Читать книгу Encyclopedia of Renewable Energy - James Speight G., James G. Speight - Страница 91

Alternative energy is a term for any nontraditional energy form, source, or technology differing from the current popular forms, sources, or technologies. Currently, the term alternative energy is generally used in the context of an alternative to energy deriving from the widely-used fossil fuels and thus includes energy derived from such environmentally preferred sources as biomass, geothermal, ocean, solar, tidal action, water power, wave action, and wind power. Many definitions of alternative energy use this term interchangeably with renewable energy.

The term alternative energy is also used for energy derived from sources and technologies that do not involve the depletion of natural resources (such as fossil fuel sources) or significant harm to the environment. As such, the term alternate energy is used synonymously with the terms renewable energy and green energy or green power. The three terms have also been delineated differently even though, by most definitions, there is substantial overlap between energy forms, sources, and technologies that fit into these three categories, and alternative energy often is applied to energy without undesirable environmental consequences or with lessened environmental impact. Renewable energy generally refers most specifically to energy derived from sustainable natural resources that are constantly replenished within a relatively short time frame (such as deriving from such renewable natural resources.