resources vs sources

[alpacinou]

Hello

What is the difference between resources and sources in terms of usage? I googled it but I did not get the answers.

And which one is correct?

We need to invest in renewable energy sources.

We need to invest in renewable energy resources.

 

[Yankee]

Hello

What is the difference between resources and sources in terms of usage? I googled it but I did not get the answers.

And which one is correct?

We need to invest in renewable energy sources. From origins
We need to invest in renewable energy resources. From anywhere.

My shot.

 

[Glizdka]

Not an English teacher
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Hello, alpacinoutd!

At my university, the distinction was that energy resources are things that store energy that can be released via processing. Simply put, something you can burn, fissionate, or annihilate to release energy. So, coal, oil, plutonium, and your 6-year-old daughter's drawing of her imaginary friend are all energy resources.

Energy sources are what energy can be collected from, typically operating regardless of whether you're collecting it or not. So, the wind, waves, sun, and your neighbour's house conveniently emitting heat thanks to an arsonist are all energy sources.

To me, renewable energy resources sounds... odd. But that's me.

There's probably some other distinction in engineering, legal regulations, or linguistics; I'm just a mere physicist.

 

[jutfrank]

The word resource has the core sense of being something that can be used to produce energy (energy usually meaning 'electricity').

The word source has the core sense of being origin of the energy, i.e., where the energy comes from (energy in the scientific sense).