Renewable energy : solutions to inspire confidence

An energy source is considered renewable when it uses a local natural resource that is available in unlimited quantities: wind (wind energy), sun (thermal energy for hot water, photovoltaic energy for electricity), wood, algae, and biomass (used for combustion to produce heat and/or electricity, or for methanization to produce biogas), seawater, groundwater and rivers (hydraulic dams, geothermal energy, tidal stream energy, tidal energy, wave energy, etc.). In this respect, they are opposed to fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas), which are neither derived from natural resources (in the sense that they are the result of a natural process that took a very long time), nor local, nor unlimited, nor climate-neutral.
 

Renewable energies are all classified as carbon-free energies because, with the exception of uncontrolled biogas leaks, their use does not generate CO2 emissions (the main greenhouse gas responsible for climate change) in quantities greater than those sequestered by the resource. Thus, burning biomass (in a properly equipped facility) is equivalent to releasing into the atmosphere the carbon that this biomass previously captured for its growth. For wind and solar power, no carbon atoms are involved in energy production, apart from those needed to manufacture the equipment. There is only one energy source that can claim to be carbon-free without being renewable: nuclear power. Nuclear power uses a non-renewable mineral resource, uranium, but does not release CO2 into the atmosphere during the fission process—with the exception of the plumes of water vapor from the cooling towers. This is what gives France and its 56 reactors a low-carbon electricity mix.
 

• The French roadmap identifies renewable energies as one of the key areas for achieving the European target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% in 2030 compared to 1990:
  Law of August 17, 2015 on energy transition for green growth (LTECV): 23% of final energy consumption to come from renewable sources in 2020 and 32% in 2030. This latter target is broken down as follows: 40% for electricity, 10% for gas, 15% for energy used for transport, and 38% for energy used to produce heat.
• Law of March 10, 2023 on accelerating renewable energy production: 100 GW of solar energy, 40 GW of offshore wind power, 40 GW of onshore wind power
• European Climate and Energy Package: at least 27% of energy consumption to come from renewable sources by 2030
• European RED III Directive of 2023: 42.5% of final energy consumption to come from renewable sources by 2030.