Non Renewable Energy Sources
11.2 Non-Conventional Sources of Energy
705
11.2 NON-CONVENTIONAL SOURCES OF ENERGY Introduction The Industrial Revolution of the 19th century ushered in new technologies. The spurt in inventions in that century was unprecedented in many ways. Some of these inventions involved use of natural resources like coal and oil. The thought of exhaustible nature of these resources and the environmental damage from the use of these resources never occurred either to the inventors or the subsequent generations. In the quest to sustain galloping economic activity, the dependence on coal and oil has soared at a phenomenal rate over the years. The burnt fuels result in the release of carbondioxide and other gases into the atmosphere causing environmental damage. It has become imperative to look at energy technology with a new perspective. There are abundant renewable sources of energy such as wind, sun, water, sea, biomass apart from even daily wastes. These sources are pollution free and hence clean energy apart from being unlimited/ inexhaustible. Power generation in India has grown in size to around 1 lakh MW and in Tamil Nadu it has increased to 7924 MW which is distributed through a vast network of transmission, sub-transmission and distribution lines that reach all villages even in remote areas. The demand for power is growing rapidly. The problem will be compounded due to fast depletion of fossil fuel deposits, quality of fuels, heavy price to be paid for basic materials plus their transportation cost and above all the environmental degradation caused by the use of conventional energy sources. Under such conditions, environmentfriendly and pollution-free, non-conventional and renewable energy sources known as 'clean and green energy' have emerged as an important alternatives to conventional energy sources. The renewable energy sources are clean and inexhaustible as they rely on sun, wind, biomass, etc., as primary sources of energy. It is estimated that, about 2000
705
11.2 NON-CONVENTIONAL SOURCES OF ENERGY Introduction The Industrial Revolution of the 19th century ushered in new technologies. The spurt in inventions in that century was unprecedented in many ways. Some of these inventions involved use of natural resources like coal and oil. The thought of exhaustible nature of these resources and the environmental damage from the use of these resources never occurred either to the inventors or the subsequent generations. In the quest to sustain galloping economic activity, the dependence on coal and oil has soared at a phenomenal rate over the years. The burnt fuels result in the release of carbondioxide and other gases into the atmosphere causing environmental damage. It has become imperative to look at energy technology with a new perspective. There are abundant renewable sources of energy such as wind, sun, water, sea, biomass apart from even daily wastes. These sources are pollution free and hence clean energy apart from being unlimited/ inexhaustible. Power generation in India has grown in size to around 1 lakh MW and in Tamil Nadu it has increased to 7924 MW which is distributed through a vast network of transmission, sub-transmission and distribution lines that reach all villages even in remote areas. The demand for power is growing rapidly. The problem will be compounded due to fast depletion of fossil fuel deposits, quality of fuels, heavy price to be paid for basic materials plus their transportation cost and above all the environmental degradation caused by the use of conventional energy sources. Under such conditions, environmentfriendly and pollution-free, non-conventional and renewable energy sources known as 'clean and green energy' have emerged as an important alternatives to conventional energy sources. The renewable energy sources are clean and inexhaustible as they rely on sun, wind, biomass, etc., as primary sources of energy. It is estimated that, about 2000