UPSC Question:
- Keeping the recent development in view, how can the energy crisis of India be circumvented by harnessing Non-Conventional Energy Resources. UPSC-2018
Energy does not mean only oil or petrol but all conventional and non-conventional energy.
Conventional Source of energy:- Thermal Power Plant
- Hydro Power Plant
- Bio-mass
- Bio-gas
- Charcoal
- Wind energy
Non-Conventional Source of energy:
- Solar energy
- Tidal energy
- Wave Energy
- Ocean Thermal Energy
- Geo-Thermal Energy
- Nuclear Energy
An energy crisis does not mean the scarcity of energy, the meaning of an energy crisis is the problems of production and distribution for any reason.
Energy Crisis = Demand of energy >> Supply of energy
What causes an energy crisis?
- Demand-side:
- Over-consumption due to energy inefficiencies, India's consumption of energy, is three times more than in developed countries for the same quantity of production.
- Overpopulation, the rise of middle and high-class people increases the energy demand
- Due to climate change, more energy is needed for cooling and warming of home.
- Supply-side
- Political crisis in OPEC countries
- US sanctions on Iran, Russia, and Venezuela (recent )
- The cartel of OPEC countries
- Overexploitation of resources leads to a loss of resources.
There is three energy crises since the industrial revolution.
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| energy crisis |
- The energy crisis of 1973: The main cause of the 1973 energy crisis was OPEC. In 1960, OPEC was formed to control the pricing. In 1973, the petrol price was raised from 1.5 $ per barrel to 7 $ per barrel, 5 times. In 1980, the price further rose to 25 $ per barrel.
- The energy crisis of 1990: Second energy crisis, 1n 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait, due to this oil crisis happened.
- The energy crisis of 2005-08, the third energy crisis, in 2005 petrol price 78 $ per barrel, and in 2008, it was 148 $ per barrel. It is caused by two reasons:
- The supply cut by OPEC countries
- Demand increases in developing countries such as the rise of China & India.
How can we solve the energy crisis?
- Uses of an energy-efficient tool such as 5-star electronic items
- Regular servicing of machinery
- People's awareness of energy importance
- The exploitation nature of OPEC must be stopped.
- Finding an alternative to petrol
- Must invest in renewable energy infrastructure, for example, FAME India program
- Stability should be insured in oil-rich countries.
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