Deliberate upon the recent technological developments in the energy sector giving appropriate examples.

Deliberate upon the recent technological developments in the energy sector giving appropriate examples.

A.    The energy sources available in India are fossil fuels (like lignite, coal, and petroleum) the sun, wind, geothermal energy (for example, hot springs) water (hydro-electric power). The demand for energy doubles every 14 years and is taken as one of the indicators of development of a country. Many technological developments are shaping the energy sector in a new way by using technology to harness the energy of resources available which was not earlier possible. Some of these sources of energy are-

Solar Energy –

With the help of photocells, solar energy is harnessed. Solar energy is used directly to give us hot water during winter or run a refrigerator. It is also used for heating rooms in colder regions. Photocells are used to produce electricity for driving vehicles and illumination of streets. In a desert like Rajasthan, the earth's surface receives solar energy at the rate of 200 watts per square meter per hour. Since this feature of using solar energy is that it can be generated where needed. Solar cookers are being used in many homes to cook food now.

Wind Energy –

 Like solar energy, wind flow can also be harnessed to obtain mechanical energy for fetching water from the wells or from rivers. Once the windmill is turning due to the force of the wind, it may as well run a generator to get electrical energy. In the coastal and hilly regions, where the wind blows at high speed, a windmill can be used for the supply of electricity to a small town.

Wave and tidal energy –

 Waves and tides are other sources of energy which is perpetual and can be converted into electric energy, particularly where seawater can move into a narrow cut, such as is provided naturally where rivers flow into the sea. The energy carried is used in India's hilly regions when a wheel with pedals can be made to turn when it is put in a fast-flowing stream. Flour mills of small size built on this principle were used in Kashmir. Here a natural or artificial water fall is made to turn turbine blades which when rotates generates electricity. Large hydroelectric power stations work on the same principle for generating electricity.

Geothermal Energy -

Hot water and super heated steam of hot springs are a natural phenomenon and is used to generate electricity. In our country, there arc 46 hydrothermal areas where the temperature of the spring water exceeds 150°C. These hot springs can be used to generate electricity for heating homes, or glass-houses to prow vegetables.

Atomic energy -

With the energy of the atom controlled in nuclear fission reaction, the energy and heat produced during the bombardment of atoms of U235 is channelized for electricity generation. The device used for this purpose is called an atomic reactor. Nuclear reactors produce heat, which is commonly used to raise steam, which rotates turbines and thus generates electric power. It is estimated that 1 kg of natural uranium generates energy equal to that produced by 35,000 kg of coal. Thus the production of energy from nuclear fuel like uranium is efficient, and since great loads of coal or diesel are not consumed daily this energy is convenient.

                                                       Biogas -

Cattle dung for the production of biogas which is used for cooking. Water weeds like water hyacinth, water lettuce, Salvinia, hydrilla, duckweeds, and algae are found to be a useful supplement to cattle dung. Biogas can be used not only as cooking gas, it can also be used to raise steam, which can be used for running engines or machines in the factories or for running turbines to generate electricity. It has been found that large biogas plants can supply the needs of a number of families or even small villages. What is left over after generating the gas, can be used as manure. Hence this is also an economical way of getting more energy. Great efforts are being made to install tens of thousands of biogas plants in rural areas as it is one of the efficient ways of generating electricity.