While it’s a term that heralds a new future in business gas and electricity, it can often be difficult to understand what’s meant by “green” energy. There are conflicting definitions out there, and with other terms (such as “renewable” or “clean” energy) often being used in place of “green”, it can get confusing.
Fortunately, as industry experts in finding business energy deals, we’re here to help prise apart the terms, and provide you with a full overview.
Green energy refers to energy that has zero impact on the global climate, as well as the environment around it. It’s gained from natural sources, and doesn’t release any air pollutants
It’s most commonly associated with wind turbines and solar panels, although there are other types of green energy that we’ll touch on shortly.
Clean energy also doesn’t pollute the air, but isn’t necessarily from entirely natural sources. Cleaner energy sources could also have minor negative impacts on the environment.
A good example of this is the controversial nuclear power, which utilises the Earth’s near-endless supply of uranium. It does have some environmental impact, so cannot be classed as fully “green” energy.
Renewable energy may pollute the air, or otherwise have an impact on the environment, but these forms of energy still play an important role in moving away from fossil fuels.
This includes things like hydroelectric dams which, while they offer an infinite source of energy thanks to the flow of rivers and oceans, have significant environmental impact during their construction.
Ultimately, there’s significant overlap between these different types of energy, which can contribute towards the difficulties in defining the three terms. For instance, solar power is clean, green and renewable, as it produces no pollution, has very minimal impact on the environment, and is infinite.