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6 Years in a Row
Top rated, 2003-2008
At EWG, our team of scientists, engineers, policy experts, lawyers and computer programmers pores over government data, legal documents, scientific studies and our own laboratory tests to expose threats to your health and the environment, and to find solutions. Our research brings to light unsettling facts that you have a right to know.
Green Energy Guide: The Bottom Line
How do the various sources of electricity we have to choose from stack up when you look at all the issues overall? Here are EWG's ratings assessing how well each of the sources meet our criteria for sustainability on each issue. The ratings were based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative data. See Appendix and Environmental Impacts for more information on the qualitative components or our ratings.
Table 9. Rating the Sources: The Bottom Line
| Wind | Solar | Small Hydro | Large Hydro | Nat. Gas | Biomass | Coal | Nuclear | |
| Renewability | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| Land | 8 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Water | 10 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Air and Climate | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| Health and Safety | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| Energy Return Ratio | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| Price | 8 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
| Overall | 9.0 | 8.1 | 7.4 | 6.6 | 5.4 | 4.0 | 2.7 | 2.0 |
