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ENERGY AND
ENVIRONMENT
 Types of Natural Resources
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(1) Renewable Resources

Resources of economic value that can be replaced or replenished along with
their exploitation, are always available for use. Hence they are called
renewable resources. For instance, forests are renewable. If trees are felled for
wood, original forest covers may be maintained through planting new trees
i.e. aforestation. Likewise, solar energy and wind energy are examples of
renewable resources

(2) Non-renewable Resources

The formation of some resources like iron ore, coal, mineral oil etc. has taken
several thousand years. Once they are used in unregulated way, they cannot
be easily replaced. Thus, their exploitation at large scale will result in their fast
depletion. Such resources are called non-renewable resources or exhaustible.
 3
(3) Cyclic Resources
Those resources present on earth which can be formed again and again
after being used. It basically maintains a cycle for its reformation.
Some cyclic resources are:
• water present in the atmosphere, River, sea which follows a cycle and
gets formed again and again within this atmosphere.
• fossil fuels, minerals, it may take time for their reformation but they
are considered to be cyclic resources.
2. Renewable Energy sources

FIGURE: Potential energy

available from renewable
resources using currently
available technology in
presently accessible sites.
Together, these sources could
supply more than six times the
current world energy use.

Source: Adapted from UNDP

and International Energy
Agency
2. Alternate Energy sources
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There is a need to develop renewable energy sources

which are available and could be utilized (solar or
wind) or the sources which could be created and
utilized (bio-mass). The main renewable energy sources
for India are solar, wind, hydel, waste and bio-mass.
Biomass are resources which are agriculture related like
wood, bagasse, cow dung, seeds, etc.
 2. Alternate Energy sources
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Hydel energy

India has a total hydro energy potential of about 1.5 lakh MW, of which only about 20 % is
installed. Small hydro plant potential is about 15000 MW and most of it is in the northern and
eastern hilly regions.

Wind energy

The wind power potential of India is about 45,000 MW out of which capacity of 8748 MW
has been installed in India till 2008. India is one of the leading countries in generating
the
power through wind energy.
Gujarat, AP, Karnataka, MP and Rajasthan are states having more than 5000 MW potential
each. These potentials could be improved if the technology of putting turbines in sea is
embraced. There are wind farms on sea generating as high as 160 MW of power.
2. Alternate Energy sources
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Geothermal energy

Geothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth. Thermal
energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter. Earth's geothermal
energy originates from the original formation of the planet (20%) and from
radioactive decay of minerals (80%). Geothermal power is cost effective,
reliable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly, but has historically been
limited to areas near tectonic plate boundaries. Recent technological
advances have dramatically expanded the range and size of viable resources,
especially for applications such as home heating, opening a potential for
widespread exploitation. Geothermal wells release greenhouse gases
trapped deep within the earth, but these emissions are much lower per
energy unit than those of fossil fuels. As a result, geothermal power has the
potential to help mitigate global warming if widely deployed in place of fossil fuels.
2. Alternate Energy sources
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Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC )

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) uses the difference between cooler
deep and warmer shallow or surface ocean waters to run a heat engine and
produce useful work, usually in the form of electricity. A heat engine gives
greater efficiency and power when run with a large temperature
difference. In the oceans the temperature difference between surface
and deep water is greatest in the tropics, although still a modest 20 to 25
°C. It is therefore in the tropics that OTEC offers the greatest possibilities. OTEC
has the potential to offer global amounts of energy that are 10 to 100 times greater
than other ocean energy options such as wave power.
 2. Alternate Energy sources
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Biomass energy

Biomass is the oldest means of energy used by humans along with solar energy. As soon as
the fire was discovered, it was used widely among humans mainly for heat and light. Fire
was generated using wood or leaves, which is basically a biomass. The biomass could
be used to generate steam or power or used as a fuel. Power is generated using
rice husk in Andhra Pradesh, while several bagasse based plants are there. India has a
potential of 3500 MW from bagasse. Other fast growing plants could be planned over a
huge area, so that it provides biomass for generating power.
Organic waste such as dead plant and animal material, animal dung, and
kitchen waste can be converted by the anaerobic digestion or fermentation
into a gaseous fuel called biogas. Biogas is a mixture of 65% methane (CH4) and
of 35% CO2 and may have small amounts of hydrogen sulphide (H2S), moisture and
siloxanes. It is a renewable energy resulting from biomass. Biogas can be used as a fuel in
any country for any heating purpose, such as cooking. It can also be used in anaerobic
digesters where it is typically used in a gas engine to convert the energy in the gas into
electricity and heat. Biogas can be compressed, much like natural gas, and used
to power motor vehicles.
2. Alternate Energy sources
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Bio-fuels

India has more than 50 million hectare of wasteland, which could be utilized for
cultivating fuel plants. Jatropha is one of the options which can be
planted on arid lands and be used for production of bio fuels.

Solar energy

India being a tropical country has potential to use solar energy on commercial
bases. According to estimates, 35 MW of power could be generated from one sq
km. With such potential, solar energy has bright future as energy source for the
development of the country. Initial cost is the biggest limitation which has led to
the low realization of its potential. For solar energy to become one of the front
runners, it will require lot of research, cheap technology and low capital.
2. Issues: Alternate Energy sources
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1. The initial cost of establishment of alternate energy

generation is costlier than conventional resources.
2. Maintenance of these structures is difficult.
3. It requires more space.
4. Energy supply is unpredictable during natural calamities.

Doyeli sanyal 11/21/2023

Solar Energy
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1. Solar energy can be
collected passively or
actively.
2. Solar thermal systems
create steam to
generate electricity.
3. Photovoltaics
generate electricity
directly.

FIGURE: Cumulative
installed capacity for
wind and solar power,
with estimates for 2025.

Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance, 2018; Power

Technology, 2018
Solar Energy Abundance
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FIGURE
Cumulative
average annual
solar radiation.
Within six hours,
deserts receive
more energy from
the sun than
humans consume
in a year.

Source: German Aerospace

Center, 2012
Electricity through Photovoltaic cell

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FIGURE: In a solar
photovoltaic (PV) panel, the
n-type silicon layer contains
traces of an element such as
phosphorus, with more outer-
shell electrons than silicon,
while the p-type silicon layer
contains an element such as
boron, with fewer outer-shell
electrons. When sunlight
strikes the panel, photons
dislodge electrons, which
travel through a circuit,
creating an electrical
current.
 Wind Energy
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 Wind power could meet all our energy needs.

 China is now the world’s largest producer of wind turbines.

 Turbines pose risks to wildlife, like most energy sources, but careful
placement and operation can reduce risks.

 Wind energy provides the largest share of renewable energy,

roughly twice that of solar energy

 The total installed capacity of wind and solar systems is similar

 Total generation through wind is higher than solar as turbines can spin
day and night, while solar produces during the day
 Wind Energy

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China now has over 200 GW of installed wind

capacity, or more than all of Europe put
together. The United States is second in the
world with 100 GW of wind power, while
Germany is third with 60 GW. India (35 GW)
and the United Kingdom (20 GW) fill out the
top five wind power leaders.
Wind could meet all our energy needs
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FIGURE: U.S. wind resource
map. Mountain ranges
and areas of the High
Plains have the highest
wind potential, but much
of the country has fair to
good wind supply.

The Global Wind Energy

Council calculates that
wind could supply 40
times the current world
electricity supply and five
times all global energy
consumption if all the
potential were tapped.

Source: U.S. Department of Energy

2. Non-Renewable energy sources
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• Fossil fuels provide most 80 Global energy from fossil fuels

of the world’s energy.
% (approx)
• Transportation uses the
greatest amount of 20 Global energy from wind, water,
energy in the United % solar, nuclear (approx)
States.

• Energy consumption is Fraction of energy lost as heat in

rising rapidly in the 2/3
developing world. producing electricity from fossil
fuel combustion
45 Share of U.S. energy for
% transportation
Non-Renewable energy sources
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FIGURE World electricity

demand will grow
rapidly as we electrify
transportation and
heating. Fossil fuels now
supply about two-thirds
of global electricity, but
that share is expected to
decline to one quarter
by 2050.

Source: McKinsey Energy Insights

2019
  We have a huge amount of coal.
 Burning coal releases many pollutants.
Coal  Clean coal technology remains uneconomical.
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Coal is fossilized plant material compacted over millions of years

into a rock-like, carbon-rich fuel. Because it derives from fibrous
plant residue, coal contains larger and more complex carbon
compounds than oil. Coal is found in every geologic system since
the Silurian Age 400 million years ago, but most deposits date to the
Carboniferous period (286 million to 360 million years ago) when the
earth’s climate was warmer and wetter than it is now. Because coal
takes so long to form, it is essentially a nonrenewable resource.
Because they originate in anoxic swamp beds, coal deposits
contain sulfur (common in low-oxygen biological systems), as well as
metals such as mercury and cadmium, which plants accumulate
from soils. These become important pollutants when coal is burned.
  Tar sands, deep ocean deposits, and tight shale formations that once were
Oil thought impossible to access have expanded our oil supplies.
 The Arctic Ocean could be the second-largest oil source in the world.
 Oil refineries supply many useful products but produce hazardous air
pollutants.
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Like coal, petroleum is derived from organic molecules created by living

organisms millions of years ago and buried in sediments, where high pressures
and temperatures concentrated and transformed them into energy-rich
compounds. While coal originates as vegetation in peat swamps, though, oil
derives mainly from marine algae and plankton in coastal seas. Oil therefore
tends to be associated with sedimentary sand or shale (mud) deposits. Like
coal, oil often contains sulfur because of the anoxic environment in which it
was deposited. Depending on its age and history, a petroleum deposit will have
varying mixtures of oil, gas, and solid tar like materials. Extracting and
processing these deposits can be expensive, complex, and often dangerous.
But the different carbon molecules in oil are readily used and transformed,
once extracted. This makes oil useful for countless purposes, from gasoline and
other fuels to the raw material for a host of petrochemicals, including plastics
and pesticides.
 Oil
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In an oil deposit, liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons can migrate up

through cracks and pores out of the sediments in which they
formed and into surrounding rock layers. Oil and gas move upward
(over millions of years) because they are less dense than the
surrounding rock. Oil and gas deposits generally accumulate under
layers of shale or other impermeable sediments, especially where
folding and deformation of systems create pockets that trap
upward-moving, low-density hydrocarbons. In these folds, oil fills
spaces in a porous sandstone or limestone, much like water
saturating a sponge. Many major oil fields include thousands of
wells that dominate the landscape over very large areas.
Difference between Crude/Shale Oil and Natural Gas
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 Crude Oil
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In the beginning, there was oil. Over millions of years, plants and
animal bones exposed to pressure and heat are compressed until
they’re mashed into a gooey organic compound called a
hydrocarbon. This is oil, sweet, bubbly crude. Conventional oil is
often found at a depth of around 6,000 feet in deposits of varying
size.

Crude oil is often drilled through more straightforward methods

than shale and natural gas. A hole is drilled straight into the earth.
Then, a pump jack is set up, and the oil is essentially sucked from
the ground.
With the second-largest deposit of crude oil in the world, Saudi
Arabia has a vast network of crude oil pumps to match.

11/21/2023
 Oil Reserve
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FIGURE The Middle

East now accounts for
a much smaller
percent of the known,
economically
recoverable oil than in
previous years. The
numbers here add to
more than 100
percent due to
rounding.

Source: CIA Factbook, 2016

Oil Production
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FIGURE Hubbert’s
curve describes
petroleum
production. Dots
show actual
production. The area
under the curve
represents the
amount of
economically
recoverable oil (Gb =
billion barrels).

Source: Jean Laherrer, www.hubbertpeak.org

 Shale Oil
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Around the world, below the gravel, rocks, and deposits of crude oil
that helped build oil-rich nations like Saudi Arabia, sits the shale layer.
The shale layer can range as deep as 9,000 feet.

The primary distinction between crude or conventional oil and shale

oil is the way it collects. The oil in shale is typically found in smaller
batches. As a result, shale oil often needs to be fractured so that the
oil trapped within the shale can be recovered.

As technology advanced, so, did the means for discovering and

recovering oil. Modern methods allow for holes 9,000 feet deep and
more than 10,000 feet horizontally. The United States tech-first
approach to drilling has been one of the critical factors in the
country’s oil and gas ascendancy.
 Natural Gas
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Natural gas can be found intermingled among the deposits of crude

oil and shale oil. It can also be found in what is known as tight sand
deposits, too. The primary difference between oil (either shale or
crude) and natural gas is the degree to which either needs to be
refined.

When crude and shale are pumped from the earth, they’re full of
different substances that need to be extensively refined before
they’re of any use. The word “crude” is applied for a reason. Natural
gas, on the other hand, is composed almost entirely of its most
valuable component: methane. As a result, less work is required
during the refining process.

Because it consists of simpler, purer compounds than coal or oil, gas

burns more cleanly than either coal or oil, and it produces only half
as much CO2 as an equivalent amount of coal during combustion
Natural Gas FIGURE: Proven natural
gas reserves by region.
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Russia and Middle east
are home to the world’s
most abundant supply of
natural gas.

World consumption of
natural gas is growing by
about 2.2 % per year.

Gas can be shipped

easily and economically
through buried pipelines

Source: U.S. Energy Information Agency, 2018

Growing Energy • Energy consumption of a nation is
Needs usually considered as an index of its
development, because almost all the
development activities are directly or
indirectly dependent upon energy.
• Power generation and energy
consumption are crucial to economic
development as economy of any
nation depends upon availability of
energy resources.
• There are wide disparities in per
capita energy use of developed and
the developing nations. With
increased speed of development in
the developing nations energy needs
are also increasing.
Growing Energy It is inevitable truth that now
there is an urgent need of thinking
Needs in terms of alternative sources of
energy, which are also termed as
non-conventional energy sources
which include:

✓ Solar energy needs equipment

such as solar heat collectors, solar
cells, solar cooker, solar water
heater, solar furnace and solar
power plants .
✓ Wind energy
✓ Hydropower, Tidal energy,
ocean thermal energy, geothermal
energy, biomass, biogas, biofuels
etc.
Net zero by 2050 requires huge leaps in clean energy innovation

Source: International Energy Agency, 2021