What is Renewable Energy?

Renewable energy is the name for any type of energy that can be used to provide for the energy needs of the present without interfering with future generations' ability to meet their energy needs as well. Unlike other forms of energy, such as alternative or green energy, a source of energy being considered sustainable or not has nothing to do with the usage or production of the energy causing pollution. As long as the amount or type of pollution produced does not prohibit heavy use of the source of energy over an indefinite period of time, it may be considered sustainable. Many types of energy sources are considered sustainable, including geothermal energy, solar heating, and wind power.

Geothermal energy

Geothermal energy utilizes power drawn from heat within the earth - a product not only of the original formation of the planet, but from solar energy absorbed at the earth's crust, volcanic activity, and the radioactive decay of minerals - to provide electrical and heating support to small areas of buildings (and sometimes even single homes). Geothermal energy is a cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally-friendly power source, and recent advances in the technology for tapping this source of energy allow installations to be built nearly anywhere that geothermal energy is needed, where once they could only be constructed along a tectonic plate division.

Biofuel

Biofuels are types of renewable energy derived from biomass (biological material from living or recently-living organisms) through various procedures. Two prominent forms of biofuel are bioethanol and biodiesel; the former is made from the fermentation of sugar components in plant materials and is mostly made from sugar and starch crops, while the latter comes from vegetable oils and animal fats. Both can be used as vehicle fuels in their pure forms, though bioethanol is often used as a gasoline additive to improve vehicle emissions, and biodiesel is added to diesel to reduce carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons from diesel-powered vehicles.

Hydropower

Hydropower is electricity is a type of renewable energy produced by harnessing the energy in water - because of the density of water, considerable amounts of energy can be gained from even slowly flowing streams of water or moderately-sized waves on the ocean. A common method of producing large amounts of hydropower is through the construction and operation of hydroelectric dams. The water held by the dams drives turbines that convert their mechanical energy into electrical power, which can give a substantial amount of power to towns and cities in a safe and efficient manner.