Renewable energy resources include all of the following except

What is renewable energy?

Renewable energy is energy from sources that are naturally replenishing but flow-limited; renewable resources are virtually inexhaustible in duration but limited in the amount of energy that is available per unit of time.

• Biomass
  • Wood and wood waste
  • Municipal solid waste
  • Landfill gas and biogas
  • Biofuels
• Hydropower
• Geothermal
• Wind
• Solar
  

U.S. primary energy consumption by energy source, 2021total = 97.33 quadrillionBritish thermal units (Btu)total = 12.16 quadrillion Btu 2% - geothermal12% - solar27% - wind4% - biomass waste19% - biofuels17% - wood19% - hydroelectricbiomass40% renewableenergy 12%naturalgas32%petroleum36%nuclearelectricpower8%coal11% Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review, Table 1.3 and 10.1,April 2022, preliminary dataNote: Sum of components may not equal 100% because of independent rounding.

What role does renewable energy play in the United States?

Until the mid-1800s, wood was the source of nearly all of the nation's energy needs for heating, cooking, and lighting. From the late 1800s until today, fossil fuels—coal, petroleum, and natural gas—have been the major sources of energy. Hydropower and wood were the most used renewable energy resources until the 1990s. Since then, the amounts of U.S. energy consumption from biofuels, geothermal energy, solar energy, and wind energy have increased. Total U.S. renewable energy production and consumption reached record highs in 2021.

In 2021, renewable energy provided about 12.16 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu)—1 quadrillion is the number 1 followed by 15 zeros—equal to 12% of total U.S. energy consumption. The electric power sector accounted for about 59% of total U.S. renewable energy consumption in 2021, and about 20% of total U.S. electricity generation was from renewable energy sources.

Renewable energy can play an important role in U.S. energy security and in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Using renewable energy can help to reduce energy imports and reduce fossil fuel use, which is the largest source of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. In the Annual Energy Outlook 2022 Reference case, EIA projects that U.S. renewable energy consumption will continue to increase through 2050. The Reference case generally assumes that current laws and regulations that affect the energy sector, including laws that have end dates, remain unchanged throughout the projection period. The potential effects of proposed legislation, regulations, or standards are not included in the AEO2022.

Last updated: June 10, with data from April 2022 editions of source resports; data for 2021 are preliminary.

Renewable and nonrenewable resources are energy sources that human society uses to function on a daily basis. The difference between these two types of resources is that renewable resources can naturally replenish themselves while nonrenewable resources cannot. This means that nonrenewable resources are limited in supply and cannot be used sustainably.

Índice

• There are five major renewable energy sources
• Renewable energy was the main energy source for most of human history

There are four major types of nonrenewable resources: oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy. Oil, natural gas, and coal are collectively called fossil fuels. Fossil fuels were formed within the Earth from dead plants and animals over millions of years—hence the name “fossil” fuels. They are found in underground layers of rock and sediment. Pressure and heat worked together to transform the plant and animal remains into crude oil (also known as petroleum), coal, and natural gas.

The plants and animals that became fossil fuels lived in a time called Carboniferous Period, around 300 to 360 million years ago. The energy in the plant and animal remains originally came from the sun; through the process of photosynthesis, solar energy is stored in plant tissues, which animals then consume, adding the energy to their own bodies. When fossil fuels are burned, this trapped energy is released.

Crude oil is a liquid fuel fossil fuel that is used mostly to produce gasoline and diesel fuel for vehicles, and for the manufacturing of plastics. It is found in rocks below Earth’s surface and is pumped out through wells.

Natural gas is widely used for cooking and for heating homes. It consists mostly of methane and is found near oil deposits below Earth’s surface. Natural gas can be pumped out through the same wells used for extracting crude oil.

Coal is a solid fossil fuel that is used for heating homes and generating power plants. It is found in fossilized swamps that have been buried beneath layers of sediment. Since coal is solid, it cannot be extracted in the same manner as crude oil or natural gas; it must be dug up from the ground.

Nuclear energy comes from radioactive elements, mainly uranium, which is extracted from mined ore and then refined into fuel.

Unfortunately, human society is—for the time being—dependent on nonrenewable resources as its primary source of energy. Approximately 80 percent of the total amount of energy used globally each year comes from fossil fuels. We depend on fossil fuels because they are energy-rich and relatively cheap to process. But a major problem with fossil fuels, aside from their being in limited supply, is that burning them releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Rising levels of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the main cause of global warming.

Alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar energy, are a possible solution to the depletion of nonrenewable sources. Both of these clean energy sources are available in unlimited supply.

Activity Overview: Primary energy consists of unconverted or original fuels. Secondary energy includes resources that have been converted or stored. For example, primary energy sources include petroleum, natural gas, coal, biomass, flowing water, wind, and solar radiation. Those are the fuels that can be mined, reaped, extracted, harvested, or harnessed directly. Secondary energy cannot be harnessed directly from nature; rather, secondary energy is energy that has already been converted. For example, electricity cannot be mined or harvested, though it is available in quick bursts on occasion from lightning. It is generated as a secondary form from primary fuels, like natural gas.

After researching and discussing each of the different individual energy resources, use time to discuss the difference between primary and energy resources and then to classify each of the following resources into one of two categories. Do this activity in small groups or as a whole class on the board.

Time: 20-30 minutes

Resources:

The introduction for this activity was reprinted in part from Chapter 3: Energy Literacy from Energy 101: Energy Technology & Policy, which provides an introduction to the difference between primary and secondary sources of energy.

Students should identify additional print and digital resources and evaluate them for relevance, validity, and reliability.

SCI.6.7A, ELA.6.22B, ELA.6.23A, ELA.6.24B, ELA.6.25A

In the United States and many other countries, most energy sources for doing work are nonrenewable energy sources:

• Petroleum
• Hydrocarbon gas liquids
• Natural gas
• Coal
• Nuclear energy

These energy sources are called nonrenewable because their supplies are limited to the amounts that we can mine or extract from the earth. Coal, natural gas, and petroleum formed over thousands of years from the buried remains of ancient sea plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. That is why we also call those energy sources fossil fuels.

Most of the petroleum products consumed in the United States are made from crude oil, but petroleum liquids can also be made from natural gas and coal.

Nuclear energy is produced from uranium, a nonrenewable energy source whose atoms are split (through a process called nuclear fission) to create heat and, eventually, electricity. Scientists think uranium was created billions of years ago when stars formed. Uranium is found throughout the earth’s crust, but most of it is too difficult or too expensive to mine and process into fuel for nuclear power plants.

There are five major renewable energy sources

The major types or sources of renewable energy are:

They are called renewable energy sources because they are naturally replenished. Day after day, the sun shines, plants grow, wind blows, and rivers flow.

Renewable energy was the main energy source for most of human history

Throughout most of human history, biomass from plants was the main energy source, which was burned for heat and to feed animals used for transportation and plowing. Nonrenewable sources began replacing most of renewable energy use in the United States in the early 1800s, and by the early-1900s, fossil fuels were the main sources of energy. Use of biomass for heating homes remained a source of energy but mainly in rural areas and for supplemental heat in urban areas. In the mid-1980s, use of biomass and other forms of renewable energy began increasing largely because of incentives for their use, especially for electricity generation. Many countries are working to increase renewable energy use as a way to help reduce and avoid carbon dioxide emissions.

Learn more about historical U.S. energy use and timelines for energy sources.

The chart below shows U.S. energy sources, their major uses, and their percentage shares of total U.S. energy consumption in 2021.

U.S. energy consumption by source, 2021 biomass renewable heating, electricity, transportation 5.0% hydropower renewable electricity 2.3% wind renewable electricity 3.4% solar renewable heating, electricity 1.5% geothermal renewable heating, electricity 0.2% petroleum nonrenewable transportation, manufacturing, electricity 36.0% natural gas nonrenewable heating, manufacturing, electricity, transportation 32.2% coal nonrenewable electricity, manufacturing 10.8% nuclear (from uranium) nonrenewable electricity 8.4% A small amount of sources not included above are net electricity imports and coal coke. The sum of individual percentages may not equal 100% because of independent rounding. Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review, Table 1.3, April 2022, preliminary data

Last updated: June 28, 2022, with most recent data available at the time of update.

What are 4 examples of renewable energy resources?

What are the 5 main sources of renewable energy?

Which following is not a part of renewable resource?

Which of the following is not a renewable energy?