Environmental impacts and risk factors of renewable energy paradigm—a review

The transition to a low carbon society is dependent on renewable energy-based electrification. Nevertheless, energy programs have resulted in growing societal polarization in several regions. Therefore, around the globe, government and legislative authorities at the local, regional, national, and international levels are highly concerned about the environmental impacts and risk factors that influence the energy paradigm. Thus, to minimize and/or limit the environmental insecurity issues, the world needs swift and effective actions to secure the climate for a better tomorrow. Moreover, there is a dire need to look for new energy alternatives, along with reducing the complete dependence on petro-based energy sources. Keeping this burning issue in mind, herein, an effort has been made to present the potential of several renewable energy sources, including wind-based renewable energy, solar-based renewable energy, hydro-based renewable energy, and biomass-based renewable energy. Following a brief introduction of energy-related problems and opportunities, a comparative overview is given to renewable vs. non-renewable energy sources. Then, several renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, hydro, and biomass, along with the worldwide energy capacity of each energy source are given with suitable examples and statistics. Finally, risk factors, concluding remarks, and future guidelines are discussed towards the end.