To answer this question, you must understand the difference between Renewable Energy Source & Nonrenewable Energy Source, and how to classify them.
For a resource to fall under the Renewable Energy Source, it must have the following:
1) A substantial amount of that said resource: While non-renewable resources can have a substantial amount as well, we will get to those kinds of differences later. If the resource does not have a large source, then it would most likely not be classified as a renewable resource.
2) Resource must be able to be replaced as quickly as used: Resources must not only have a large amount, but the amount that is used is quickly replaced. For example, running water is a renewable resource, for as long as the river flows, the it can continue to generate electricity throughout the centuries.
For a resource to fall under the Nonrenewable Energy Source, it must meet the following requirement:
1) The resource is used faster than created: While the resource can have a large reserve, the rate at which it is used is greater than the rate at which it can be naturally produced.
'
Renewable Energy Source:
- Energy obtained from burning plant waste: Plants typically fall under the renewable resource section, for while most trees and the like take hundreds of years to mature, they can be replenished as fast as they are used (i.e. plant trees where you have cut them down).
- Energy obtained from water springs inside the earth: Water Springs in the earth typically have large reservoirs, and can be replenished whenever there is flooding or large amounts of rain (as the rain can enter through the soil).
Nonrenewable Energy Source:
- Energy obtained from coal: Coal takes thousands of years to produce, as the steps may take long sessions before it can progress to the next. There must be the right conditions (enough heat and pressure) to be able to compress and change dead plant to coal.
- Energy obtained from natural gas: Like coal, oil & gas takes a long amount of time to form. Many of the steps are the same. Tiny plants and animals die and decompose, and combined with heat & pressure, natural gas is formed. However, the process takes long periods of time, and we use natural gas faster than it is produced.
~
