What is Renewable Energy?
Renewable energy is energy that is created from natural sources that are naturally renewed. This means that there is an indefinite supply that will supply energy to many future generations to come. Renewable energy is not always green. Nuclear energy is classed as renewable but the high-known risks in an accident can devastate the environment. For this reason it cannot be considered green. Green renewable energy is, therefore, generated by the natural elements of wind, the sun and water. These are the three top sources for renewable energy.

Air, Water and Fire
Renewable energy that is generated by air, or wind, makes use of wind turbines. These can be placed either inland or offshore. More and more wind turbines are being built for offshore use because they present less of a disturbance. People living near the inland turbines often complain about the noise and the visual impact it has. However, this is just a matter of taste. Perhaps people in fifteenth-century Holland once complained about the unsightly appearance of windmills.
It is also possible to have micro wind turbines on building but these generate very little energy.
Hydro energy is created from the flow of water. In order to capture the flow of water, dams are built near reservoirs and lakes. Unfortunately, this may require whole areas around the water supply to be flooded. For this reason, this type of renewable energy cannot be considered green. Flooding areas destroys entire ecosystems and may also involve knocking down forests. If energy can be generated from existing ponds or lakes, then this will have less or no impact on the environment. This would be considered green.

A better way of extracting energy from water, however, is from the waves and tides of the seas. Wave power and tidal power is not widespread and converters that are able to capture the most amount of energy effectively are still being developed. The energy is usually captured using buoys or surface-following attenuators. There are some wave farms in Australia, Scotland, Portugal and the United States.
Solar energy is gradually becoming the most popular form of green renewable energy. People are encouraged to have solar panels installed on their rooftops. There are some schemes that will even buy back the energy that individuals create from their installed solar panels. Some large plots of land have converted into solar panel fields. This may become a problem if populations continue to increase and fields are needed to grow crops or house people.
Recently, in 2015, the solar sunflower has been completed. This is a collection of very powerful solar panels that can harness the power of five thousand suns. It is situated on the top of a hill on a raised platform causing no disturbance to wildlife or human communities.
Alternatively, solar energy stored in the ground can be used to heat large homes. The energy is gathered by pumps that are buried in the ground.
Renewable Energy, the Only Way Forward
Through the powers of wind, water and the sun there can be a future for our planet and for us. There are very little environmental impacts and most installations that capture these energies are likely to be inconspicuous. There is clearly no better way forward.