Energy Resources

Energy Resources | Geography
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ENERGY RESOURCES


  • Energy is an inevitable resource in our day-to-day life.
  • It is a n essential component in economical and technological development.
  • Coal, Petroleum, natural gas soar energy and wind energy are some of the sources of energy.
  • Energy Resources can be classified into Non-Renewable and Renewable energy resources.

Non – Renewable Energy Resources


 

Coal


  • Coal is the major energy resources in India.
  • 67 % of the energy requirement of the country is met with coal.
  • It is mainly used in iron and steel industries.
  • Coal is also known as ‘Black Gold’ Coal is classified into many varieties based on its quality and the amount of carbon content in it. They are
  • Anthracite
  • Bituminous
  • Lignite
  • Charcoal
  • May coalfields are located in north-eastern India.
  • About two-thirds of the total production of coal is made from
  • Jharkhand
  • Madhya Pradesh
  • Chhattisgarh
  • Orissa
  • One-third of the total production is obtained from Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

Petroleum


  • Petroleum was known as ‘Mineral Oil’.
  • Is mined from the layer of sedimentary rocks.
  • India has a reserve of 4000 million tons, but only 25% of it is possible to be excavated.
  • About 33 million tons of petroleum in mined in India annually. 63 % of this is from Mumbai High, 18 % from Gujarat and 16 % from Assam.
  • The remaining 3 % is rigged from
  • Arunachal Pradesh
  • Andhra Pradesh
  • Tamil Nadu.

Natural Gas


  • Deposits of Natural gas are seen in the earth crust either independently or along with petroleum.
  • About 23 billion of cubic meters of natural gas is used in India.
  • India‘s natural gas reserve is only 700 billion cubic meters.
  • Most of the deposits of natural gas are found in
  • Andhra Pradesh
  • Maharashtra
  • Gujarat
  • Assam
  • Andaman-Nicobar islands
  • Andaman alone has about 47.6 million cubic meters of natural gas reserve.
  • Recently it has been found out that Krishna – Godavari delta has reserves of natural gases.

Electricity


  • The role of electricity in the growth and development of a nation is very large.
  • Electricity is mainly produced in three ways. They are
    • Thermal Electricity
    • Hydro Electricity
    • Nuclear Electricity

Thermal Electricity


  • Thermal Electricity or thermal energy is produced using coal, petroleum, natural gas etc.
  • The state of
  • Assam,
  • Jharkhand
  • Uttar Pradesh
  • west Bengal
  • Tamil Nadu depends mainly on thermal electricity.
  • It is also produced in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Kerala Orissa and Delhi.
  • 70 % of the total production of electricity in India is from thermal power station.

Hydro Electricity


  • In India, the first hydroelectricity power station was started 1897 in Darjeeling.
  • In 1902 another power station was established at Sivasamudram Waterfalls in river Cauvery.
  • At present twenty-five percent of the electricity produced in India is from hydropower.
  • It highly influences the economic development of India.
  • Hydro electricity is mainly produced in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Karnataka, Kerala, Jammu & Kashmir, Meghalaya, Tripura and Sikkim.
  • Kerala depends mainly on hydroelectricity projects for the generation of electricity.

Nuclear Electricity


  • Nuclear Electricity is produced from minerals such as uranium and thorium.
  • They are mined mainly from the state of Jharkhand and the Aravalli ranges of Rajasthan.
  • Uranium is separated from the monazite, coastal sands of Kerala.
  • 50 % of the world‘s thorium deposit is found in India, Tharapur (Maharashtra), Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu), Rawath Bhatta (Kota – Rajasthan), Narora (Uttar Pradesh) Kakrapara (Gujarat) and kaiga (Karnataka) are the nuclear power stations in India.
  • India produces 272 megawatt of nuclear energy annually.

Renewable Energy Resources


  • As the demand for energy increases the importance for renewable resources of energy such as sun, Wind, Tide, Biogas etc., are also increasing.
  • The Peculiarities of these energy sources are,
  • Easily available
  • Renewable
  • Environment-friendly
  • Pollution-free
  • Low production cost
  • Continuous availability

Solar Energy


  • India, located in the tropical region, has immense potential of solar energy.
  • Sunlight can be directly converted to electricity through the ‘Photovoltaic technology’.
  • It is possible to generate 20 megawatts of electricity through this method from 1sq. km. area. Solar energy is most commonly used in Cooking and Lighting.
  • The largest solar energy conversion centre in India is located at ‘Madhupuri’, near Bhuj in Gujarat.

Wind Energy


  • Wind energy-producing centres are established in many parts of the country.
  • The initial expenses for erecting the windmills are huge.
  • Tamil Nadu
  • Andhra Pradesh
  • Karnataka
  • Gujarat
  • Madhya Pradesh
  • Maharashtra
  • Gujarat
  • Kerala
  • Lakshadweep wind energy producing centres.

Biogas


  • Bushes, wastes from crops, human and animal wastes are used to produce biogas.
  • These materials are allowed to decay in order to produce the gas.
  • This gas is used for domestic purposes in rural areas.
  • Biogas can give higher temperature compared with kerosene and charcoal.

Tidal Energy


  • India is estimated to possess 8000 to 9000 megawatt of tidal Energy potential.
  • The Gulf of Khambat is the best suited with 7000 MW potential.
  • This is followed by Katch (1000 MW) and Sunderbans (100MW).

Wave Energy


  • Wave energy potential in India is estimated at about 40,000 MW.
  • A wave energy power plant of 150 KW has been installed at Vizhinjam near Thiruvananthapuram.
  • Another 1 MW wave energy plant is being set up in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Conservation of Energy Resources


  • Energy is a basic requirement for economic development.
  • Every sector of the national economy such as agriculture, industry, transport, commerce and domestic needs energy inputs.
  • The developmental plans are being implemented since independence in all sectors.
  • As a result, the consumption of energy in all forms has been steadily rising all over the country.
  • In this background, there is an urgent need to develop a ‘sustainable path of energy development” Promotion of energy conservation and increased use of renewable energy sources are the twin planks of sustainable conservation.
  • India is presently one of the least energy-efficient countries in the world.
  • We have to adopt a cautious approach for the judicious use of our limited energy resources.

We can conserve energy by


  • Using public transport systems instead of individual vehicles
  • Switching off electricity when it is not in use
  • using power saving devices
  • Using non – conventional sources of energy. Because “energy saved is energy produced”

Need for Conservation of Natural Resources


  • We know that nature provides us with all resources to satisfy our basic needs but we tend to overexploit it.
  • If we go on exploiting nature, there will be no more resources available in future.
  • There is an urgent need to conserve nature. Some of the needs are
  • To maintain ecological balance for supporting life.
  • To preserve a different kind of species (biodiversity).
  • To make the resources available for present and future generation.
  • To ensure the survival of the human race.

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