Políticas para la Promoción de las Energías Renovables en el Ecuador

There is still debate today as to how to precisely definethe term renewable energy and how to distinguish renewable energy fromnon-renewable energy. This debate is surely unavoidable becausedifferences in these interpretations could impact energy policies,regulatory frameworks, or any other mechanism that could serveto promote renewable energies in a country or society (TREIA,n. d.). A short definition that is accepted in this book is the one adopted bythe International Energy Agency (IEA)(IEA, 2015): “Renewable energy is energy derived from natural processesThey are replaced at a faster rate than they are consumed. Common forms of renewable energy are solar energy, energywind power, geothermal power, hydropower, as well as some formsbiomass”. A slightly broader definition, adopted by theTexas Renewable Energy Industry Alliance, notes that renewable energyis “Any resource that is regenerated naturally over a periodshort in time and derived directly from the sun (for example thermal,photochemical or photoelectric), indirectly from the sun (for example wind,water, or photosynthetic energy stored in biomass), or othernatural movements and mechanisms of the planet or environment(as is the case with geothermal and wave energy). renewable energydoes not include resources derived from fossil fuels, waste fromfossil fuels, or waste from inorganic sources” (TREIA, n. d.). OnGenerally speaking, renewable energy sources can be classifiedalso in conventional (for example hydraulic) and unconventional(for example solar energy).