Our articles and data visualizations rely on work from many different people and organizations. When citing this article, please also cite the underlying data sources. This article can be cited as: Contact online >>
Our articles and data visualizations rely on work from many different people and organizations. When citing this article, please also cite the underlying data sources. This article can be cited as:
All visualizations, data, and code produced by Our World in Data are completely open access under the Creative Commons BY license. You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited.
The data produced by third parties and made available by Our World in Data is subject to the license terms from the original third-party authors. We will always indicate the original source of the data in our documentation, so you should always check the license of any such third-party data before use and redistribution.
Our World in Data is free and accessible for everyone.
Help us do this work by making a donation.
Licenses: All visualizations, data, and articles produced by Our World in Data are open access under the Creative Commons BY license. You have permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited. All the software and code that we write is open source and made available via GitHub under the permissive MIT license. All other material, including data produced by third parties and made available by Our World in Data, is subject to the license terms from the original third-party authors.
Please consult our full legal disclaimer.
Our World In Data is a project of the Global Change Data Lab, a registered charity in England and Wales (Charity Number 1186433).
Ashumans, we tend to bucket things into two categories: good or evil, hard oreasy, rich or poor, stupid or smart. The same could be said for how peopleunderstand different energy sources: renewable energy or traditional energy,green power or brown power, clean energy or dirty energy. However, such perfectbinaries don''t really exist, and the clean energy / "dirty" energy dichotomy isno exception to this.
When youthink of clean energy, you typically think of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind — and you''d beright! You''d also get a checkmark if you wrote nuclear energy on a test. But you''d probably get half credit if youpenciled in natural gas, depending on the person grading, since there''s obviousdebate whether fossil fuels can truly be clean.
At Chariot Energy, we believe clean energy is synonymous with renewable energy — energy that doesn''t emit greenhouse gases or other pollutants. Still, others claim that nuclear energy, natural gas and even clean-burning coal are on the cleaner end of the spectrum. In this article, we delve into the different sources of clean energy — including nuclear and natural gas — and ultimately why we believe "clean" should be synonymous with "renewable."
We willstart by examining the 6 main sources of clean energy. Out of all energyresources, we consider green power (solar, wind, biomass and geothermal) as thecleanest form of energy. So, if we were looking at clean energy on a spectrum,these would be farthest from "dirty" or emissions-heavy energy.
We''llthen discuss natural gas, which some energy experts classify as a clean energysource (but we don''t think it is). Finally, we''ll talk about one particularenergy source that we simply cannot bring ourselves to include. We share whythat is later in the post.
Our beautiful bread and butter, solar energy. We experience this amazing clean energy source through sunlight and heat, and we can utilize this energy to create electricity through technology like solar panels or concentrating solar power plants (reflective mirrors). We generate this electricity without any emissions or pollution, so it earns a checkmark.
Anotherclean energy source, wind energy is technicallyanother form of solar energy since the sun is partly responsible for allweather patterns on Earth. However, for the sake of how electricity is producedby solar panels and wind turbines, they are considered two different forms ofenergy.
Likesolar energy, power generated from wind turbines produces no air pollutants.So, it''s an easy check on our list of clean energy requirements.
This is a really fun source of energy! Well, not fun, per se, but it''s nonetheless interesting.This form of renewable energy is created by living organisms such as algae, wood, crop residue. It can also come from food waste, landfills and fermented crops. The most common application is fuel for transportation and heating buildings.
It''s sucha versatile form of energy because, while it can and does generate electricity,its most prevalent use lies in the creation of biofuels for transportation as areplacement for fossil fuels. And since we need fuel for everything from ourcars to airplanes, bioenergy lowers the carbon impact on the environment. Check!
Unlikewater, solar and wind, geothermal energy isn''t derived from the sun. Instead,it is energy in the form of heat from the Earth itself. Most often, geothermalis used to heat and cool people''s homes.
To creategeothermal electricity, the Earth''s heat energy is used to boil water to createsteam. This steam then rotates turbines that generate energy. It''s similar to acoal-powered power plant, but it''s run on the Earth''s heat instead of burningfossil fuels.
Again,another source of energy technically powered by the sun, hydropower is fueledby the water cycle. The sun evaporates water, which then forms clouds that thendrop rainfall and snow that create rivers, streams and other large bodies ofwater. The famous Hoover Dam, the giant structure holding back the ragingColorado River, is only one example of how hydropower is used today.
Hydropowerrelies on the kinetic energy from flowing water and transforms it intoelectricity through spinning turbines located in a moving body of water. Hence,hydropower can be a large-scale operation like the Hoover Dam, or it can besmall-scale without a dam. Most importantly, this process doesn''t creategreenhouse gases when generating electricity.
Now,we''re getting into more controversial territory. This is the test case for why"clean" energy is difficult to define for some. Technically, nuclear energy isemissions-free, and it is hugely efficient. One pellet of uranium fuel (approx.1 cm x 1 cm) is the energy equivalent of approximately 150 gallons of gas or17,000 cubic feet of natural gas. To put this in perspective, five grams ofthis tiny pellet can produce enough energy to power a normal household for 6months.
The counterto that "clean" argument is that nuclear energy gives off radiation, which, ifimproperly handled, could contaminate air and water. However, even with thehorrible outliers like Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, the risk of contaminationis small since there are so many safety systems in place.
So, isthis energy source truly clean? In our opinion, because of the waste created,nuclear energy is not clean. However, we can''t deny that nuclear power significantlyreduces greenhouse gas emissions by replacing the need for fossil fuels.Ultimately, you have to decide for yourself whether this one checks the cleanenergy box.
This is easily the most disputed inclusion on our list. In fact, the Department of Energy doesn''t even list natural gas as a clean energy source. It''s under the fossil fuels section because, fundamentally speaking, natural gas is derived from dinosaurs, and it does produce greenhouse gas emissions, specifically methane, when burned.
So,what''s the point of even considering natural gas on this list? According to theU.S. Energy Information Administration, burning natural gas results in feweremissions of nearly all types of air pollutants than coal or petroleum productsto create the same amount of energy. It''s considered "clean" because it''stechnically "cleaner" than other fossil fuels and is the reason for itsexplosion in popularity amongst energy generators.
However,it definitely has drawbacks, specifically when you consider hydraulic fracking.While we won''t get into the nitty-gritty details behind how this process works,it''s essentially a low-cost way of extracting natural gas from rock. Fracking requiresa lot of water, which creates a lot of wastewater, and it''s been known to causeearthquakes and contaminate water supplies.
Sorry, nocheckmark for you!
Therehave been endless internet memes created about clean coal for a reason: It''sthe literal opposite of clean energy.
Inreality, clean coal is no different from regular coal. It''s merely a publicrelations ploy designed to reshape public opinion on fossil fuels. Clean coalis dubbed "clean" because coal plants can capture the carbon dioxide (CO2)before it''s emitted into the air and bury it underground. The process is calledcarbon capture and storage, and we''re all for it — when implemented correctly.
About Clean energy sources
As the photovoltaic (PV) industry continues to evolve, advancements in Clean energy sources have become critical to optimizing the utilization of renewable energy sources. From innovative battery technologies to intelligent energy management systems, these solutions are transforming the way we store and distribute solar-generated electricity.
When you're looking for the latest and most efficient Clean energy sources for your PV project, our website offers a comprehensive selection of cutting-edge products designed to meet your specific requirements. Whether you're a renewable energy developer, utility company, or commercial enterprise looking to reduce your carbon footprint, we have the solutions to help you harness the full potential of solar energy.
By interacting with our online customer service, you'll gain a deep understanding of the various Clean energy sources featured in our extensive catalog, such as high-efficiency storage batteries and intelligent energy management systems, and how they work together to provide a stable and reliable power supply for your PV projects.
