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Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

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ScienceDaily: Solar Energy News

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NYT > Solar Energy

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About Energy Sources

Energy sources are divided into renewable and nonrenewable sources.

Renewable sources are energy sources that can be easily replenished. Nonrenewable sources are energy sources that we are using up and cannot recreate. Renewable and nonrenewable energy sources can be used to produce secondary energy sources including electricity and hydrogen.

Renewable energy sources include:

  • Solar energy
  • Wind
  • Geothermal energy
  • Biomass from plants, which includes firewood from trees, ethanol from corn, and biodiesel from vegetable oil
  • Hydropower from hydroturbines at a dam

Nonrenewable energy sources include:

  • fossil fuels
  • oil
  • natural gas
  • coal
  • uranium

Renewable and nonrenewable energy sources are used to generate electricity for our homes, businesses, schools, and factories. Electricity powers our various electrical appliances, including computers, refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners, to name a few.

Most of the gasoline and the diesel fuel used to power our vehicles is made from petroleum oil, a nonrenewable resource. Natural gas, used to heat homes, dry clothes, and cook food, is nonrenewable. The propane that fuels outdoor grills is made from oil and natural gas, both nonrenewable.

Above text adapted from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA)

How the Laws of Physics Constrain Our Sustainable Energy Options

TEDxWarwick - David MacKay - How the Laws of Physics Constrain Our Sustainable Energy Options

Professor David MacKay is Professor of Natural Philosophy in the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge. David is the author of the book, Sustainable Energy — Without the Hot Air, which is intended to help people understand the numbers around sustainable energy.

Renewable Energy News - RenewableEnergyWorld.com

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Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy

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Renewable Energy Focus USA - Latest News

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NYT > Energy & Environment

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