Green energy, sustainable energy, and renewable energy feel like interchangeable terms when talking about climate change. And that’s before we introduce clean energy into the mix. While these might sound like just a bunch of buzzwords, they represent incredibly important issues that impact both humanity and the planet.
Cutting greenhouse gases is increasingly part of government energy policy worldwide, with many countries pledging net-zero emissions by 2050. This guide will explain everything you need to know about green energy to understand your energy use and global energy resources.
What Is the Best Definition of Green Energy?
Green, clean, sustainable, and renewable energy describe overlapping areas of the energy market. Let’s take a closer look at each one.
Renewable energy comes from a natural resource that is constantly replaced and in no danger of running out. In other words, it’s a renewable resource. These include solar power, wind power, and hydropower. Clean energy means no pollutants are released into the air.
Sustainable energy doesn’t spew significant emissions or impact a local area. Sustainable energy considers energy conservation and energy efficiency, too. Wood fuel burners can be classified as sustainable if the wood is harvested sustainably and the timber taken is replaced. While a wood burner might achieve sustainability status, burning wood still releases carbon emissions.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines green energy as a subset of renewable energy sources. Green energy is the most environmentally friendly of all energy sources, using renewable energy to create energy.
Green energy sources include:
- Solar power
- Wind energy
- Geothermal energy
- Low-impact (small scale) hydroelectric
- Biogas (from landfill)
- Biomass and some biofuels
- Green hydrogen
What Are Examples of Green Energy Sources?
Thanks to their ubiquitous nature, most people can now recognize photovoltaic solar panels, from small panels on people’s homes to utility-scale solar farms. Also instantly identifiable are offshore and onshore wind turbines that allow wind power to create electricity.
Geothermal is a surprisingly popular energy technology, with more than 80 countries using geothermal energy to create electricity. The U.S. leads the world in geothermal energy, with California the most productive geothermal state.
Hydropower is one of the United States’ oldest renewable energy sources and was the largest renewable electricity supplier until 2019. Much debate rages over whether it is green energy. Damming rivers and building enormous reservoirs uses incredible amounts of cement and energy, not to mention the environmental damage caused to wildlife upstream and downstream.
In contrast, more minor, low-impact hydroelectric energy projects cause minimal disruption to wildlife and the local area. As such, these are considered green energy.
Biogas comes from the decomposition of biomass (for example, in landfill sites or farmyard manure) and also occurs naturally in swamps and lakes. Biogas contains methane and carbon dioxide. If burned directly, biogas is not green energy because it releases emissions into the atmosphere.
However, biogas can have its CO2 removed before use, making it green energy. This treated gas is known as renewable natural gas or biomethane. The solid material left over after treatment can be used as fertilizer, too.
Biomass is similar to biogas in that it involves making the most of organic waste and not letting it go to … waste. We can burn biomass to create electricity or convert it to gases or liquids for fuel.
Examples include:
- Wood waste to make wood pellets
- Crops like corn and soybeans for heat or fuel
- Animal manure
Biomass is green energy because its energy comes from plants photosynthesizing the sun’s energy.
Green hydrogen may become a critical source of green energy — hydrogen is a versatile, clean, and energy-efficient fuel. A process called electrolysis separates water into hydrogen from oxygen. Power the electrolysis with renewable energy, and that creates almost completely carbon emission-free hydrogen.
Hydrogen has many advantages as a fuel. It can be burned to heat homes and power engines instead of fossil fuels, even using the same gas networks we use at present. Hydrogen can power cars, ships, heat our homes, and more.
Is Nuclear Power Considered a Green Energy?
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Like hydropower, some consider nuclear energy green energy, while others do not. Nuclear produces few carbon emissions and is a very energy-intensive fuel.
However, it carries considerable environmental risks, especially in the event of leaks or accidents. Uranium, the primary fuel in nuclear reactors, emits radiation for a long time after use and is often buried deep underground. Mining, handling, and storing uranium poses inherent risks for workers and the environment.
Can Green Energy Replace Fossil Fuels?
Fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, and oil are often known as dirty fuels because of their emissions, which accelerate climate change. In 2019, almost 85% of global energy came from these three fossil fuels.
Many countries have signed up to net-zero emissions by 2050 as part of the Paris Agreement. Governments have many financial incentives to help businesses and people reduce their carbon footprint in the coming decades.
Various plans include phasing out gas-powered cars by specific dates and encouraging motorists to invest in electric vehicles instead. Space heating and water heating account for almost two-thirds of an average American household’s energy use but energy-efficient heat pumps could replace natural gas for heating people’s homes.
Green energy could replace fossil fuels, but there is a long way to go, especially in storing excess renewable energy in batteries for use later.
How Do We Measure the Impact of Green Energy?
Green energy, like most things in life, requires a layered approach to understanding its positive and negative impacts. Green energy is not a simple panacea for climate change. Let’s put green energy under the microscope.
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What Are the Benefits of Green Energy?
Once the system is up and running, green energy offers low- or zero-emission energy, especially in the electricity generation sector. Few greenhouse gases enter the Earth’s atmosphere, helping the fight against climate change and global warming.
Many green energy sources are inexhaustible, too. Solar, wind energy, hydro and geothermal can provide power for billions of years. Green energy often offers localized solutions to off-grid places. Buildings in remote mountain areas can install solar panels, small wind turbines, or micro-hydro power stations. Communities can invest in medium-sized green energy projects to help reduce bills and facilitate energy independence.
Countries with enormous renewable energy resources don’t need to import fossil fuels to keep the lights on. Green power means self-sufficient, independent, and sustainable energy that helps protect the environment and create employment in the renewable energy sector.
Geothermal and hydropower sources are usually very reliable providers of energy, helping countries like Norway and Denmark reach their energy needs.
What Are the Disadvantages of Green Energy?
There can be high economic and environmental construction costs associated with green energy. Many advantages of green energy come once the system or power plant has been built.
Solar panels require many materials to make, including quartz and silicon, which produce greenhouse gases during their manufacture. As panels age and need retiring, the environmentally-friendly recycling of these hazardous materials will become a pressing issue. Utility-scale solar farms impact local wildlife and insect populations, as well as change the visual landscape.
Similarly, wind turbines require vast quantities of steel. Offshore wind farms affect local aquatic life, and rotating onshore and offshore wind turbine blades are also a hazard to passing birds. Some residents living near wind farms complain of views being spoiled and others of noises emitting from the turbines.
Hydropower stations need enormous amounts of cement for construction. Dams often flood previously inhabited or natural areas, changing the local natural environment, displacing wildlife and people. There have been many dam disasters where dam defenses have led to environmental disasters and thousands of lives lost. The worst was the Ru River dam in China’s Zhumadian City in 1974, where an estimated 171,000 people perished.
Geothermal plants are occasionally hampered by complaints about noise and smell due to sulfur dioxide seepage. Some plants have been linked to causing mini earthquakes, caused by geothermal’s process of fracturing small holes into underground rocks.
Also, solar power depends on the sun shining and wind power on the wind blowing. There’s no energy produced when these energy sources don’t work, and a backup plan is required. At present, many countries use nuclear, coal, or natural gas power stations to create electricity when renewables can’t meet demand. The industry is looking at utility-scale and local batteries to store excess renewable energy for later use to solve this.
What Is the Best Source of Green Energy?
The best source of green energy can be tricky to quantify. The wind will always blow, water will always flow, and the sun will give energy for billions of years.
One way to gauge which is the best source of green energy is to look at its efficiency. On this ranking, hydropower is the best green energy source.
- Hydropower: Converts around 90% of energy into electricity
- Wind: About 35-50% efficiency, with a 59% maximum efficiency level
- Solar panels: Approximately 17-19% conversion of solar thermal energy is received
- Geothermal: Worldwide average of 12% energy efficiency, while some plants reach 21%
- Nuclear: Provides 33-45% efficiency at power plants
- Bioenergy: Biomass-to-fuel efficiency is between 32-45%, depending on the fuel type
Another evaluation method is the Levelized Energy Cost (LEC). The LEC works out the cost of generating energy over a source’s entire lifetime, calculating the system’s building cost divided by its energy production. For example, there is a high cost to building a wind turbine. Still, it generates electricity with minimal running costs for many years after.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) figures show the following LEC cost per megawatt-hour for new energy sources that will come online in 2026.
- Solar, photovoltaic: $31.30
- Onshore wind: $31.45
- Geothermal: $36.02
- Offshore wind: $115.04
- Battery storage: $121.84
- Hydropower: No figures available
On LEC costs, solar, onshore wind, and geothermal perform well. Of course, there are environmental costs to consider when constructing any power system, be they renewable or fossil fuel-based.
Why Are Green Energy Products Important?
Green energy products are a common sight on electricity company websites. Here’s how they work.
From nuclear to solar to coal, all energy creators input electricity into regional transmission grids; the energy is mixed. Homeowners and businesses draw on all types of energy sources when they use electricity.
People who buy green energy products may pay slightly higher rates than standard deals. This premium usually goes towards a renewable energy credit. The money goes to companies putting renewable energy into the grid, who can then use the revenue to invest in more renewable energy.
These green energy plans are a great way for people to reduce their home’s carbon footprint, especially if installing a solar panel, wind turbine, or small-scale hydropower station is not an option. It’s important to understand the benefits of energy efficiency and conservation on climate change.
How Much of Texas Energy Is Renewable?
Texas tops many energy-related statistics for the United States. The Lone Star state produces — and its residents consume — more electricity than any other state. It extracts the most crude oil and natural gas, too.
But Texas is also the nation’s leader in wind power generation. In 2020, it accounted for 28% of all U.S. wind power. That same year, renewable energy supplied more than one-fifth of utility-scale energy generation in Texas.
Texas can trumpet a claim to being the second-largest solar energy state in the country, after California, and has some small-scale biogas and biofuel projects. Its relatively flat terrain and low rainfall mean hydropower is not a big part (0.5%) of its renewable mix.
Can I Enjoy the Benefits of Green Energy in Texas?
The short answer is yes. Green energy products are available to households and businesses throughout Texas and in many other states.
Green energy and green energy products are a great way to help reduce your carbon emissions and help in the battle against climate change.
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