What are clean and sustainable energies?

The sustainable generation of electrical energy has revolutionized the forms of energy consumption by allowing the use of clean energy sources, that is, those that provide humans with this resource naturally and that are part of the environment.

Find out what sustainable energy is

Renewable energies are a clean and inexhaustible source of energy that allow humanity to reduce its impact on the environment by guaranteeing the sustainable development of societies and are the best alternative to fossil fuels and nuclear energy. The generation of clean energy is very important, both for the environment and for development, since it reduces environmental pollution, global warming, the emission of greenhouse gases and helps combat climate change.

The difference between clean and polluting energy is that sustainable energy, unlike non-renewable sources, comes from sustainable energy sources, such as the sun and the air. For this reason, they are considered inexhaustible clean energy sources, one of the main characteristics that make all renewable energies elemental resources for the sustainable development of the planet.

What are sustainable energies?

A fundamental aspect to know what clean and sustainable energies are, as well as what types of clean energy are, is that they come from renewable sources. The main types of sustainable energy are solar, wind, hydro and geothermal energy. These types of clean energies come from renewable and inexhaustible natural resources and produce energy without emitting carbon dioxide (CO2), which is related to the greenhouse effect, since it absorbs much of the solar radiation and retains it near the earth’s surface. , which produces a progressive heating in it.

Solar energy is that which is obtained from the light or heat of the sun through panels or mirrors and is used to produce electrical energy or heat. It is an inexhaustible and renewable source. Likewise, photovoltaic energy transforms sunlight into electricity through technology based on a photovoltaic effect, that is, when the sun’s radiation reaches a photoelectric cell of said panels and there is a difference between the two faces of the cell, which that generates an electrical current.

More examples of clean and renewable energy

Other 3 examples of renewable energy are wind, hydro and geothermal. Wind energy is a renewable energy source that generates electricity using the force of the wind and wind turbines are the devices through which it converts the air into clean and renewable energy.

Likewise, hydraulic energy is obtained by taking advantage of the kinetic and potential energies contained in water, either in currents or in natural waterfalls. Through this process of producing sustainable alternative energy, the falling water manages to be converted into kinetic energy.

For its part, geothermal energy is a renewable energy that is obtained by taking advantage of the heat from the subsoil, from which hot water is obtained that manages to become clean and renewable energy. Although this energy source is not well known, it is also one of the renewable energy alternatives currently used around the planet.

Another type of sustainable energy is bioenergy, whose source of production is biomass and is obtained through the combustion of the latter, biogas plants and biofuels.

Renewable energies and their uses


Wondering what renewable energy is used for? As it does not generate an impact on the environment, it is expected that the use of renewable energy will increase as technology advances to increase its production and reduce its prices, making it more accessible to the entire population. However, it is a fact that to date, its use has already spread, and is applied in both domestic and industrial settings.

In this sense, all the types of clean and renewable energy that were listed in the previous section are used to obtain electricity, and in the case of solar, geothermal and bioenergy, these are also used for heating and cooling and even For transport.

‍ Learn more about the use of alternative energies in our blog