What Are the Five Major Types of Renewable Energy?
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What Are the Five Major Types of Renewable Energy?

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What Are the Five Major Types of Renewable Energy?

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The Renewable Energy Age

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Awareness around climate change is shaping the future of the global economy in several ways.

Governments are planning how to reduce emissions , investors are scrutinizing companies’ environmental performance, and consumers are becoming conscious of their carbon footprints. But no matter the stakeholder, energy generation and consumption from fossil fuels is one of the biggest contributors to emissions.

Therefore, renewable energy sources have never been more top-of-mind than they are today.

The Five Types of Renewable Energy

Renewable energy technologies harness the power of the sun, wind, and heat from the Earth’s core, and then transforms it into usable forms of energy like heat, electricity, and fuel.

The above infographic uses data from Lazard , Ember , and other sources to outline everything you need to know about the five key types of renewable energy:

Energy Source % of 2021 Global Electricity Generation Avg. levelized cost of energy per MWh
Hydro 💧 15.3% $64
Wind 🌬 6.6% $38
Solar ☀️ 3.7% $36
Biomass 🌱 2.3% $114
Geothermal ♨️ <1% $75

Editor’s note: We have excluded nuclear from the mix here, because although it is often defined as a sustainable energy source, it is not technically renewable (i.e. there are finite amounts of uranium).

Though often out of the limelight, hydro is the largest renewable electricity source, followed by wind and then solar.

Together, the five main sources combined for roughly 28% of global electricity generation in 2021, with wind and solar collectively breaking the 10% share barrier for the first time.

The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) measures the lifetime costs of a new utility-scale plant divided by total electricity generation. The LCOE of solar and wind is almost one-fifth that of coal ($167/MWh), meaning that new solar and wind plants are now much cheaper to build and operate than new coal plants over a longer time horizon.

With this in mind, here’s a closer look at the five types of renewable energy and how they work.

1. Wind

Wind turbines use large rotor blades, mounted at tall heights on both land and sea, to capture the kinetic energy created by wind.

When wind flows across the blade, the air pressure on one side of the blade decreases, pulling it down with a force described as the lift . The difference in air pressure across the two sides causes the blades to rotate, spinning the rotor.

The rotor is connected to a turbine generator, which spins to convert the wind’s kinetic energy into electricity .

2. Solar (Photovoltaic)

Solar technologies capture light or electromagnetic radiation from the sun and convert it into electricity.

Photovoltaic (PV) solar cells contain a semiconductor wafer, positive on one side and negative on the other, forming an electric field. When light hits the cell, the semiconductor absorbs the sunlight and transfers the energy in the form of electrons. These electrons are captured by the electric field in the form of an electric current.

A solar system’s ability to generate electricity depends on the semiconductor material, along with environmental conditions like heat, dirt, and shade.

3. Geothermal

Geothermal energy originates straight from the Earth’s core—heat from the core boils underground reservoirs of water, known as geothermal resources.

Geothermal plants typically use wells to pump hot water from geothermal resources and convert it into steam for a turbine generator. The extracted water and steam can then be reinjected, making it a renewable energy source.

4. Hydropower

Similar to wind turbines, hydropower plants channel the kinetic energy from flowing water into electricity by using a turbine generator.

Hydro plants are typically situated near bodies of water and use diversion structures like dams to change the flow of water. Power generation depends on the volume and change in elevation or head of the flowing water.

Greater water volumes and higher heads produce more energy and electricity, and vice versa.

5. Biomass

Humans have likely used energy from biomass or bioenergy for heat ever since our ancestors learned how to build fires.

Biomass—organic material like wood, dry leaves, and agricultural waste—is typically burned but considered renewable because it can be regrown or replenished. Burning biomass in a boiler produces high-pressure steam, which rotates a turbine generator to produce electricity.

Biomass is also converted into liquid or gaseous fuels for transportation. However, emissions from biomass vary with the material combusted and are often higher than other clean sources.

When Will Renewable Energy Take Over?

Despite the recent growth of renewables, fossil fuels still dominate the global energy mix.

Most countries are in the early stages of the energy transition, and only a handful get significant portions of their electricity from clean sources. However, the ongoing decade might see even more growth than recent record-breaking years.

The IEA forecasts that, by 2026, global renewable electricity capacity is set to grow by 60% from 2020 levels to over 4,800 gigawatts—equal to the current power output of fossil fuels and nuclear combined. So, regardless of when renewables will take over, it’s clear that the global energy economy will continue changing.

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Energy

Map: Oil and Gas Spills in the U.S. Since 2010

Oil and gas spills can be messy, but where are they most likely to occur? This graphic looks at oil and gas spills in the U.S. since 2010.

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Mapped: Oil and Gas Spills in the U.S. Since 2010

The recent energy crisis has highlighted the integral role that hydrocarbons play in fueling the modern world, but these fossil fuels still come with their fair share of downsides.

Aside from the obvious climate impact they bring, one other downside in particular is spills, which can lead to ecological and economic damage. These can happen due to pipeline leaks, train derailments , or other industrial disasters.

This graphic from Preyash Shah provides a visual overview of every oil and gas spill in the contiguous U.S. since 2010. Data is tracked by the U.S. government’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

U.S. Oil and Gas Spills (2010‒2022)

The majority of spills that have occurred come mostly from crude oil , followed by petroleum products and gas. Note that this data covers the quantity of spills and not damages or volume.

Spills by Product Type Portion of all U.S. Spills
Crude oil 51%
Petroleum products 32%
Diesel 14%
Gasoline 13%
Others 5%
Highly volatile liquids & flammable gas 16%
Liquefied petroleum gas / natural gas liquids 8%
Other highly volatile liquids 6%
Anhydrous ammonia 2%
Others 3%
Carbon dioxide 2%
Biofuel 1%
Data figures add to 102% due to rounding errors, bolded figures represent the sum of subcategories

Crude oil, which makes up just over half of documented spills, is also one of the most costly. Contaminations can persist for years after a spill, and its impact on local mammals and waterfowl is particularly harsh.

This has been the case with the Deepwater Horizon spill (also known as the “BP oil spill”), which experts say is still causing harm in the Gulf of Mexico.

Other products with lots of spills include petroleum products such as diesel or gasoline, as well as liquefied natural gas or other volatile liquids. Interestingly, liquefied carbon dioxide can also be transported in pipelines , commonly used for carbon capture storage, but requires high pressure to maintain its state.

When looking at the location of spills, it’s clear that the South Central states have experienced the highest number of disasters. In contrast, the West Coast has had substantially less activity. However, this makes much more sense when looking at the dominant oil producing states , where Texas and surrounding neighbors reign supreme.

Rank State Oil & Gas Spills (2010-2022)
1 Texas 1936
2 Oklahoma 407
3 Louisiana 297
4 California 253
5 Kansas 208
6 Illinois 181
7 Wyoming 155
8 New Jersey 128
9 New Mexico 114
10 North Dakota 98
11 Indiana 93
12 Minnesota 83
13 Ohio 82
14 Pennsylvania 71
15 Iowa 66
16 Missouri 65
17 Michigan 56
18 Colorado 55
19 Mississippi 53
20 Montana 46
21 Wisconsin 42
22 Alabama 36
23 Arkansas 33
24 Newbraska 31
25 Georgia 28
26 Virginia 27
27 North Carolina 24
28 Kentucky 21
29 South Carolina 19
30 Alaska 16
30 New York 16
32 Tennessee 15
33 South Dakota 14
33 Washington 14
35 Florida 13
36 Maryland 11
37 Utah 9
38 Idaho 8
38 Oregon 8
40 Hawaii 7
41 West Virginia 6
42 Massachesueuts 3
43 Conneticut 2
43 Maine 2
43 Nevada 2
43 Puerto Rico 2
47 Arizona 0
47 Delaware 0
47 New Hampshire 0
47 Vermont 0

Of the 4,901 spills during this period, Texas accounts for 1,936 or roughly 40% of all oil and gas spills . This is followed by Oklahoma, which has had 407 spills and is one of the largest net exporters of oil and gas in the country.

What Causes Spills?

Oil and gas spills actually have a surprisingly long history, with one of the earliest dating back to 1889 , when a spill was reported on the coast between Los Angeles and San Diego.

Causes have consisted primarily of weather, natural disasters, equipment and technological malfunction, as well as human error.

However, they only became a widespread problem around the halfway mark of the 20th century, when petroleum extraction and production really began to take off. This era also saw the emergence of supertankers, which can transport half a million tons of oil but therefore make the risk of spills even costlier.

In fact, the biggest spill off U.S. waters after the Deepwater Horizon disaster is the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, when a tanker crashed into a reef and 11 million gallons of oil spilled into the Pacific Ocean.

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