What is green energy?

While reading and collecting any sort of information on the subject of climate change, I happen to stumble upon the topic of Green energy AKA Renewable energy many times. 
What exactly is Green energy or Renewable energy? 
By definition, Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources, which are naturally replenished on a human timescale, such as sunlight, the wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat. These sources also have a much smaller impact on the environment than fossil fuels, which produce pollutants such as greenhouse gases as a by-product, contributing to climate change. Gaining access to fossil fuels typically requires either mining or drilling deep into the earth, often in ecologically sensitive locations.
Green energy can replace fossil fuels in all major areas of use including electricity, water and space heating and fuel for motor vehicles.
Types of green energy
Research into renewable, non-polluting energy sources is advancing. Here are 6 of the most common types of green energy:
Solar Power - The most prevalent type of renewable energy, solar power is typically produced using photovoltaic cells, which capture sunlight and turn it into electricity. Solar energy is also used to heat water, provide natural lighting and cook food. Solar technologies have become inexpensive enough to power everything from small hand-held gadgets to an entire house.

Wind Power - Air flow on the earth's surface can be used to push turbines, with stronger winds producing more energy. High-altitude sites and areas just offshore (currently nowhere in India) tend to provide the best conditions for capturing the strongest winds. a network of land-based, 2.5-megawatt wind turbines in rural areas operating at just 20% of their rated capacity could supply 40 times the current worldwide consumption of energy. There are scattered some parts of Sahyadri. 

Hydropower - Hydropower is generated by the Earth's water cycle, including evaporation, rainfall, tides and the force of water running through a dam. Hydropower depends on high precipitation levels to produce significant amounts of energy. India is highly dependent on this source.

Geothermal Energy - Just under the earth's crust are massive amounts of thermal energy, which originates from both the original formation of the planet and the radioactive decay of minerals. Geothermal energy in the form of hot springs has been used by humans for millennia for bathing, and now it's being used to generate electricity. There's enough energy stored underground to produce 10 times as much electricity as coal currently does. The most promising of these is in Puga valley of Ladakh. The estimated potential for geothermal energy in India is about 10000 MW. almost no emissions how cool is that? 

Biomass - Recently-living natural materials like wood waste, sawdust and combustible agricultural wastes can be converted into energy with far fewer greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum-based fuel sources. That's because of these materials, known as biomass, contain stored energy from the sun. 
India has over 5,940 MW biomass based power plants comprising 4,946 MW grid connected and 994 MW off-grid power plants. About 32% of the total primary energy use in the country is derived from biomass and more than 70% of the country’s population depends upon it for their energy needs. 1,112.78  MW in Maharashtra precisely 

Biofuels - Rather than burning biomass to produce energy, sometimes these renewable organic materials are transformed into fuel. Notable examples include ethanol and biodiesel. Biofuels provided 2.7% of the world's fuels for road transport in 2010, and have the potential to meet more than 25% of world demand for transportation fuels by 2050.
Fact: The history of biodiesel goes back to the era of development of diesel engine by Mr Rudolph Diesel in 1890s. He suggested of using vegetable oils as biofuel in the diesel engine in the remote areas where diesel is not available. In fact, in the late 1800s, Corn derived ethanol was first used to power early cars such as Henry Ford’s Model-T. 

The question remains. Is it possible to depend completely on green energy?
The answer is Yes, Germany did it. but is it possible here in India? for now, the answer is NO. but there are substitutes whit which we can curb our carbon emissions. 
We all can make small changes in our daily lives it can be as simple as using a CFL or even better an LED light instead of tubelights of a Regular filament bulb. In the CFL vs LED battle for energy efficiency, the LED light benefits make it a winner, hands down. 

Visit www.no2co2.in and calculate your footprint

Sources various sites on the great Google. 

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