Non Conventional Energy Resources

What is energy ?
Energy is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems . Some forms of energy include heat, light, mechanical, electrical, chemical and nuclear. Different living organisms acquire energy variedly. Animals for example acquire their energy from plants that have chemical energy stored in them .

Sources of Energy
According to the law of conservation of energy energy can neither be created nor destroyed by itself. It can only be transformed . Most kinds of energy are subject to strict local conservation laws as well. So to get energy we must need some resources. The sources of energy which have been in use for a long time, e.g., coal, petroleum, natural gas and water power. The resources which are yet in the process of development over the past few years.. It includes solar, wind, tidal, biogas, and biomass, geothermal.

Conventional Resources of Energy

These traditional energy sources consist primarily of coal, natural gas and oil. They form from decaying plant and animal material over hundreds of thousands to millions of years. Being carbon-based, natural gas, oil and coal store carbon as potential energy and release it when burned. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states that carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions are major culprit in climate change. According to the Energy Information Administration, burning coal produces sulfur, nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions. All of these are known to have disastrous environmental and health consequences.

Carbon-based energy sources are non-renewable, meaning they will run out at some point. Conventional sources of energy include oil, natural gas, nuclear power, coal and hydropower. All of these except for hydropower are non-renewable resources, meaning their supply is limited.

Necessity of Non Conventional Energy Resources

Energy development is the effort to provide sufficient primary energy sources and secondary energy forms for supply, cost, impact on air pollution and water pollution, mitigation of climate change with renewable energy. Renewable energy is an alternative to fossil fuels and nuclear power, and was commonly called alternative energy in the 1970s and 1980s. In 2008, about 19% of global final energy consumption came from renewables, with 13% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.2% from hydroelectricity. Development of non conventional sources of energy is necessary as our conventional sources are not long for last and the important thing is that non conventional sources are freely available, eco friendly, as conventional sources is polluting our environment and is too costly to afford as burning of coal, and many other fossil fuels polluting our environment the reaction releases many harmful gases.

Non Conventional Energy Resources

Following are the six main non-conventional sources of energy, namely, solar energy, wind energy, biomass energy, geothermal energy, tidal energy and hydro power. Solar Energy:

Solar energy is light and heat energy from the sun. Solar cells convert sunlight into electrical energy. Thermal collectors convert sunlight into heat energy. Solar technologies are used in watches, calculators, water pumps, space satellites, for heating water, and supplying clean electricity to the power grid. There is enough solar radiation striking the surface of the earth, to provide all of our energy

needs.

Wind Energy :

Moving air, turns the blades of large windmills or generators to make electricity, or to pump water out of the ground. A high wind speed is needed to power wind generators effectively. While wind generators dont produce any greenhouse gas emissions, they may cause vibrations, noise and visual pollution.

Biomass Energy:

Biomass is material of plants and animals that can be used for energy. This includes using wood from trees, waste from plants and manure from livestock. Biomass can be used to generate electricity, light, heat, motion and fuel. Converting biomass energy into useable energy has many environmental benefits. It uses waste materials that are usually dumped, and uses up methane (a greenhouse gas). Fuels such as ethanol can be made from biomass and used as an alternative to petrol to power motor cars.

Geothermal Energy:

Geothermal energy uses heat energy from beneath the surface of the earth. Some of this heat finds its way to the surface in the form of hot springs or geysers. Other schemes tap the heat energy by pumping water through hot dry rocks several kilometres beneath the earths surface. Geothermal energy is used for the generation of electricity and for space and water heating in a small number of countries.

Tidal Energy:

If a dam or barrage is built across a river mouth or inlet, electricity can be obtained by the flow of water through turbines in the dam, due to the tide. The movement of waves can also drive air turbines to make electricity. Although tidal and wave energy dont produce pollution, they can cause other environmental problems.

Hydro Power:

Fast-flowing water released from dams in mountainous areas can turn water turbines to produce electricity. While it doesnt cause pollution, there are many other environmental impacts to consider. Ecosystems may be destroyed, cultural sites may be flooded and sometimes people need to be

resettled. There are also impacts on fish breeding, loss of wildlife habitat and changes in water flow of rivers.