Renewable energy is energy produced from nontraditional sources which are infinitely replenishable and less harmful to the environment than sources like coal. There is a growing movement in the United States and elsewhere to include more and more renewable energy to supplement and eventually replace the old standards of burning coal, using nuclear energy, and hydroelectric power generation which can have a devastating impact on ecosystems. Renewable energy comes from sources such as solar power, wind energy, the burning of landfill gas, low-impact hydroelectric systems, and biomass.
Renewable energy is produced in several ways.
The most familiar methods are through the use of solar panels and wind turbines. Solar power is collected with photovoltaic panels and transformed into electricity as sunshine creates a current inside the panel. Wind turbines simply use the momentum of air to turn the windmill's arms, which are attached to an electric generator. Another is through a methane-gas burning system set up at landfills to convert a naturally released greenhouse gas, methane, into electricity, leaving behind a less damaging gas. The majority of electricity produced in the United States comes from burning coal.