• Hydropower, solar, and wind do not emit pollutants into the air.
• Hydropower can protect water tables against drought and biochar from biomass can help soil preserve water.

Biomass

• Biomass energy use has the chance to significantly lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Burning biomass emits roughly the same quantity of carbon dioxide as burning fossil fuels. But, fossil fuels emit carbon dioxide gathered by photosynthesis millions of years prior—a basically “new” greenhouse gas. Biomass, though, emits carbon dioxide that is mainly balanced by the carbon dioxide captured in its own growth.
• Burning garbage in waste-to-energy plants could end in far fewer amounts of waste in landfills.
• Biochar (black carbon made from biomass sources) can help restore degraded soils, increasing agricultural productivity and aiding soils in preserving water.

Geothermal

• Geothermal power plants release 97 percent fewer acid rain-causing sulfur compounds and nearly 99 percent less carbon dioxide than fossil fuel power plants of the same size.
• Geothermal power plants use scrubbers to get rid of the hydrogen sulfide naturally located in geothermal reservoirs.
• The majority of geothermal power plants insert the geothermal steam and water used back into the ground. This recycling process helps to renew geothermal resources and to lower emissions.

Hydropower

• Hydroelectric power plant reservoirs gather rainwater, which can be utilized for consumption or farming irrigation. In storing water, hydropower plants protect the water tables against running dry and lower human risk to droughts.
• Dams may be used to control floods in an area if the dam release system is handled properly.
• The hydroelectric life cycle makes only very small quantities of greenhouse gases. In releasing less GHG than power plants fueled by gas, coal or oil, hydroelectricity can help delay global climate change further. Although merely 33 percent of the available hydroelectric capacity has been advanced yet, hydroelectricity stops the emission of GHG related to the burning of 4.4 million barrels of petroleum each day across the world. Hydroelectric power plants do not emit pollutants into the air. And hydroelectric developments do not give rise to toxic by-products.

Solar

• Solar energy systems do not create air pollutants or carbon dioxide, helping to reduce the human carbon footprint.
• Solar on buildings have minimal effects on the environment. Since the panels are placed on an already existing construction, there is no further habitat loss, like there is with building a fossil fuel power plant.
• Solar is reliable. Having it be reliable means less materials and resources are needed to fix constantly breaking parts.
• Solar is quiet, reducing noise pollution. Sound is a crucial way many wildlife learn about their environment. They use sound to steer, communicate, and forage. Too much noise pollution can increase an organism’s chance of death by altering the fine balance of detection between predators and prey.

Wind

• Wind energy does not pollute the air like fossil fuel power plants, which emit particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide—resulting in health issues and economic costs. Wind turbines do not emit atmospheric emissions that result in acid rain, smog, or greenhouse gases.
• There are no damaging fluids used in the generation of wind energy.
• The majority of electric power plants need water to run, and water use in drought-afflicted locations such as the western United States is a major problem. There is no water needed to generate electricity from wind.