RENEWABLE AND GREEN ENERGY SERVICES
What Is Carbon-Free Energy?
When energy sources are labeled carbon-free, the energy is produced by a resource that generates no carbon emissions, such as nuclear or large hydroelectric. Although these resources help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they may impact the environment or the economy.
Understanding Carbon-Free Energy
Carbon-free is electricity generation either does not use fossil fuels or does not emit carbon. For example, a state is carbon-free if all of its electricity is from clean energy sources like wind, solar, and nuclear.
Renewable and Carbon-Free Energy – What's the difference?
Renewable energy is energy that comes from resources that are naturally replenished, such as sunlight and wind. Unlike fossil fuels, such as oil, natural gas, and coal, which cannot be replaced, renewable energy regenerates naturally in a short period.
The terms carbon-free and renewable are often used in similar contexts, but these two resources create different environmental and economic impacts.
What Is Renewable Energy?
On the other hand, renewable energy is classified as a naturally replenishing resource that produces zero emissions. Renewable energy sources include solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and biowaste, and eligible hydroelectric.
In addition, the energy projects may create additional environmental benefits on top of their emissions reductions, such as pollinator-friendly solar programs, or economic job benefits, through the construction of new projects.
What Is Carbon-Free Energy?
When energy sources are labeled carbon-free, the energy is produced by a resource that generates no carbon emissions, such as nuclear or large hydroelectric. Although these resources help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they may impact the environment or the economy. For example, the waste produced by nuclear power plants needs to be safely stored long term, which can be cost-intensive.
Additionally, the creation of dams to build new, enormous hydroelectric resources has lasting environmental impacts on the surrounding ecosystems.
The Difference:
While all renewable energy is carbon-free, not all carbon-free energy is renewable. Only naturally replenishing sources are renewable.
The Three Types of Energy
“Clean” energy emits little to no greenhouse gas emissions and includes renewable and carbon-free sources.
This is in contrast to fossil fuels, which produce significant greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide and methane.
Renewable Energy
Wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and small hydropower
Carbon-Free Energy
Larger hydropower and nuclear as well as all renewable energy resources including: wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and small hydropower
Fossil Fuel Energy
Natural gas, coal, and oil
Benefits Benefits of Renewable Energy
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Renewables are better for the environment and are quickly becoming cheaper than traditional resources!
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Unlike fossil fuels, the price of renewable energy is stable in the long term because there are no fuel costs. Coal and natural gas prices can cause surges in energy costs when fuel supplies become strained, so relying on abundant solar and wind energy helps us keep rates stable and competitive.
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The benefits of renewable energy don't stop with stable, competitive prices. It's good for our health too! When fossil fuel energy is replaced with wind or solar, the air we breathe and the water we drink gets cleaner.
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When local and regional companies buy and build green power, creating more local clean energy jobs. In addition, having control over our future energy supply allows the community to support projects that produce a cleaner, greener economy.
Carbon-Neutrality
Carbon neutral means that any CO2 released into the atmosphere from a company’s activities is balanced by removing an equivalent amount.
Climate positive means that activity goes beyond achieving net-zero carbon emissions to create an environmental benefit by removing additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Carbon Negative
Carbon negative means the same thing as "climate positive."
Carbon Positive
Carbon positive is how organizations describe climate positive and carbon negative. Unfortunately, it's mainly a marketing term and understandably confusing–we generally avoid it.
Climate Neutral
Climate Neutral refers to reducing all GHG to zero while eliminating all other negative environmental impacts that an organization may cause.
Net-Zero Carbon Emissions
Net-Zero carbon emissions mean that an activity releases net-zero carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Net-Zero emissions balance the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) released and the amount removed from the atmosphere.
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