Renewable energy resources are energy sources that generate electricity without depleting a natural resource. This usually means that energy can be harvested without depleting or destroying the resource itself. In some cases, this means that there is so much of a resource that using it isn’t a problem because it will never be depleted. Solar energy, wind power, and geothermal energy are three of the most well-known renewable energy sources. Other renewable energy resources may exist that we are unaware of or have yet to be successfully converted into energy.
The majority of people think of solar and wind power when they think of renewable energy resources. Natural resources such as wind and sunlight are converted into energy that can be used in other applications in these cases. In both of these cases, the energy existed before it was harvested and was simply converted into something that could be used in this way. This is distinct from burning oil because, unlike oil, neither the wind nor the sun will ever be depleted while humans live on the planet. These energies are also clean in the sense that they do not typically emit emissions, but this is not necessarily related to their renewable nature.
A renewable energy resource, at its most basic level, is any resource that can be converted into energy but cannot be depleted. Because there is a finite amount of helium on the planet, efficient conversion of helium into energy would not be considered a renewable energy resource. Diverse forms of moving water, on the other hand, are considered renewable energy resources because harnessing the power of the water does not deplete the water itself.
Renewable energy is often more cost effective than nonrenewable energy due to the nature of these resources. The energy harvesting devices may be costly, but the resource from which the energy is derived is frequently free and readily available. Because the energy source is often free, as is the case with wind, the majority of the cost of renewable energy is spent on building and maintaining the collection devices.
Even though the two categories frequently overlap, it’s important to remember that renewable energy resources aren’t always environmentally friendly. Dams, for example, are a type of renewable energy resource that, in some cases, can harm the environment by disrupting the ecosystem of a river. Renewable energy resources are typically sought by human populations because they have the best long-term potential for providing energy to a civilization. However, it is critical to consider the other impacts that any energy resource will have on a region.