I recently read an Internet posting asserting that heat pumps, both air-source and geothermal, should not be considered renewable-energy heat sources. The author pointed to the fact that such heat pumps are driven by electricity, which may come from a power plant that burns coal or natural gas. Thus, electrically driven heat pumps are essentially like refrigerators; they just move heat from one location to another.
While I agree that heat pumps do move heat from one location to another, I strongly disagree with the premise that air-source and geothermal heat pumps are not renewable-energy heat sources. To support this position, I point to the ultimate source of low-temperature heat which is absorbed by the evaporator of these heat pumps. That source is the sun.