April 22 is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. What better way to honor Earth Day than to develop your own renewable energy project? As a project manager, you have the skills to reduce your energy costs and even become energy self-sufficient. All it takes is planning, and that’s something you’re very good at. Let’s get started.

First, let’s look at the lexicon. What’s the difference between renewable energy and alternative energy?

Renewable energy

Renewable energy generally refers to energy sources that are natural, continuous and large, such as solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and certain biofuels.

Alternative energy

Alternative energy, in its broadest sense, is any type of energy used to replace a different source of energy. However, most often, the term is used to mean energy that has replaced another source because of negative consequences of its use. For example, when coal is used to replace oil. More recently, alternative sources have included bioenergy and biofuels such as palm oil or ethanol.

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