Discuss the alternative energy sources of India.
( UPPSC, UP PCS, 2019, 15 Marks)
à¤ारत के वैकल्पिक ऊर्जा स्रोतों कि विवेचना कीजिये।
Answer:
Energy is key for development, energy demand is increasing in India for two reasons:
- Rapid development in India.
- Inefficiency in energy intensity: As per the International Energy Agency ( IEA), for the same unit of production, India is consuming nearly 3 times of energy of any developed country.
However, India imports 80% of total oil consumption. And the use of oil and coal is not good for the environment and it increases the fiscal burden. Now India is focusing on alternative energy sources to meet the energy demand of India as well as to achieve UN sustainable goal 7 that is affordable and clean energy. For that, the government of India has made 175 GW targets to install alternative energy or renewable energy capacity by 2022.
- Solar Energy
- Wind Energy
- Biogas and Biofuels
- Tidal Energy
- Small Hydroelectric
Solar Energy:
Tropics of cancer pass nearly the middle of India, India is blessed to have an abundance of solar energy. Most solar energy is generated from the solar photovoltaic system.
As of January 2020 installed capacity: 34 GW.
Target is 100 GW by 2022.
Electricity is generated from solar in two ways:
- Solar thermal
- Photovoltaic cell
Winds energy:
Air movement generates and causes winds to blow by unequal heating of landmass and water bodies by solar radiation
- Electricity generated by the movement of the turbine through windmills.
- The number of windmills is erected over large areas that are known as wind farming.
- Winds energy is generated by wind farming
- Denmark generates 25 % of its own energy requirement from Wind energy.
- However, India comes 4th in total installed wind capacity after China(1st), USA(2nd), and Germany(3rd). As of now the total installed capacity of wind energy is 37.6 GW and the target is 60 GW by 2022.
Major challenges of winds energy:
- High initial cost
- Large land acquisition
- High Maintenance cost.
- Coastal states and Rajasthan
- The highest wind energy capacity is installed in Tamil Nadu.
Biogas and Biomass:
- The national biogas program was started to promote biogas plants.
- Solid waste, crop residue, rotten vegetables, and animal excreta are the major raw materials for biogas plants.
- India's target of biofuel generation is 10 GW by 2022.
Tidal energy:
Kinetic energy possessed by a huge wave near the seashore can be traped to generate energy via the turbine.
At present, India does not have viable technology for the economical generation of tidal energy.Potential areas:
- Gulf of Cambay and Sunderbans.
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