As the name suggests, clean energy, which does not cause pollution to the environment, can be expressed as energy that has zero emission production and is obtained from renewable resources. Logically, clean energy has an environmentally friendly structure that will not pollute the atmosphere when used. However, the energy saved in terms of energy efficiency can also be called clean energy.
The sources used today as clean energy include solar energy, geothermal energy, wind energy, biomass energy, hydroelectricity, and hydrogen energy. As expected, the most basic feature of these sources is that they do not have a negative impact on the environment.
Although renewable energy comes directly to mind when it comes to clean energy today, these two concepts are not entirely synonymous. Because not all renewable energy sources may have a clean structure in a broad framework. For example, in order to obtain energy by establishing a hydroelectric power plant, construction activities must be carried out in the installation area, trees must be cut down in the region and some destruction must be caused.
With the development of technology in recent years around the world, the opportunity to obtain clean energy at lower costs has emerged. In this framework, clean energy sources have become more prominent, especially considering the climate crisis, instead of fossil fuels such as oil and coal, which have met the world’s energy demand so far.
Countries around the world that have targets to combat the climate crisis are investing heavily in clean energy projects. Different countries working on important technologies in this regard also make a great contribution to the environment by reducing the amount of carbon emissions, which is one of the most important factors of global warming, especially in the use of clean energy.
Considering at the use of clean energy in Turkey, especially in terms of geographical location, Turkey has a very rich structure in this respect. Because Turkey is surrounded by seas on three sides, and for most of the year, the sun’s rays reach all 81 provinces efficiently and rich clean energy resources are obtained.
In Turkey, for example, the Mediterranean and Aegean regions can get high efficiency from solar energy, while Thrace and the Aegean region, even Çanakkale and Afyon regions, have very intense wind energy opportunities and large geothermal energy reserves. Especially since our country does not have enough resources to meet its total energy needs from fossil resources, if it utilizes its clean energy potential, it can meet its needs without being dependent on foreign energy.
Which Sources Can Be Used for Clean Energy?
While there are different sources as mentioned before to obtain clean energy, sources that do not create greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide and methane and do not create harmful effects on the environment should be used to obtain this energy. In this respect, clean energy sources can be briefly reviewed.
- While solar energy is the first source in this regard, in the projects applied for this energy, the light and heat from the sun are converted into electrical energy and used. The solar panels needed for this project can be preferred to meet the energy needs of homes, workplaces or any region. Especially in a country like Turkey, where the number of sunny days per year is very high, it can be considered as the clean energy source that can be used the most.
- Geothermal energy is recognized as a resource utilized in many different countries around the world. Although our country has a wide range of opportunities in this regard, energy is obtained thanks to the heat, hot water and steam emerging in the deep regions of the earth’s crust. While these geothermal resources are used for electricity and heat generation, they are both renewable, economical and environmentally friendly.
- Wind energy, on the other hand, utilizes the pressure change in the air caused by the wind and converts the movement into electricity through wind turbines. While wind power plants are frequently installed in Turkey, especially in the Thrace and Aegean regions, it is a resource that requires less space than other clean energy projects and can produce energy in all seasons.
- Biomass energy is the production of energy by utilizing organic methods from agricultural residues and animal wastes called waste. In this method, as long as the waste is obtained uninterruptedly, it has the potential to provide continuous energy, not intermittent like solar and wind energy.
- Finally, if hydrogen energy is considered, energy is obtained through the processing of hydrogen gas. A sustainable and clean energy source is provided through the use of hydrogen in fuel cells.
Where is Clean Energy Used?
In recent years, energy has been obtained by utilizing clean energy sources widely in many parts of the world. Because many world countries and many companies have climate goals for a more reliable world with low carbon emissions. At the same time, many companies and countries are making significant investments in clean energy projects because they want to participate in the green transformation.
In Which Areas Are Clean Energy Sources Used?
Although the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to energy is meeting the need for electricity, clean energy sources today have a structure that can meet the needs at many different points. In other words, although clean energy sources are primarily used for electricity generation, it is also possible to utilize these resources in many different processes such as lighting, cooling and heating.
In the use of clean energy, for example, when the energy received from sunlight is converted into electricity through solar panels; needs such as both lighting and heating can be met in a building. Today, solar energy is known to provide a structure that is encountered in many areas such as battery charging with different technologies, charging vehicles, using solar lighting.
Clean energy provides resources that can be used to create the energy infrastructure required for all needs such as electricity use and heating/cooling in both homes and businesses today thanks to technological investments.
What is the Importance of Clean Energy?
With the increasing world population, especially the European Union countries aim to achieve a neutral continent by 2050. For this purpose, a sustainable plan must be achieved by considering many factors that can harm the environment, health, biomass, or the world. In this sense, the distribution of renewable energy projected for 2050 worldwide is in a circle chart system:
- 9% onshore wind power plants
- 25% solar panels
- 5% offshore wind power plant
- 8% residential rooftop solar power plants
- 4% rooftop solar power plants on commercial or government buildings
- 3% mono-focused solar power plants
- 3% hydroelectricity source
- 5% geothermal energy
- 4% of energy distribution is obtained from wave energy.
As the demand for energy use increases every day due to the increasing world population, clean energy sources are seen more advantageous instead of non-renewable fossil fuels and similar limited resources. In order to achieve energy sustainability in the world, clean energy sources should become more widespread as the ideal solution.
Clean energy, which has many environmental and economic benefits, should be used more widely to end the dependence on fossil fuels and provide an effective solution to combat the climate crisis problem that is increasing every day. Businesses should take advantage of these resources as they aim to be part of a carbon-free future, while countries continue to make better investments by increasing their clean energy capacity.
While the Sustainable Development Goals are stated by the United Nations, the 7th item in these goals is Accessible and Clean Energy. In this sense, there is a goal of creating a wider infrastructure by encouraging the use of clean energy worldwide. Thanks to the investments made for clean energy, the global economy and trade system, which is carried out thanks to fossil fuels, may experience a radical change.
While fossil fuel-based electricity generation is a major factor in carbon emissions, clean energy should be seen as the main source to meet the world’s energy demand. In this way, it will be possible to take a very important step against the climate crisis.
Clean energy not only provides a significant benefit to the environment but also creates a more economical billing in energy use in technological terms. In this way, better results can be achieved with a sustainable financial transformation while providing new business and employment areas. When evaluated together with its advantages within this framework, if the transformation with clean energy is achieved; a very important step can be taken in terms of the 2030 and 2050 targets.
What Advantages Does Clean Energy Provide?
Among the advantages of clean energy sources are that most of them are renewable energy compared to fossil fuels;
- Zero carbon emissions,
- A more affordable cost,
- Energy harmless to human health,
- Low greenhouse gas impact,
- Unlimited capacity,
- Zero air pollution,
- Elimination of the need for fossil fuels,
- Preservation of natural balance,
- There are important points of support for sustainable development.
What Disadvantages Does Clean Energy Have?
Although clean energy has many advantages for a sustainable energy policy, it also has some disadvantages. To briefly touch on these details:
- It has limitations in certain geographies and climates.
- Some clean energy projects have very high installation costs.
- There is a limited storage capacity for storing clean energy.
- In some sources, energy interruptions may be encountered depending on the season and weather conditions.
