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1.3. Non-Renewable and Renewable Energy Sources (RES)

What Is Renewable Energy?

Renewable energy, often referred to as clean energy, comes from natural sources or
processes that are constantly replenished. For example, sunlight or wind keep shining and
blowing, even if their availability depends on time and weather.

While renewable energy is often thought of as a new technology, harnessing nature’s power has long
been used for heating, transportation, lighting, and more. Wind has powered boats to sail the seas and
windmills to grind grain. The sun has provided warmth during the day and helped kindle fires to last
into the evening. But over the past 500 years or so, humans increasingly turned to cheaper, dirtier
energy sources such as coal and fracked gas.

What is Polluting (or Dirty) energy

Non-renewable, or “dirty,” energy includes fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal. Non-
renewable sources of energy are only available in limited amounts and take a long time to
replenish. When we pump gas at the station, we are using a finite resource refined from
crude oil that’s been around since prehistoric times.
Non-renewable energy sources are also typically found in specific parts of the world, making them
more plentiful in some nations than others. By contrast, every country has access to sunshine and
wind. Prioritizing non-renewable energy can also improve national security by reducing a country’s
reliance on exports from fossil fuel–rich nations.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the
views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the

information contained therein.
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