Minerals and Energy Resources
Non-conventional energy and saving energy
Describe India's non-conventional energy and how to save energy.
Why look beyond coal and oil? Prices of oil and gas keep rising, supplies may run short, and that makes the country's energy future uncertain. Burning fossil fuels also causes serious pollution. India has plenty of sun, water, wind and biomass, and runs some of the largest programmes for renewable energy.
Nuclear (atomic) energy. Made by changing the structure of atoms, which releases a lot of heat to make electricity. Uranium and thorium come from Jharkhand and the Aravalli ranges of Rajasthan; the monazite sands of Kerala are rich in thorium. (Atomic energy is non-conventional, but uranium and thorium will run out too.)
Sun and wind.
- Solar: India is a tropical country with lots of sun. Photovoltaic panels turn sunlight straight into electricity. Solar power in villages means less firewood and dung cake is burnt: that saves forests and leaves the dung as manure for the fields.
- Wind: the largest wind farm cluster runs from Nagarcoil to Madurai in Tamil Nadu. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Lakshadweep also have wind farms; Nagarcoil and Jaisalmer use wind energy especially well.
Biogas: two benefits from waste. Shrubs, farm waste, and animal and human waste rot and give off gas. Biogas burns better than kerosene, dung cake or charcoal. Plants using cattle dung are called gobar gas plants. The farmer gets fuel and better manure, and no trees or dung are burnt. It is the best use of cattle dung.
Tides and the earth's heat.
- Tidal energy: a floodgate dam is built across an inlet. At high tide, sea water flows in and is trapped when the gate shuts. When the tide falls, the water flows back to the sea through a turbine, making electricity. Good sites: the Gulf of Khambhat and Gulf of Kuchchh (Gujarat) and the Sunderbans (West Bengal).
- Geothermal energy: the earth gets hotter as you go deeper. In some places groundwater is heated so much that it rises as steam, which can turn turbines. Two experimental projects: Manikaran in the Parvati valley (Himachal Pradesh) and the Puga valley (Ladakh).
Saving energy. India wastes more energy than most countries: it is among the least energy-efficient in the world. A sustainable energy path stands on two legs: saving energy and using more renewables. What we can do: take public transport, switch off lights and fans when not in use, use power-saving devices, and use non-conventional energy. Remember: 'energy saved is energy produced'.
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