as most sources entail few or no moving parts, hence, less mechanical damages.
- They are economical and can cut costs spent on fossil fuel.
- They emit little or no waste in the environment.
- Renewable energy sources do not deplete. Therefore, these have a better prospect for the future.
Renewable Energy uses energy resources that are “clean” or “green” because they produce few if any pollutants.
Some say that alternative energy comprises everything that is not based on fossil fuel consumption. While these may be alternative energy sources compared to conventional fossil fuels, alternative energy in its broadest sense, is any type of energy that replaces another, so we can correctly say that coal energy, is an alternative energy source compared to crude oil or natural gas but as we now know, coal is a fossil fuel and burning it is bad for the environment.
Renewable Energy on the other hand uses renewable energy sources that are continually replenished by Mother nature producing a usable energy that cannot be used up faster that it is consumed. These energy sources created mainly by the Sun shinning on the Earth are converted into different forms, such as: solar radiation to wind or water based energy which is distributed over the Earth and atmosphere, the Earth’s geothermal heat, and plants in the form of biomass. Renewable energy technologies turn these fuels into usable forms of energy, most often electricity, but also heat, chemicals, or mechanical power. So what are renewable resources: