renewable energy

Noun

renewable energy (countable and uncountable, plural renewable energies)

1. Energy that is collected from renewable resources, such as wind, water, or the sun, usually and especially as applied to a category of electrical generation.
   • Finally, I have the impression that there’s an element of tough-guy posturing involved — real men don’t use renewable energy, or something.2018 November 27, Paul Krugman, “The Depravity of Climate-Change Denial”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, page A22
2. (broadly, proscribed, sometimes) All non-fossil fuel energy sources, including those that consume limited resources; especially, nuclear power.
   • Renewable energy from nuclear, hydro, and solar sources constituted less than 10 percent of the world's energy consumption in 2009.2013 April 8, World Bank, Atlas of Global Development: A Visual Guide to the World's Greatest Challenges, World Bank Publications, →ISBN, page 125