Renewable Energy: Sources, Examples, and Types

Renewable energy, as the name implies, is an energy source that can be renewed or replenished.

• It is also referred to as 'clean energy' since it is less harmful to the environment than nonrenewable energy. 
• Fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and gas, are nonrenewable resources that develop over hundreds of millions of years.
• When fossil fuels are used for energy, they emit harmful greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.
• Renewable energy produces much less emissions than burning fossil fuels.
• The transition from fossil fuels, which now account for the majority of emissions, to renewable energy is essential for addressing the climate crisis.

Key Terms: Energy, Non-renewable energy, Fossil fuels, Renewable energy, Solar energy, Electricity, Wind energy, Sunlight, Geothermal energy

---

What is Renewable Energy?

[Click Here for Sample Questions]

Renewable energy is energy that is produced by natural processes and is constantly renewed.

• Examples of renewable energy include sunlight, water, wind, tides, geothermal heat, and biomass.
• Major applications of renewable energy resources are air and water cooling/heating, electricity generation, the rural sector, and transportation.
• According to a 2016 REN21 research, the usage of renewable energy resources increased global energy consumption by 19.2% in 2014 and 23.7% in 2015.
• Many countries have started to invest in renewable energy resources, believing that they would contribute to long-term growth.
• In 2015, investment reached around $286 billion, with the primary industries being biofuel, solar power, wind, and hydroelectricity.
• Renewable energy resources appear throughout a large geographical region, compared to conventional energy resources.
• For example, it can often be found in a small number of countries, such as oil and gas, which are mostly concentrated in Middle Eastern countries.
• The use of renewable energy resources in electricity generation reduces pollution while also providing considerable economic advantages and energy security.

Also check: 

---

Examples of Renewable Energy

[Click Here for Sample Questions]

Renewable energy can be defined as energy that will never be exhausted. The advantages of renewable energy are enormous. These types of energy sources differ from fossil fuels including oil, coal, and natural gas. Examples of renewable energy sources are:

• Solar energy
• Wind energy
• Hydropower
• Geothermal energy
• Biomass energy

Examples of Renewable energy

---

Sources of Renewable Energy

[Click Here for Sample Questions]

The sources could exist for a longer period of time and can be renewed generally.

• Biomass, nuclear, geothermal, wind, solar, tidal, and wave power are examples of sustainable energy sources. 
• Renewable energy sources are known to be less polluting.
• Thus the entire world is looking forward to new carbon emission standards in which carbon will play an important part in the development of new factories and industries.
• They will be rated based on their carbon emissions, and the products they produce will be rated correspondingly.

---

Types of Renewable Energy

[Click Here for Sample Questions]

Different types of renewable energy are

Solar Energy

One of the most abundant and freely available energy resources on our planet is sunlight.

• Solar collectors are used to collect the radiant light and heat energy from the sun.
• Solar collectors are classified into several categories, including photovoltaics, concentrator photovoltaics, solar heating, concentrated solar power (CSP), artificial photosynthesis, and solar architecture.
• This collected solar energy is then utilized to provide light, heat, and other types of electricity.

​Wind Energy

The wind is an abundant and renewable energy source.

• Wind farms are becoming more common in the United Kingdom, as wind power contributes more and more to the National Grid.
• Turbines are used to drive generators, which subsequently feed electricity into the National Grid, allowing wind energy to be harnessed.
• Despite the availability of household or "off-grid" generation solutions, not every property is appropriate for a domestic wind turbine.

Hydroelectricity

According to data, hydroelectricity accounted for around 16.6% of global energy resources and 70% of all renewable electricity.

• This energy is another alternative form of energy that is produced by the construction of dams and reservoirs on flowing water.
• The kinetic energy of the flowing water is used to power turbines that create electricity.
• Tidal power transforms tidal energy, whereas wave power absorbs energy from the ocean's surface waves to produce electricity.
• These two types of hydropower also have enormous potential for electric power generation.

Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy can be utilized to heat houses or create electricity by harnessing the natural heat beneath the earth's surface. Geothermal energy, despite harnessing a power lying beneath our feet, is of minor importance in the UK as compared to nations like Iceland, where geothermal heat is much more freely available.

Biomass Energy

This is the process of converting plant-based solid fuel into power.

• Although biomass is primarily a technique of burning organic materials to generate electricity, it is now a much cleaner and more energy-efficient process.
• Biomass creates power at a far lower economic and environmental cost by converting agricultural, industrial, and home waste into solid, liquid, and gas fuels.

---

Benefits of Using Renewable Energy Sources

[Click Here for Sample Questions]

The following are the benefits of renewable energy sources:

Assist us in the fight against climate change

Renewable energy assists in mitigating society's impact on the environment, and thus in reducing the consequences of climate change because it does not release greenhouse gases during its production.

Its resources are inexhaustible

Unlike traditional energy sources, renewable energy sources are limitless and adapt to natural cycles (coal, gas, oil, or nuclear energy).

It lowers the level of economic uncertainty

Unlike the costs of producing energy from fossil fuels, which fluctuate and are dependent on the conditions, the costs of producing renewable energy are predictable and less.

It benefits the domestic economy

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), doubling the renewable energy quota globally until it reaches 36% in 2030 will result in an increase in employment from 9.2 million to over 24 million workers in the sector.

It's competitive and well-liked 

Renewable energy costs have been declining globally for several years, it is due to the development of new technologies that improve their efficiency, as well as the growing political backing they have gained around the world due to their numerous benefits.

---

Importance of Renewable Energy

[Click Here for Sample Questions]

The significance of renewable energy stems from the necessity for renewable energy over traditional energy sources. The following are some key points to consider.

• Renewable energy is a non-polluting, inexhaustible source of energy.
• It is pollution-free because it does not emit greenhouse gases or other polluting emissions that would otherwise be created by non-renewable sources.
• Renewable energy costs are also declining at a steady rate, in contrast to the trend for fossil fuels.
• It decreases reliance on fossil fuels for energy.
• It is simple to produce because renewable resources are abundant. There is no difficulty with non-availability.
• Renewable technologies are becoming economically and environmentally competitive with traditional energy sources.

Also check: 

---

Things to Remember

• Energy is derived from a non-depleting source, such as wind or solar electricity.
• Renewable energy is a one-hundred percent efficient source of energy.
• Renewable energy has numerous environmental and economic advantages.
• They don't emit any greenhouse gases and help to reduce some types of pollution in the air.
• One downside of renewable energy is that it is difficult to create significant amounts of electricity in the same way that fossil fuel generators do.
• Solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, wave, and tidal power are all examples of sustainable energy sources.
• Solar, wind, hydro, biofuel, and geothermal (energy obtained from heat generated beneath the earth's surface) are the most common forms of renewable energy, and all of these sources are continuously supplied.