Energy transitions throughout history have ushered in times of dramatic change. These transitions represent the most impactful periods in human history. At the heart of this transition lies renewable energy.
Renewable energy technologies harness the power of the sun, wind, and heat from the Earth’s core, and then transforms it into usable forms of energy like heat, electricity, and fuel.
Govind Bhutada – What Are the Five Major Types of Renewable Energy?
That quote is from a recent Visual Capitalist article that describes the five major types of renewable energy. Given the growing focus on these sources of energy, the IEA forecasts that, by 2026, global renewable electricity capacity is set to grow by 60% from 2020 levels to over 4,800 gigawatts—equal to the current power output of fossil fuels and nuclear combined. This visual describes these five renewable energies.
Reimagining the Future 
Sounds great. Now all you have to figure out is how to actually replace the 85+% of power from fossil fuels and your fantasy can approach feasibility. That also assumes that the world community will agree to abandon their most sustainable naturally occurring energy sources, that being oil & natural gas. Don’t hold your breath folks!!! This will not happen in our lifetimes…just saying…
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Your visual pertaining to biomass is far from an accurate representation. In fact, burning biomass is inefficient process for converting it to electricity leaving considerable carbon footprint. Current anaerobic digestion (AD) technology is a significantly more efficient and environmentally friendly method.
AD yields two main products: digestate and biogas.
Biogas is composed of methane (CH4), which is the primary component of natural gas, at a relatively high percentage (50 to 75 percent), carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), water vapor, and trace amounts of other gases. The energy in biogas can be used like natural gas to provide heat, generate electricity, and power cooling systems, among other uses. Biogas can also be purified by removing the inert or low-value constituents (CO2, water, H2S, etc.) to generate renewable natural gas (RNG). This can be sold and injected into the natural gas distribution system, compressed and used as vehicle fuel, or processed further to generate alternative transportation fuel, energy products, or other advanced biochemicals and bioproducts.
Digestate is the residual matter left after the biogas is removed and captured. With appropriate treatment, both the solid and liquid portions of digestate can be used in many beneficial applications, such as animal bedding (solids), organic and nutrient-rich fertilizer and soil amendments (liquid and solids), a foundation material for bio-based products (e.g., bioplastics), organic-rich compost (solids), and/or simply as organic soil amendments. Digestate products are a source of revenue or cost savings and are often pursued to increase the financial and net-environmental benefit of an AD
AD is holistic solution and complete, reliable, carbon-neutral solution to biowaste management. It provides a full-circle life cycle, reducing greenhouse gas and creating clean energy from unlimited resources. Above all of methods of converting biomass to renewable energy, anaerobic digestion should be used in your visual.
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