In the world we live at a time when it is necessary to fight against global warming and one of the ways is to reduce polluting energies. That is, a transition from fossil fuels (coal or oil) to the so-called clean or renewable energy. But since there are degrees to everything, some renewables are less polluting than others in their process of generating electricity.
What are the least polluting energies?
Currently, there are various energies such as wind, solar, biomass, thermal or hydroelectric. Each of them with greater or lesser use and degree of use and installed power, in total represents almost half of all the energy generated in Spain. Of all, according to data from Red Eléctrica Española (REE), photovoltaics is already the third technology with the most MW installed in our country, with data from September 2022. And from January to November, REE data reflects that the generation in this type of renewable energy is only behind the combined cycle, wind energy, with 10.5%.
Which is possible thanks to the climatic conditions in Spain, where there are 3,000 hours of sunshine a year because we are one of the sunniest countries in all of Europe. In other words, we have one of the largest solar PV generation capacities on the continent, which should be an incentive to increase its use.
For this reason, since P.O.W We want to make a compilation not only for renewable energies, but also for less polluting energy.
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The least polluting energies
Next, we explain which energies pollute less. We will list them based on the fact that clean energies are those that are generated from inexhaustible natural resources (wind, sun, water or the Earth\’s own thermal energy) and that do not pollute or harm the environment in its generation process. .
Photovoltaic solar energy
Using sunlight to generate electricity through photovoltaic panels a solar energy It is one of the least polluting existing. The reason is the durability of solar panels to capture solar energy and convert it into electricity, which also places it among the most used renewable energy In Spain.
In addition, unlike what happens with other types of energy, the manufacturing itself photovoltaic panels It is not a polluting process and minimizes the carbon footprint. To which must be added the long useful life once installed and the possibility of recycling them after the end of use. Which is an added advantage to the fact that there are subsidies and bonuses for its use and allow great economic savings for its users.
Wind power
Secondly, we can mention Wind power or the generation of electricity due to wind turbines that use the force of the wind, both on land and at sea. Despite their location in uninhabited areas, they have more disadvantages than solar ones due to the way the blades affect the flight of birds due to the changes they cause in the atmospheric pressure.
For these reasons, they do not directly contaminate, but cause some damage to fauna.
Hydraulic energy
The hydraulic energy It is the one that uses the force of water to generate electricity, either in the sea or in dams, to cite two examples. And despite the fact that we start from the basis that they do not pollute in the respective generation process and that water is not used up to generate electricity, hydropower plants or hydroelectric plants have a greater environmental impact than the other two mentioned.
One of the reasons is the alteration of the natural environment, ecosystems and biodiversity of the area where the plant is located. And another important thing is that, due to the need for large amounts of water, there is a risk of reducing the flow of nearby rivers. Which is negative, especially taking into account, in addition, the periods of drought that we have experienced in recent years.
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Geothermal energy
we call geothermal energy using the Earth\’s thermal energy to produce electricity. This means that it is clean energy because it uses an inexhaustible energy source, but during the process there is a risk of contamination for various reasons.
One of them is the possibility of leakage of CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). As well as the risk of contamination of the waters in the area where the energy is extracted with ammonia or another substance. The risk is not that it is very high, but it is always there if there are leaks or malfunctions in the heat capture process itself.
biomass
The biomass (organic materials that allow the production of bioenergy) is a renewable energy because it does not deplete resources, but it is not clean. The reason is that it is necessary to burn these materials to produce energy and therefore emits polluting gases into the atmosphere.
Of course, it should also be noted that the plants that help generate allow partial reduction of gas emissions, so there is a certain balance.