New renewable energy

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New renewable energy is a relatively new term that is not used uniformly. Most commonly it refers to non-traditional renewable energy technologies such as solar energy, wind energy, small hydro and biomass. The term is used to distinguish these forms of renewable energy from traditional, or "old", renewable energy technologies such as medium- and large-scale hydropower and geothermal energy.

The distinction is important because - unlike "old" renewables - new renewable energy technologies in developing countries can benefit from payments as part of the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol.