Non-renewable energy sources

Non-renewable energy refers to those energy sources that are found in nature in a limited quantity and, once consumed in their entirety, cannot be replaced, since there is no viable production or extraction system. Within non-renewable energy there are two types of fuels:

• Fossil fuels: petroleum, coal, and natural gas.
• Nuclear energy.

Nuclear Energy

Nuclear energy is the energy from nuclear reactions or from the disintegration of the nuclei of some atoms. It comes from the release of the energy stored in their nuclei.

Fossil fuels

Fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. They have been the major players in the industrial drive from the invention of the steam engine to the present day. Most of today's industry and transportation depend on them. Between them, they account for almost 90% of the commercial energy used in the world.

A fossil fuel is composed of the remains of organisms that lived millions of years ago. Coal was formed from terrestrial plants; oil and natural gas from microorganisms and mainly aquatic animals.

Energy is obtained by burning these products, a process in which large quantities of carbon dioxide and other polluting gases are formed and emitted into the atmosphere.

These fuels have enabled unprecedented progress in human history, but they are sources of energy that we call non-renewable. This means that quantities that have taken thousands of years to form are consumed in minutes and the reserves of these fuels are diminishing at an increasing rate. In addition, we are depleting a resource from which valuable products can be obtained, such as plastics, medicines, etc., simply to burn it for energy.
To access information on each of the fossil fuels click here: