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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