What is Renewable Energy

Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable (naturally replenished). In 2006, about 18% of global final energy consumption came from renewable, with 13% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3% from hydroelectricity. New renewable (small hydro, modern biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, and bio fuels) accounted for another 2.4% and are growing very rapidly. The share of renewable in electricity generation is around 18%, with 15% of global electricity coming from hydroelectricity and 3.4% from new renewable.