Green Energy: Examples and Differences from Renewable Energy

When discussing energy, you may be familiar with clean energy and renewable energy. Yet, have you ever heard about green energy?

Green energy is the energy gained from natural resources, such as the sun and water. Typically, this kind of energy is obtained from renewable energy. However, green and renewable energy have several distinctions. This article discusses green energy, including its definition, advantages, and examples. So, read the information below.

What Is Green Energy?

In general, green energy is energy that uses resources and methods that do not harm the environment, such as not producing hazardous pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions.

As explained before, green energy is obtained from nature, like wind and water. As a result, this energy is frequently from power plants, such as hydropower plants, solar power plants, and so on.

The use of natural resources for green energy aims to produce heat or electricity without reducing the non-renewable and limited resources. That’s why it becomes an alternative energy source for the non-renewable ones, like petroleum and natural gas.

To be included as green energy, the resources must not emit pollutants. For example, fossil energy management cannot be green energy because it releases pollutants.

However, it does not mean that all renewable energy can be green energy resources. Let’s say a power plant uses organic material coming from a sustainable forest, offering renewable energy sources. Yet, it is not included as green energy because the combustion process releases carbon dioxide.

Furthermore, green energy resources must be renewable naturally, while fossil energy sources need billions of years to be renewed. Moreover, green energy avoids environmentally damaging processes, like drilling and mining.

Types of Green Energy

You perhaps already know about the renewable energy sources that can be used for green energy, like water and the sun. But there are other types of green energy you must know, such as:

1. Solar Power

Solar power is one of the most common renewable energy sources used in power plants. Solar power plants have photovoltaic cells working to capture sunlight and convert it into electricity.

Additionally, solar power is often used to heat water and buildings. In fact, it is considered more cost-effective for private needs and can be used massively for the whole residence.

2. Hydropower

Hydropower, especially running water like that in a river and a dam, can be used to produce electricity. Hydropower can be leveraged on a small scale using water pipes or rainwater.

3. Wind Power

Wind is considered green energy because it does not emit air pollutants. Wind will move the wind turbine and rotate the generator, producing electricity for various needs.

4. Biomass Power

Biomass is an energy source coming from organic materials, like agricultural waste, wood waste, and sawdust. However, biomass must be wisely managed to be a green energy. Yet, the burning process certainly produces much lower greenhouse gas emissions than fossil fuels.

5. Biofuel Power

In addition to becoming biomass, organic material can be transformed into biofuels, like biodiesel and ethanol. Biofuel is usually used as a vehicle fuel.

Advantages of Green Energy

The existence of green energy in daily life certainly provides benefits for humans and nature. Here are the benefits of green energy that you need to know:

Becoming a naturally renewable energy source and not easily exhausted.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions causes global warming.
Lowering water, air, and land pollution.
Maintaining a balanced ecosystem.
Decreasing the reliance on non-renewable energy.
Saving energy costs in the long term.
Stabilizing the energy price.
Encouraging green energy use in urban areas.

The Differences Between Green Energy, Clean Energy, and Renewable Energy

Green, clean, and renewable energy have one similar focus, which is leveraging energy without harming the environment. Yet, the three have distinct concepts. Then, what are the differences?

Clean energy is a broader term including energy sources that produce little or no greenhouse gas emissions. Clean energy aims to reduce carbon emissions, reliance on non-renewable energy, and dangerous pollutants.

However, not all clean energy resources can be green energy because clean energy only comprises energy that emits little to no emissions, whereas green energy is renewable energy derived from nature with minimal environmental impact.

Then, renewable energy comes from renewable nature. Similar to clean energy, not all renewable energy is green energy because some of the resources may undergo a process that produces minimal carbon emissions.

Examples of Green Energy

Now, you already know the ins and outs of green energy in detail. Next, you must know the examples of green energy daily:

1. Electricity and Heat from Biomass

Biomass energy can be used to generate electricity and heat for industrial needs, such as the chemical, steel, iron, and cement industries.

2. Biofuel Firing

Vehicles typically use oil fuel from non-renewable fossil energy. To decrease the use of oil fuel, you can utilize biofuel from organic materials, which is cleaner than fossil energy.

3. Solar Panels

Solar panels are equipment used by solar power plants to transform sunlight into electricity. Recently, there have been many solar power plants used globally, such as in solar panels on road lights, house roofs, and office building roofs.

Regarding solar panel installation, make sure to choose a trustworthy company to get quality service, like Krakatau Chandra Energi.

Krakatau Chandra Energi (KCE) is a subsidiary of Chandra Asri Group serving solar panel installation for various purposes in three installation methods: on-grid, off-grid, and hybrid.

Implementing green energy is important to protect natural resources and prevent environmental damage. Consequently, we can reduce the impact of climate change and improve the quality of life.