Efficiency in green energy is slightly dependent on location as, if you have the right conditions, such as frequent and strong sunlight, it is easy to create a fast and efficient energy solution.

However, to truly compare different energy types it is necessary to analyze the full life cycle of an energy source. This includes assessing the energy used to create the green energy resource, working out how much energy can be translated into electricity and any environmental clearing that was required to create the energy solution. Of course, environmental damage would prevent a source truly being ‘green,’ but when all of these factors are combined it creates what is known as a ‘Levelised Energy Cost’ (LEC).

Currently, wind farms are seen as the most efficient source of green energy as it requires less refining and processing than the production of, for example, solar panels. Advances in composites technology and testing has helped improve the life-span and therefore the LEC of wind turbines. However, the same can be said of solar panels, which are also seeing a great deal of development.

Green energy solutions also have the benefit of not needing much additional energy expenditure after they have been built, since they tend to use a readily renewable source of power, such as the wind. In fact, the total efficiency of usable energy for coal is just 29% of its original energy value, while wind power offers a 1164% return on its original energy input.

Green energy provides real benefits for the environment since the power comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind and water. Constantly replenished, these energy sources are the direct opposite of the unsustainable, carbon emitting fossil fuels that have powered us for over a century.

Creating energy with a zero carbon footprint is a great stride to a more environmentally friendly future. If we can use it to meet our power, industrial and transportation needs, we will be able to greatly reduce our impact on the environment.

As we touched upon earlier, there is a difference between green, clean and renewable energy. This is slightly confused by people often using these terms interchangeably, but while a resource can be all of these things at once, it may also be, for example, renewable but not green or clean (such as with some forms of biomass energy).

Green energy is that which comes from natural sources, such as the sun. Clean energy are those types which do not release pollutants into the air, and renewable energy comes from sources that are constantly being replenished, such as hydropower, wind power or solar energy.

Renewable energy is often seen as being the same, but there is still some debate around this. For example, can a hydroelectric dam which may divert waterways and impact the local environment really be called ‘green?’

However, a source such as wind power is renewable, green and clean – since it comes from an environmentally-friendly, self-replenishing and non-polluting source.

Wind power is currently considered the most efficient source of green energy, followed by geothermal, hydropower, nuclear, and solar power. Green energy is beneficial for the environment as it comes from natural sources, is constantly replenished, and has a zero carbon footprint. Green, clean, and renewable energy are different concepts, but a source like wind power can be considered all three.