Clean energy may also be called renewable energy or green energy and it specifically refers to energy

produced usually from renewable resources without creating environmental debt. There are several other ways
such clean energy can be defined. It some cases it may refer to energy processes that pollute less or it can be
considered only energy that doesnt pollute at all and doesnt use resources that cant be easily renewed.
The basic forms of clean energy are often cited as those that come from water, wind, or sun (solar). In
some cases, some manufacturing and use of coal is considered clean and called clean coal. This last is a matter
of dispute among environmentalists.
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and
geothermal heat, which are renewable (naturally replenished). About !" of global final energy consumption
comes from renewable, with #" coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and $.%"
from hydroelectricity. &ew renewable (small hydro, modern biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels)
accounted for another $" and are growing very rapidly.
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The share of renewable in electricity generation is
around )", with !" of global electricity coming from hydroelectricity and $" from new renewable.
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+ind power is growing at the rate of $#" annually, with a worldwide installed capacity of ), giga
watts (-+) in *##,
'$('%(
and is widely used in .urope, Asia, and the /nited 0tates.
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At the end of *##,
cumulative global photovoltaic (23) installations surpassed %# -+ and 23 power stations are popular in
-ermany and 0pain.
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0olar thermal power stations operate in the /0A and 0pain, and the largest of these is the
$1% megawatt (4+) 0.-0 power plant in the 4o5ave 6esert.
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The world7s largest geothermal power
installation is the -eysers in California, with a rated capacity of 81# 4+. 9ra:il has one of the largest
renewable energy programs in the world, involving production of ethanol fuel from sugarcane, and ethanol now
provides ," of the country7s automotive fuel.
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.thanol fuel is also widely available in the /0A.
Mainstream forms of renewable energy
Wind Power
Airflows can be used to run wind turbines. 4odern wind turbines range from around !## ;+ to 1 4+ of rated
power, although turbines with rated output of .1<$ 4+ have become the most common for commercial use=
the power output of a turbine is a function of the cube of the wind speed, so as wind speed increases, power
output increases dramatically.
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Areas where winds are stronger and more constant, such as offshore and high
altitude sites are preferred locations for wind farms. Typical capacity factors are *#>%#", with values at the
upper end of the range in particularly favourable sites.
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-lobally, the long>term technical potential of wind energy is believed to be five times total current global
energy production, or %# times current electricity demand. This could re?uire wind turbines to be installed over
large areas, particularly in areas of higher wind resources. @ffshore resources eAperience average wind speeds
of B)#" greater than that of land, so offshore resources could contribute substantially more energy.
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