Renewable Energy Basics

What is renewable or "green" energy?
What are the benefits of buying renewable energy?
What's the environmental impact of regular electricity?
What are the nation's current electricity sources?
How much U.S. electricity production is from renewables?
Why is large hydro not considered renewable?

What is renewable or "green" energy?
Renewable energy resources are renewable because they are constantly replenished and will never run out. As long as the sun shines, the wind blows, water flows and plants grow, there will be renewable energy sources.  Beyond sustainability, renewable energy sources are low impact.  They cause less air pollution, do not have a radioactive waste byproduct and are readily available without land-use impacts such as mining and drilling.
 
In contrast, nonrenewable energy sources are the fossil fuels – such as coal, oil and natural gas – that come from limited or finite resources that will eventually dwindle, becoming too expensive or too environmentally damaging to retrieve.  Burning nonrenewable fossil fuels to generate electricity is the nation’s leading source of industrial air pollution, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
  
What are the benefits of buying renewable energy?
Renewable energy is important because of the benefits it provides. Here are some major benefits:
  
Environmental Benefits - Renewable energy technologies are clean sources of energy that have a much lower environmental impact than conventional energy technologies. Greater use of renewable energy sources for electricity production will lead to cleaner air through reduced emissions from conventional power plants. U.S. electricity generation is our nation’s leading source of industrial air pollution. Burning fossil fuels produces harmful air emissions such as heat-trapping carbon dioxide, smog-forming nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide, a contributor to acid rain. What’s more, there are land-use impacts associated with mining or extracting coal, oil and natural gas. Nuclear power produces the long-term challenge of nuclear waste that remains radioactive for thousands of years.
  
Health Benefits – By using more renewable energy, we can also reduce the serious effects of air pollution on human health. Particulate or fine particle pollution from combustion of fossil fuels is a known contributor to increased asthma rates, as well as heart and lung disease.
  
Energy for the Future - Renewable energy will not run out. Ever. Other sources of energy are finite and will some day be depleted.
  
Jobs and the Economy - Most renewable energy investments are spent on materials and workmanship to build and maintain the facilities, rather than on costly energy imports. Your energy dollars stay home to create jobs and fuel local economies, rather than going overseas.
  
Energy Security - Dependence on overseas energy sources, such as imported oil, has consequences in terms of electricity rates, service reliability and national security.  We have all seen oil and natural gas prices fluctuate significantly in the past, and no one doubts future spikes will occur.  Furthermore, large centralized power stations, especially nuclear power plants, have been recognized as security risks. By contrast, renewable power generators are often much smaller in size than conventional power plants, more dispersed and are considered less vulnerable.
  
Energy Diversity – Having a more diversified blend of energy sources will improve energy security and reliability, plus help avoid price fluctuations. Even among renewable energy sources, Sterling Planet advocates a diverse blend. Where possible and practical, we try to draw from multiple sources of renewable energy – solar, wind, small or low-impact hydro and organic bioenergy.  We recognize that no single source of renewable energy can be practically produced in all U.S. regions. (For example, there is very little wind capacity in the Southeast.)
 
Efficiency and Reliability - Many renewable generators produce electricity efficiently, without using up a lot of power to make power.  Because they’re often not centralized power stations, they are often closer to where the electricity will be actually used, which means less power is lost or wasted during the process of power delivery. 
 
What's the environmental impact of regular electricity?
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, electricity production using nonrenewable fossil fuels – coal, oil, natural gas – is the nation’s leading cause of industrial air pollution. These regular power plants contribute to global warming potential, acid rain, urban smog and human health issues. Additionally, nuclear power plants have a waste byproduct that remains radioactive for thousands of years. Large hydro projects have an often detrimental effect on fish and wildlife habitats.
  
What are the nation's current electricity sources?
The United States currently relies heavily on coal, oil, and natural gas to produce electricity. The current average U.S. mix is 52% coal, 20% nuclear, 16% natural gas, 7% hydroelectric, 3% oil and 2% renewables. (from 2002 US EGRID)

How much U.S. electricity production is from renewables?
Just 2%, when you exclude large hydro.
  
Why is large hydro not considered renewable?
Technically, large hydro is renewable energy.  It’s just not considered “green” because it is not low impact.  Large hydro is known to affect fish and wildlife habitats.

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