We usually divide our energy sources into two main categories: renewable and non renewable. Mixing the concepts of energy source and energy carrier is a common mistake. District heating, for example, is an energy carrier, which can have received its energy from anything from solar collectors to a boiler fired by coal. Electricity is another example of an energy carrier, that can have been created from such widely different energy sources as wind power or nuclear power. It is therefore directly wrong to claim that district heating automatically has a high environmental profile if you do not also know how the energy delivered to the district heating system has been produced.
Renewable energy sources
Renewable energy sources include solar energy, wind and wave power, hydro power, bioenergy in the form of biogas, pellets, wood chips, logs etc., and geothermal energy.
Non renewable energy sources
These include fossil forms of energy such as natural gas, crude oil and coal, which have been created over a very long period of time and which consist of finite quantities. Uranium, which is the raw material for nuclear power, is also a non renewable energy source.
Peat is regarded as somewhere in between a form of renewable energy and a fossil fuel as a result of its relatively short time of about 100 years for renewal.
Differences of different types of energy. he different types of energy have their own advantages and drawbacks. From an environmental point of view, it is generally the view that renewable forms of energy are to be preferred. They do not have the same environmental impact as the fossil fuels (oil, coal and natural gas) and nor do they contribute to greenhouses gases to the same extent. Non renewable energy sources also all have a natural end point, as their quantities are finite and at some point in the future are going to run out.
On the other hand, renewable energy sources are not entirely without their drawbacks. Hydro power and wind energy require large areas of land. Bioenergy presents the risk of degrading biological diversity, competing with the production of foodstuffs and with the production of raw materials for construction and the pulp and paper industry. Bioenergy also results in atmospheric emissions, as it normally involves a process of combustion. Using large quantities of bioenergy shortens the CO2 cycle time, which means that we are bypassing a possible CO2 sink that would have been available if trees had been left to grow for a longer period of time.
Methane, which is formed in landfills and digestion processes, is a very strong greenhouse gas. From the point of view of reducing climatic impact, it should be burnt and given preference over other energy sources, including bioenergy or solar energy.
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