Most of you are probably still unfamiliar with renewable energy. Renewable energy is energy that focuses more on natural processes.

Interested and want to know more about the meaning and benefits of renewable energy? Come on, see the explanation below!

Definition of Renewable Energy

Renewable energy is an energy that focuses on natural processes and occurs in a sustainable manner. The concept of renewable energy has been known since the 1970s.

The introduction of renewable energy exists with the aim of being able to keep pace with the rapid development of basic nuclear and fossil fuel energy. Renewable energy. For example geothermal, wind, solar power, water currents, are examples of energy whose sources come from nature with sustainable processes.

Benefits of Using Renewable Energy

How do you already understand the meaning of renewable energy, now we will discuss further about what are the benefits of renewable energy that you must know.

1. Renewable Energy Does Not Produce Emissions

The effect of fossil fuel power plants is to create a lot of greenhouse gas emissions. In the United States, electricity generated from fossil fuels accounts for about 27% of all greenhouse gas emissions. This includes not only carbon dioxide but also nitrous oxide, methane, and fluorinated gas.

With renewable energy, the environmental benefits become clearer, namely electricity obtained from renewable sources. For example, wind turbines and solar panels will not produce emissions and air pollution. Not only that, electricity made from renewable energy will continue to increase.

According to a statement by the US Energy Information Administration, renewable energy will be the fastest growing source of power generation in 2020. Approximately 23 gigawatts (GW) of wind energy and about 14 GW of solar energy are added to the grid.

2. Renewable Energy Lowers Carbon Footprint

We are all aware of how our actions will impact the environment. It's not just straws and turtles, it's also from the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the electricity for family night movies. Almost all of these choices we make will affect the environment, it's just that we may not realize it.

As you might expect, using renewable energy at home will lower your carbon footprint by replacing the need for fossil fuel emissions with zero-emission energy such as wind and solar.

So, rethinking your home's energy sources is a major way to reduce your carbon footprint. The energy industry will verify electricity as a valid renewable energy through a certificate of authenticity known as renewable energy credit.

3. Renewable Energy Reduces Harmful Air Pollutants

When fossil fuels are burned to generate electricity, they react with oxygen to form NOx or nitrogen oxides, which are harmful greenhouse gases. Not only can the gas create acid rain and smog, it also reacts chemically to produce ground-level ozone and harmful air pollutants.

Stratospheric ozone otherwise known as the ozone layer protects us from harmful UV rays emitted by the sun. Ground or tropospheric ozone can cause various health problems, including throat irritation, coughing, airway inflammation, damaged lung tissue and reduced lung function.

Ozone at ground level is made from a combination of heat, sunlight, with volatile organic compounds, especially from man-made chemicals that are produced and used in the manufacture of medicines, paints, and refrigerants.

Renewable energy sources will not release nitric oxide when generating electricity. So, with renewable energy not only does it not release greenhouse gases, but also lowers the carbon footprint thereby helping to offset the energy needs of fossil fuels that can contribute to excessive air pollution in urban areas.

4. Renewable Energy Uses Less Water

Almost all energy sources require more water to some point to operate. In traditional electricity production consisting of coal, natural gas or nuclear energy, it is produced by heating water so that it can create steam to turn turbines. In natural gas and coal power plants, both require 60,000 gallons of water per MWh of electricity.2

Photovoltaic solar and wind do not need water to generate electricity. On the other hand, hydropower relies on water, where electricity is created through the fall or flow of water from a dam or river as opposed to the generation of steam via fuel.

5. Renewable Energy Benefits the Economy

Several renewable energy factors are responsible for driving economic growth, including:

a. Lower technology costs

When the price of creating these clean energy technologies goes down, so does the price of the electricity they produce. This only increases the demand for electricity generated from clean energy and increases investment in the technology.

b. Supporting Policies

Government policies such as solar investment tax credits will further reduce the cost of renewable energy resources. The solar tax credit already reduces the cost of installing solar PV panels by about 30%. This is a large part of the reason why the solar industry has consistently experienced 50% annual growth over the last decade.

Therefore, renewable energy not only creates jobs, but also helps lower electricity prices and keeps other energy companies on guard.

Those were some of the benefits of renewable energy that you can know. In essence, let's work together to protect the environment by saving energy and using renewable energy sources.