Course: GFM 102 Technical Aspects of Energy, Resources & Conservation

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Non-renewable Energy Sources (fossil)

The four nonrenewable energy sources used most often are:

- Oil and petroleum products — including gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil, and propane
- Natural gas
- Coal
- Uranium (nuclear energy)

Nonrenewable energy sources come out of the ground as liquids, gases, and solids. Crude oil (petroleum) is the only commercial nonrenewable fuel that is naturally in liquid form. Natural gas and propane are normally gases, and coal is a solid.

Fossil Fuels Are Nonrenewable, but not All Nonrenewable Energy Sources Are Fossil Fuels

Coal, petroleum, natural gas, and propane are all considered fossil fuels because they were formed from the buried remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago.

Uranium ore, a solid, is mined and converted to a fuel used at nuclear power plants. Uranium is not a fossil fuel, but is a nonrenewable fuel.

Click here to access article Examples of Nonrenewable Energy Sources from Home Guides of Demand Media.