Very Short Question and Answers - Energy Resources

Energy resources are materials and natural processes that can be used to produce energy such as heat, electricity, or motion required for homes, industries, transport, agriculture, and services.

Energy is important because factories, steel plants, cement factories, and refineries need energy like coal, electricity, and petroleum to operate and increase production for economic growth.

Energy resources are broadly classified into two groups: Conventional sources and Non-conventional (renewable or alternative) sources.

Coal (Jharkhand - Jharia), Petroleum (Assam - Digboi), and Natural Gas (Gujarat).

Advantages: Cheap, abundant in India, and uses established technology. Disadvantages: Causes air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, mining leads to land degradation and health hazards.

Major petroleum fields in India are located in Assam (Digboi), offshore Mumbai High (Maharashtra), Gujarat (Ankleshwar), Rajasthan (Barmer/Bikaner), and offshore Krishna-Godavari basin.

Natural gas is mainly used for electricity generation, fertilizer production, cooking (CNG), and as industrial fuel. It is cleaner than coal and petrol, producing less CO2 and particulates.

Hydropower generates electricity by harnessing the energy of flowing or stored water in dams which drives turbines. Major projects are Bhakra-Nangal and Tehri dam.

Large hydro dams cause displacement of people, submergence of forests and land, ecological impact, high initial cost, and seasonal variability of river flow.

Advantages: Produces large-scale electricity with low CO2 emissions and has high energy density. Disadvantages: Disposal of radioactive waste, safety risks from accidents, high setup costs, and limited uranium supply.

Solar energy is energy from the sun captured by solar panels or solar thermal systems. Major solar parks are Bhadla (Rajasthan), Pavagada (Karnataka), and Rewa (Madhya Pradesh).

Benefits: Clean, renewable, low operational cost. Limitations: Intermittent depending on wind availability, noise and visual pollution, site-specific needing windy corridors.

Biomass is plant and animal waste used as fuel for cooking and electricity generation. Biogas is methane-rich gas from anaerobic digestion of dung or organic waste used for cooking and lighting, especially in rural areas.

Biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel are obtained from sources such as sugarcane and oilseeds. They are blended with petrol and diesel under government programs to reduce fossil fuel use.

The Gulf of Kutch (Gujarat) and the Sundarbans (West Bengal) have tidal energy potential. Challenges include site-specificity, high cost, and environmental impacts on marine life.

Geothermal potential exists in Himalayan hot springs and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Its development is limited due to location-specific availability and high drilling costs.

They are small-scale hydroelectric projects which generate power without large reservoirs, causing less environmental impact. Common in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.

Conventional sources are mostly non-renewable, exhaustible, and cause pollution, while non-conventional sources are renewable, cleaner, and sustainable but sometimes intermittent and site-specific.

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, conserve finite fossil fuels, reduce import dependence, and provide sustainable energy access to remote and rural areas.

The National Solar Mission promotes solar power, and the Ethanol Blending Programme promotes the use of biofuels.