Non conventional sources of Energy :
- Growing consumption of energy has resulted in the country becoming increasingly dependent on fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas.
- Rising prices of oil and gas and their potential shortages have raised uncertainties about the security of energy supply in future, which has serious repercussions on the growth of national economy.
- Increasing use of fossil fuels also causes serious environmental problems.
- Hence, There is a need to use renewable energy sources like solar energy, wind energy, tide, biomass and energy from waste material.
- These are called non conventional energy sources.
- India is blessed with abundance of sunlight, water, wind and biomass. It has the largest programmes for development of these renewable energy resources.
Nuclear or Atomic Energy :
- It is obtained by altering the structure of atoms.
- When such alteration is made, much energy is released in the form of heat and this is used to generate electric power.
- Uranium and Thorium, which are available in Jharkhand and Aravalli ranges of Rajasthan are used for generating atomic or nuclear power.
- The monazite sands of Kerala are also rich in Thorium.
Solar Energy :
- India is a tropical country, and has enormous possibilities of tapping solar energy.
- Photovoltaic technology converts sunlight directly into electricity.
- Solar energy is becoming increasingly popular in rural and remote areas .
- Big solar plants are being set up in villages and remote areas to reduce their dependence on firewood and cow dung cakes, so that they can just be used for manure.
Wind Power :
- India has great potential of wind power.
- The largest wind farm cluster is located in Tamil Nadu from Nagarcoil to Madurai.
- Apart from this, Andhra Pradesh, Karanataka, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Lakshwadeep have important wind farms.
- Nagarcoil and Jaisalmer are well known for their effective use of wind energy in the country.
Biogas :
- Shrubs, farm waste, animal and human waste are used to produce biogas for domestic consumption in rural areas.
- Decomposition of organic material yields gas , which has higher thermal efficiency in comparison to Kerosene, dung cake and charcoal.
- Biogas plants are set up at municipal, cooperative and individual levels.
- Plants using cattle dung are known as ‘Gobar gas plants’ in rural India.
- These provide twin benefits to the farmer in the form of - energy and improved quality of manure.
- Biogas is the most efficient use of cattle dung. It improves quality of manure and prevents loss of trees due to burning of fuel wood.
Tidal Energy :
- Oceanic tides can be used to generate electricity.
- Floodgate dams are built across inlets.
- During high tide water flows into the inlet and gets trapped when the gate is closed.
- After the tide falls outside, the water retained by the floodgate flows back to the sea via a pipe that carries it through a power generating turbine.
- In India, the gulf of Khambhat , the gulf of Kuchchh in Gujarat , on western coast and Gangetic delta in Sunderban regions of West Bengal provide ideal conditions for utilising tidal energy.
Geo Thermal Energy :
- Refers to the heat and electricity produced by Using the heat and electricity produced by using the heat from the interior of the Earth.
- Geothermal energy exists because Earth grows progressively hotter with increasing depth.
- Where the geothermal gradient is high, high temperatures are found at shallow depths.
- Groundwater in such areas absorbs heat from the rocks and becomes hot. It's so hot that when it reaches the Earth’s surface, it becomes steam.
- This steam is used to drive turbines and generate electricity.
- 2 experimental projects harnessing Geothermal Energy are :
- Parvati Valley near Manikarn in Himachal Pradesh and other in Puga Valley, Ladakh .
