Energy is the power to change things.

It is the ability to

do work.
Energy is defined as the ability or the capacity to do
work.
Energy lights our cities, powers our vehicles, and runs
machinery in factories. It warms and cools our homes,
cooks our food, plays our music, and gives us pictures on
television.

Difference -Energy & Power

Energy and Power
Energy can be defined as capability to do work.
Various forms of energy are thermal, mechanical,

chemical, electrical, etc.

Power can be defined as rate of doing work.

Classification of Energy Sources

a. Commercial
b. Non-commercial
c. Renewable
d. Non-Renewable

Do

you know

what renewable

sources of energy are and why we should

think of these alternative energy sources?

In the past century, it has been seen that the consumption

of non-renewable sources of energy has caused more
environmental damage than any other human activity.
Electricity generated from fossil fuels such as coal and
crude oil has led to high concentrations of harmful gases
in the atmosphere. This has in turn led to many problems
being faced today such as ozone depletion and global
warming. Vehicular pollution has also been a major
problem.

Then what should be

done???

Therefore, alternative sources of energy have become very

important and relevant to todays world. These sources, such as the
sun and wind, can never be exhausted and therefore are called
renewable. They cause less emissions and are available locally.
Their use can, to a large extent, reduce chemical, radioactive, and
thermal pollution. They stand out as a viable source of clean and
limitless energy. These are also known as non-conventional sources
of energy. Most of the renewable sources of energy are fairly nonpolluting and considered clean
though biomass, a renewable
source, is a major polluter indoors.

What are these alternative

sources of energy?

Solar energy is the most readily available source of energy. It does not
belong to anybody and is, therefore, free. It is also the most important of
the non-conventional sources of energy because it is non-polluting and,
therefore, helps in lessening the greenhouse effect.
Solar energy can be used to meet our electricity requirements. Through
Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) cells, solar radiation gets converted into DC
electricity directly. This electricity can either be used as it is or can be
stored in the battery. This stored electrical energy then can be used at
night. SPV can be used for a number of applications such as:
a. domestic lighting
b. street lighting
c. village electrification
d. water pumping
e. desalination of salty water
f. powering of remote telecommunication repeater stations and
g. railway signals.

Under the category of renewable energy or non-conventional

energy are such sources as the sun, wind, water, agricultural
residue, firewood, and animal dung. The non-renewable sources
are the fossil fuels such as coal, crude oil, and natural gas. Energy
generated from the sun is known as solar energy.
Hydel is the energy derived from water. Biomass firewood, animal
dung, biodegradable waste from cities and crop residues- is a
source of energy when it is burnt. Geothermal energy is derived
from hot dry rocks, magma, hot water springs, natural geysers,
etc. Ocean thermal is energy derived from waves and also from
tidal waves.

Energy and its types

There are two types of energy sources:
Conventional sources: Energy sources which are
available in less amounts and will one day be
exhausted, are known as conventional sources of
energy. Ex: fossil fuels,
Non-conventional sources: Energy sources which are
renewable and can be regenerated are known as
renewable or non-conventional sources of energy.

As the population is increasing the energy

consumption is also increasing. Hence, we need such
sources of energy which can be renewed from time
to time and they can meet our needs regularly.

The different sources

are:1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Fossil fuels
Hydro power plant
Biomass
Wind energy
Solar energy
Geo thermal energy
Ocean thermal energy
Tidal energy
Wave energy
Nuclear energy

Coal, oil and gas are called "fossil fuels" because they have been

formed from the organic remains of prehistoric plants and animals.

Crude oil (called "petroleum") is easier to get out of the ground than

coal, as it can flow along pipes. This also makes it cheaper to transport.
Natural gas provides around 20% of the world's consumption of

energy, and as well as being burnt in power stations, is used by many

people to heat their homes.
It is easy to transport along pipes, and gas power stations produce
comparatively little pollution.
Fossil fuels are not a renewable energy resource.

Once we've burned them all, there isn't any more, and our consumption
of fossil fuels has nearly doubled every 20 years since 1900.
This is a particular problem for oil, because we also use it to make
plastics and many other products.

ENERGY RESOURCES

Energy can be generated from fuel minerals like

coal, petroleum, natural gas, uranium and from
electricity. Energy resources can be classified as
conventional and nonconventional sources.

Energy that has been used

from ancient times is known
as conventional energy. Coal,
natural gas, oil, and firewood
are examples of conventional
energy sources.

Conventional sources
Firewood, cattle dung cake, coal, petroleum, natural gas
and electricity (both hydel and thermal).
The pace and scale of conventional energy development
has increased dramatically in Canada over the past
decade, particularly in Alberta due to the booming oil
sands industry. Developing these resources
responsibly requires that the negative environmental,
social and economic impacts be minimized.

DISADVANTAGES
According to the Energy Information
Administration, burning coal produces sulfur,
nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions. All of these
are known to have disastrous environmental and
health consequences.

Non-conventional sources
Solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, biogas and atomic

energy. Firewood and cattle dung cake are most

common in rural India.

 According to one estimate more than 70 per cent

energy requirement in rural households is met by

these two ; continuation of these is increasingly
becoming difficult due to decreasing forest area.
Moreover, using dung cake too is being discouraged
because it consumes most valuable manure which
could be used in agriculture.

BASIC DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

CONVENTIONAL AND NON- CONVENTIONAL
RESOURCES
A conventional resource are the ones that are

commonly used (like a pen or a pencil)

A non conventional resources are ones that work but
are not commonly used (like an ionic laser)

Coal
In India, coal is the most abundantly available fossil

fuel. It provides a substantial part of the nations

energy needs. It is used for power generation, to supply
energy to industry as well as for domestic needs.
Coal is formed due the compression of plant material
over millions of years. Coal, therefore, is found in a
variety of forms depending on the degrees of
compression and the depth and time of burial.
Decaying plants in swamps produce peat. Which has a
low carbon and high moisture contents and low
heating capacity.

Types of Coal
Lignite
Bituminous Coal
Anthracite

 In India coal occurs in rock series of two main

geological ages, namely Gondwana, a little over 200

million years in age and in tertiary deposits which are
only about 55 million years old. The major resources of
Gondwana coal, which are metallurgical coal, are
located in Damodar valley (West Bengal-Jharkhand).
Jharia, Raniganj, Bokaro are important coalfields. The
Godavari, Mahanadi, Son and Wardha valleys also
contain coal deposits.
Tertiary coals occur in the north eastern states of
Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

Petroleum
Petroleum or mineral oil is the next major energy

source in India after coal. It provides fuel for heat and

lighting, lubricants for machinery and raw materials
for a number of manufacturing industries. Petroleum
refineries act as a nodal industry for synthetic textile,
fertiliser and numerous chemical industries.

 Most of the petroleum occurrences in India are

associated with anticlines and fault traps in the rock

formations of the tertiary age. In regions of folding,
anticlines or domes, it occurs where oil is trapped in
the crest of the upfold. The oil bearing layer is a
porous limestone or sandstone through which oil may
flow. The oil is prevented from rising or sinking by
intervening non-porous layers.
Petroleum is also found in fault traps between porous
and non-porous rocks. Gas, being lighter usually
occurs above the oil.
About 63 per cent of Indias petroleum production is
from Mumbai High, 18 per cent from Gujarat and 16
per cent from Assam.

Natural Gas
Natural gas is an important clean energy resource

found in association with or without petroleum. It is

used as a source of energy as well as an industrial raw
material in the petrochemical industry. Natural gas is
considered an environment friendly fuel because of
low carbon dioxide emissions and is, therefore, the
fuel for the present century.

 Large reserves of natural gas have been discovered

in the Krishna- Godavari basin. Along the west

coast the reserves of the Mumbai High and allied
fields are supplemented by finds in the Gulf of
Cambay. Andaman and Nicobar islands are also
important areas having large reserves of natural
gas.

 HBJ Pipeline: The 1700 km long Hazira-Bijaipur -

Jagdishpur cross country gas pipeline linksMumbai

High and Bassien with the fertilizer, power and
industrial complexes in western and northern
India. This artery has provided an impetus to
Indias gas production. The power and fertilizer
industries are the key users of natural gas. Use of
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG ) for vehicles to
replace liquid fuels is gaining wide popularity in
the country.

Electricity
Electricity is generated mainly in two ways: by

running water which drives hydro turbines to

generate hydro electricity; and by burning other
fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas to
drive turbines to produce thermal power. Once
generated the electricity is exactly the same.

 Hydro electricity is generated by fast flowing water,

which is a renewable resource. India has a number

of multi-purpose projects like the Bhakra Nangal,
Damodar Valley corporation, the Kopili Hydel
Project etc.
Thermal electricity is generated by using coal,
petroleum and natural gas. The thermal power
stations use non-renewable fossil fuels for
generating electricity. There are over 310 thermal
power plants in India.

Nuclear Energy
Nuclear or Atomic Energy is obtained by altering
the structure of atoms. When such an 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 the Aravalli ranges of Rajasthan are
used for generating atomic or nuclear power. The
Monazite sands of Kerala is also rich in thorium.
Locate the 6 nuclear power stations and find out
the state in which they are located.

Non-Conventional Sources of
Energy
Rising prices of oil and gas and their potential shortages have

raised uncertainties about the security of energy supply in

future, which in turn has serious repercussions on the
growth of the national economy. Moreover, increasing use of
fossil fuels also causes serious environmental problems.
Hence, there is a pressing need to use renewable energy
sources like solar energy, wind, tide, biomass and energy
from waste material. These are called non-conventional
energy sources.

IMPORTANCE OF
NON-CONVENTIONAL
RESOURCES
The non-conventional sources of energy such as energy

from sun, wind, biomass, tidal energy, geothermal energy

and even energy from waste material are gaining
importance. This energy is abundant, renewable, pollution
free and Eco-friendly.
According to energy experts the non-conventional energy
potential of India is estimated at about 95,000 MW.
It can be more conveniently supplied to urban, rural and
even remote areas.

Types of Non Conventional

Sources of Energy
Energy generated by using wind, tides, solar,

geothermal heat, and biomass including farm and

animal waste as well as human excreta is known as
non-conventional energy.
All these sources are renewable or inexhaustible and
do not cause environmental pollution. More over they
do not require heavy expenditure.

SOLAR ENERGY
Sun is the source of all energy on the earth. It is the

inexhaustible source of energy and zero emissions of

greenhouse gas and air pollutants. Solar energy can be
applied in many ways.

Solar energy is the most readily available source of energy. It does not
belong to anybody and is, therefore, free. It is also the most important of
the non-conventional sources of energy because it is non-polluting and,
therefore, helps in lessening the greenhouse effect.
Solar energy can be used to meet our electricity requirements. Through
Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) cells, solar radiation gets converted into DC
electricity directly. This electricity can either be used as it is or can be
stored in the battery. This stored electrical energy then can be used at
night. SPV can be used for a number of applications such as:
a. domestic lighting
b. street lighting
c. village electrification
d. water pumping
e. desalination of salty water
f. powering of remote telecommunication repeater stations and
g. railway signals.

Solar Energy
Photovoltaic technology converts sunlight directly
into electricity. Solar energy is fast becoming
popular in rural and remote areas. The largest solar
plant of India is located at Madhapur, near Bhuj,
where solar energy is used to sterilise milk cans. It
is expected that use of solar energy will be able to
minimise the dependence of rural households on
firewood and dung cakes, which in turn will
contribute to environmental conservation and
adequate supply of manure in agriculture.

Solar Cell
A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a machine that

converts sunlight directly into electricity by

the photo volts effect.
Photovoltaic is the field of technology and research

related to the application of solar cells in producing

electricity for practical use.
The photovoltaic effect, which causes the cell to

convert light directly into electrical energy, occurs in

the three energy-conversion layers.

Materials for Solar cell

Solar cells are composed of various semiconducting materials
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Crystalline silicon
Cadmium telluride
Copper indium diselenide
Gallium arsenide
Indium phosphide
Zinc sulphide

Note: Semiconductors are materials, which become electrically

conductive when supplied with light or heat, but which operate as
insulators at low temperatures


Over 95% of all the solar cells produced worldwide are
composed of the semiconductor material Silicon (Si). As the second
most abundant element in earth`s crust, silicon has the advantage, of
being available in sufficient quantities.

To produce a solar cell, the semiconductor is contaminated or

"doped".

"Doping" is the intentional introduction of chemical elements into

the semiconductor.

By doing this, depending upon the type of dopant, one can obtain
a surplus of either positive charge carriers (called p conducting
semiconductor layer) or negative charge carriers (called n-conducting
semiconductor layer).

 If two differently contaminated semiconductor layers are

combined, then a so-called p-n-junction results on the boundary
of the layers.
p-n junction layer
n-type semiconductor
p- type semiconductor

By doping trivalent element, we get p-type semiconductor. (with

excess amount of hole)
By doping pentavalent element, we get n-type semiconductor
(with excess amount of electron)
47


Over 95% of all the solar cells produced worldwide are
composed of the semiconductor material Silicon (Si). As the second
most abundant element in earth`s crust, silicon has the advantage, of
being available in sufficient quantities.

To produce a solar cell, the semiconductor is contaminated or

"doped".

"Doping" is the intentional introduction of chemical elements into

the semiconductor.

By doing this, depending upon the type of dopant, one can obtain
a surplus of either positive charge carriers (called p conducting
semiconductor layer) or negative charge carriers (called n-conducting
semiconductor layer).

 If two differently contaminated semiconductor layers are

combined, then a so-called p-n-junction results on the boundary
of the layers.
p-n junction layer
n-type semiconductor
p- type semiconductor

By doping trivalent element, we get p-type semiconductor. (with

excess amount of hole)
By doping pentavalent element, we get n-type semiconductor
(with excess amount of electron)
49

2. PHOTOVOLTAIC EFFECT
Light
energy

Definition:
The generation
of voltage across the PN
junction
in
a
semiconductor due to n-type semiconductor
the absorption of light
radiation
is
called p- type semiconductor
photovoltaic effect. The
Devices based on this
effect
is
called
p-n junction
photovoltaic device.

Electrical
Power

3. ELECTRON-HOLE FORMATION

Photovoltaic energy conversion relies on the number of

photons strikes on the earth. (photon is a flux of light particles)

On a clear day, about 4.4 x 1017 photons strike a square

centimeter of the Earth's surface every
second.

Only some of these photons - those with energy in excess of

the band gap - can be converted into electricity by the solar cell.

When such photon enters the semiconductor, it may be

absorbed and promote an electron from the valence band to the
conduction band.

Conduction band
electron

Photons

hole
Valence band

Therefore, a vacant is created in the valence band and it is

called hole.
Now, the electron in the conduction band and hole in valence band
combine together and forms electron-hole pairs.

4. A SOLAR PANEL (OR) SOLAR ARRAY

Single solar cell

The single solar cell constitute the n-typpe layer sandwiched with
p-type layer.
The most commonly known solar cell is configured as a large-area
p-n junction made from silicon wafer.
A single cell can produce only very tiny amounts of electricity
It can be used only to light up a small light bulb or power a
calculator.
Single photovoltaic cells are used in many small electronic
appliances such as watches and calculators

SINGLE SOLAR CELL

N-type
P-type

SOLAR PANEL (OR) SOLAR ARRAY (OR) SOLAR MODULE

The solar panel (or) solar array is the interconnection of number of
solar module to get efficient power.

A solar module consists of number of interconnected solar cells.

These interconnected cells embedded between two glass plate to

protect from the bad whether.
Since absorption area of module is high, more energy can be
produced.

5. TYPES OF SOLAR CELL

Based on the types of crystal used, soar cells can be classified as,
1.
2.
3.

Monocrystalline silicon cells

Polycrystalline silicon cells
Amorphous silicon cells

1. The Monocrystalline silicon cell is produced from pure silicon (single crystal).
Since the Monocrystalline silicon is pure and defect free, the efficiency of cell
will be higher.
2. In polycrystalline solar cell, liquid silicon is used as raw material and
polycrystalline silicon was obtained followed by solidification process. The
materials contain various crystalline sizes. Hence, the efficiency of this type of
cell is less than Monocrystalline cell.

3. Amorphous silicon was obtained by depositing silicon film

on the substrate like glass plate.
The layer thickness amounts to less than 1m the
thickness of a human hair for comparison is 50-100 m.

The efficiency of amorphous cells is much lower than that

of the other two cell types.
As a result, they are used mainly in low power equipment,
such as watches and pocket calculators, or as facade
elements.

COMPARISON OF TYPES OF SOLAR CELL

Material

Efficiency (%)

Monocrystalline silicon

14-17

Polycrystalline silicon

13-15

Amorphous silicon

5-7

PRINCIPLE, CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING OF

SOLAR CELL
Principle: The solar cells are based
on the principles of
photovoltaic effect.The photovoltaic effect is the photogeneration of
charge carriers in a light absorbing materials as a result of absorption
of light radiation.
Construction

Solar cell (crystalline Silicon) consists of a n-type semiconductor

(emitter) layer and p-type semiconductor layer (base). The two layers
are sandwiched and hence there is formation of p-n junction.
The surface is coated with anti-refection coating to avoid the
of incident light energy due to reflection.

loss

WORKING

 A proper metal contacts are made on the n-type and p-type side
of the semiconductor for electrical connection
Working:

When a solar panel exposed to sunlight , the light energies

are absorbed by a semiconduction materials.
Due to this absorded enrgy, the electrons are libereted
produce the external DC current.

and

The DC current is converted into 240-volt AC current using

an inverter for different applications.

Mechanism:
First, the sunlight is absorbed by a solar cell in a solar panel.
The absorbed light causes electrons in the material to increase in
energy. At the same time making them free to move around in
the material.
However, the electrons remain at this higher energy for only
short time before returning to their original lower energy position.
Therefore, to collect the carriers before they lose the
gained from the light, a PN junction is typically used.

energy

 A PN junction consists of two different regions of a

semiconductor material (usually silicon), with one side
called the p
type region and the other the n-type region.
During the incident of light energy, in p-type material, electrons can
gain energy and move into the n-type region.
Then they can no longer go back to their original low energy position
and remain at a higher energy.
The process of moving a light- generated carrier from p-type region
to n-type region is called collection.
These collections of carriers (electrons) can be either extracted from
the device to give a current, or it can remain in
the device and
gives rise to a voltage.


The electrons that leave the solar cell as current give up their
energy to whatever is connected to the solar cell, and then re-enter
the solar cell. Once back in the solar cell, the process begins again:

The mechanism of electricity production- Different stages

Conduction band
density

High

Valence band
density

Low

The above diagram shows the formation of p-n junction in a solar cell.
The valence band is a low-density band and conduction band is highdensity band.

LIMITATIONS OF SOLAR ENERGY

1. The density of solar energy is low as compared to coal, oil, gas etc.
2. Problem of economically collecting solar energy over large areas and
converting it to other forms that can be conveniently transported, stored and
used in existing equipments.
3. Its intensity is not constant; it changes from early in the morning to
evening with a maximum around 1-2 p.m., the maximum amount being in
the range of 1 to 1.1 KW/ m2. This amount does not remain the same during
the whole day. It also changes with different seasons of the year and
depends upon the sky conditions.
4. Problems of designing facilities that can utilize diffused sunlight.
5. It's major applications are photo thermal conversion, solar water heating,
space conditioning, solar air heating, solar desalination, solar cooker, solar
refrigeration, power generation, water pumping, green house technology,
generation of fuels, photo voltaic conversion etc.

Wind Power
India now ranks as a wind super power in the

world. The largest wind farm cluster is located in

Tamil Nadu from Nagarcoil to Madurai. Apart from
these, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala,
Maharashtra and Lakshadweep have important
wind farms. Nagarcoil and Jaisalmer are well
known for effective use of wind energy in the
country.

Wind Energy
Wind power is harnessed by setting up a windmill

which is used for pumping water, grinding grain and

generating electricity. The gross wind power potential
of India is estimated to be about 20,000 MW, wind
power projects of 970 MW capacities were installed till
March. 1998. Areas with constantly high speed
preferably above 20 km per hour are well-suited for
harnessing wind energy.

Wind energy is the kinetic energy associated with the movement of

atmospheric air. It has been used for hundreds of years for sailing, grinding
grain, and for irrigation. Wind energy systems convert this kinetic energy to
more useful forms of power. Wind energy systems for irrigation and milling
have been in use since ancient times and since the beginning of the 20th
century it is being used to generate electric power. Windmills for water
pumping have been installed in many countries particularly in the rural areas.
Wind turbines transform the energy in the wind into mechanical power,
which can then be used directly for grinding etc. or further converting to
electric power to generate electricity. Wind turbines can be used singly or in
clusters called wind farms. Small wind turbines called aero-generators can be
used to charge large batteries.
Five nations Germany, USA, Denmark, Spain and India account for 80% of
the worlds installed wind energy capacity. Wind energy continues to be the
fastest growing renewable energy source with worldwide wind power installed
capacity reaching 14,000 MW.

Merits and demerits of wind energy

Merits
The energy it uses is renewable.
It is environment friendly.
Demerits
It requires a large area.
It requires wind speed equal to or more than 15 km/h.
The cost of setting up and the maintenance cost of the
windmills is very high.
It creates noise pollution.

ENERGY FROM BIO GAS

Bio gas is based upon the use of dung to produce gas

which is used as domestic fuel especially in rural areas.

This technique is based on the decomposition of organic
matter in the absence of air to yield gas consisting of
methane (55%) and carbon dioxide (45%) which can be
used as a source of energy.

Floating gas holder type biogas plant

Biogas
Shrubs, farm waste, animal and human waste are

used to produce biogas for domestic consumption

in rural areas. Decomposition of organic matter
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. The plants using cattle dung
are know 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 by far the most efficient use of cattle dung. It
improves the quality of manure and also prevents the
loss of trees and manure due to burning of fuel wood
and cow dung cakes.

 Biomass is a renewable energy resource derived from the

carbonaceous waste of various human and natural activities.

It is derived from numerous sources, including the byproducts from the timber industry, agricultural crops, raw
material from the forest, major parts of household waste and
wood.

Biomass does not add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as it

absorbs the same amount of carbon in growing as it releases

when consumed as a fuel. Its advantage is that it can be used
to generate electricity with the same equipment or power
plants that are now burning fossil fuels. Biomass is an
important source of energy and the most important fuel
worldwide after coal, oil and natural gas.

 Biogas plants have been set up in many areas and are

becoming very popular. Using local resources, namely

cattle waste and other organic wastes, energy and
manure are derived. A mini biogas digester has
recently been designed and developed, and is being infield tested for domestic lighting.

At present, biogas technology provides an alternative

source of energy in rural India for cooking. It is

particularly useful for village households that have
their own cattle. Through a simple process cattle dung
is used to produce a gas, which serves as fuel for
cooking. The residual dung is used as manure.

Advantages of bio fuel

It burns without smoke and therefore causes no pollution.
Its calorific value is high.
Its is very clean and convenient fuel, and does not leave any

residue.
It does not involve any storage problems.

ENERGY FROM WASTES

Generation of waste is inevitable in

many human activities. In nature, a

balance is maintained as the waste
generated by animals and human beings
serve as nourishment for the plant life.
This waste is processed and treated
further to produce electricity.

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 flood
gate, the water retained by the floodgate flows back to
the sea via a pipe that carries it through a powergenerating turbine.
It is estimated that India possesses 8000-9000 MW of
tidal energy potential.

 In India, the Gulf of Kuchchh, provides ideal

conditions for utilising tidal energy. A 900 mw tidal

energy power plant is set up here by the National
Hydropower Corporation.

Tidal Energy
Tidal energy is the utilization of the sun and moon's

gravitational forces - as tides are formed by the

gravitational pull of the sun and moon on the oceans
of the rotating earth.
Tides can be found with varying degrees of strength on

any coastline, and sometimes even at sea, although

these are better known as currents.
Tidal energy is one of the oldest forms of energy used

as evidence of tide mills from before 1100AD .

Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy refers to the heat and
electricity produced by using the heat from the
interior of the Earth. Geothermal energy exists
because, the 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 is so hot that when it
rises to the earths surface, it turns into steam. This
steam is used to drive turbines and generate
electricity.
There are several hundred hot springs in India,
which could be used to generate electricity. Two
experimental projects have been set up in India to
harness geothermal energy. One is located in the
Parvati valley near Manikarn in Himachal Pradesh
and the other is located in the Puga Valley, Ladakh.

Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy is heat from within the earth. We can use the

steam and hot water produced inside the earth to heat buildings
or generate electricity.
Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source because the

water is replenished by rainfall and the heat is continuously

produced inside the earth.
Geothermal energy is generated in the earth's core, about 4,000

miles below the surface .

Temperatures hotter than the sun's surface are continuously

produced inside the earth by the slow decay of radioactive

particles, a process that happens in all rocks.

The utilization of geothermal energy (in Greek it means heat from

the earth) for the production of electricity dates back to the early
part of the twentieth century. For 50 years the generation of
electricity from geothermal energy was confined to Italy and interest
in this technology was slow to spread elsewhere. In 1943 the use of
geothermal hot water was pioneered in Iceland.
In India, Northwestern Himalayas and the western coast are
considered geothermal areas. The Geological Survey of India has
already identified more than 350 hot spring sites, which can be
explored as areas to tap geothermal energy. Satellites like the IRS-1
have played an important role, through infrared photographs of the
ground, in locating geothermal areas. The Puga valley in the Ladakh
region has the most promising geothermal field. An experimental 1kW generator is already in operation in this area. It is being used
mainly for poultry farming, mushroom cultivation, and pashminawool processing, all of which need higher temperature.

Ocean Thermal Energy

The main objective of ocean thermal energy or Ocean

Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is to turn the solar

energy trapped by the ocean into useable energy.
This kind of energy is found in tropical oceans where the

water temperature differs from surface to deeper into the

sea. On the ocean surface it can be at least 20 C hotter or
cooler than the temperature at a deeper sea level.
Three approaches, open cycle OTEC, closed cycle OTEC

and hybrid cycle OTEC have been created in the past fifty
years.

 The variety of products and services are the major

advantage of OTEC plants. Ocean thermal is also

relatively clean and will not produce more pollutants
that contribute to global warming.
OTEC plants are most suitable for islands around the

tropical region of the east Pacific Ocean. This is

because OTEC plants can provide both energy and
pure water at the same time with a relatively low cost.
It is also because the ocean in that region has greater
temperature differences, which is about 24 oC.

Wave Energy
In many areas of the world, the wind blows with enough

consistency and force to provide continuous waves. There is

tremendous energy in the ocean waves.

WAVE POWER DEVICES extract energy directly from the

surface motion of ocean waves or from pressure fluctuations

below the surface.

Wave technologies have been designed to be installed in near

shore, offshore, and far offshore locations.

While all wave energy technologies are intended to be

installed at or near the water's surface, they differ in their

orientation to the waves with which they are interacting and in
the manner in which they convert the energy of the waves into
other energy forms, usually electricity.

The energy in the flowing water can be used to produce

electricity. Waves result from the interaction of the wind with the
surface of the sea and represent a transfer of energy from the wind
to the sea. Energy can be extracted from tides by creating a
reservoir or basin behind a barrage and then passing tidal waters
through turbines in the barrage to generate electricity.
Hydro power is one of the best, cheapest, and cleanest source of
energy, although, with big dams, there are many environmental
and social problems as has been seen in the case of the Tehri and
the Narmada Projects. Small dams are, however, free from these
problems.
Large amounts of solar energy is stored in the oceans and seas.
Energy is also obtained from waves and tides. The first wave
energy, project with a capacity of 150MW, has been set up at
Vizhinjam near Trivandrum. A major tidal wave power project
costing of Rs.5000 crores, is proposed to be set up in the Hanthal
Creek in the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat.

Hydropower generation

Hydro Power Plant

Electricity produced from generators driven by water

turbines that convert the energy in falling or fast-flowing

water to mechanical energy.
Water at a higher elevation flows downward through large
pipes or tunnels (penstocks). The falling water rotates
turbines, which drive the generators, which convert the
turbines' mechanical energy into electricity.
The advantages of hydroelectric power over such other
sources as fossil fuels and nuclear fission are that it is
continually renewable and produces no pollution.
There are now three types of hydroelectric installations:
storage, run-of-river, and pumped-storage facilities.

Merits and demerits of hydroelectricity

Merits
They are environment friendly.
The use a renewable source of energy i.e. water.

Demerits
Ecosystem damage and loss of land.
Methane emissions from rotten submerged vegetation.
Relocation of people from the are where the reservoirs are
planned.
Cost of setting the plant is high

What are fuel cells? Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that convert the
chemical energy of a fuel directly and very efficiently into electricity (DC)
and heat, thus doing away with combustion. The most suitable fuel for
such cells is hydrogen or a mixture of compounds containing hydrogen. A
fuel cell consists of an electrolyte sandwiched between two electrodes.
Oxygen passes over one electrode and hydrogen over the other, and they
react electrochemically to generate electricity, water, and heat.
Fuel cells can supply combined heat and power to commercial buildings,
hospitals, airports and military installation at remote locations. Fuel cells
have efficiency levels up to 55% as compared to 35% of conventional power
plants. The emissions are significantly lower (CO2 and water vapour being
the only emissions). Fuel cell systems are modular (i.e. additional capacity
can be added whenever required with relative ease) and can be set up
wherever power is required.

Co-generation is the concept of producing two forms of energy from one

fuel. One of the forms of energy must always be heat and the other may be
electricity or mechanical energy. In a conventional power plant, fuel is
burnt in a boiler to generate high-pressure steam. This steam is used to
drive a turbine, which in turn drives an alternator through a steam turbine
to produce electric power. The exhaust steam is generally condensed to
water which goes back to the boiler.
As the low-pressure steam has a large quantum of heat which is lost in the
process of condensing, the efficiency of conventional power plants is only
around 35%. In a cogeneration plant, very high efficiency levels, in the
range of 75%90%, can be reached. This is so, because the low-pressure
exhaust steam coming out of the turbine is not condensed, but used for
heating purposes in factories or houses.
Since co-generation can meet both power and heat needs, it has other
advantages as well in the form of significant cost savings for the plant and
reduction in emissions of pollutants due to reduced fuel consumption.

Ralegaon Siddhi, a success story

In 1975, when Anna Hazare, a retired army man, went back to his village in
Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, he found the village reeling under drought,
poverty, debt, and unemployment. He decided to mobilize the people and, with
the collective support of all the villagers, he began to introduce changes.
Today Ralegaon Siddhi is being taken as a role model for other villages by the
Maharashtra government and by other states too. Massive tree plantation has been
undertaken, and hills have been terraced to check erosion. Large canals with ridges
on either side have been dug to retain rainwater. As a result, the water table in this
area is now considerably higher and the wells and tube wells are never dry, making
it possible to raise three crops a year where only one was possible before.
The village's biggest achievement is undoubtedly in the area of non-conventional
energy. All the streets in the village are lit by solar lights, each with a separate
panel. There are four large community biogas plants and one of them is fitted to
the community toilet. There is a large windmill used for pumping water. A number
of households have their own biogas plants. The village is self sufficient .