Petroleum, natural gas, coal, nitrogen, uranium and water power are examples of conventional sources of energy. They’re also called non-renewable sources of energy and are mainly fossil fuels, except water power.
Rising growth of population has created a tremendous pressure on the conventional resources of energy and thus the concept of sustainable development get prominent position.
Coal in India occurs in two important types of coal fields. They are the Gondwana coal fields and Tertiary coal fields. Out of the total coal reserves and production in India, Gondwana coal fields contribute 98% and the rest 2% is produced by tertiary coal fields.
- The Gondwana coal fields are located in the sedimentary rock systems of lower Gondwana Age. They are distributed chiefly in the valleys of the Damodar (Bihar – West Bengal); the Son (Madhya Pradesh); the Mahanadi (Orissa), the Godavari (Andhra Pradesh) and the Wardha (Maharashtra).
- Tetiary coalfields occur in the extra-peninsular areas which include Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Sikkim
Most of the petroleum occurrences in India are associated with anticlines and fault traps in the rock formations of the tertiary age. In regions of folding, anticlines or domes, it occurs where oil is trapped in the crest of the upfold. The oil bearing layer is a porous limestone or sandstone through which oil may flow. The oil is prevented from rising or sinking by intervening non-porous layers.
Petroleum is also found in fault traps between porous and non-porous rocks. Gas, being lighter usually occurs above the oil. About 63 per cent of India’s petroleum production is from Mumbai High, 18 per cent from Gujarat and 16 per cent from Assam.
- In India, uranium is embedded in the igneous and metamorphic rocks in Bihar, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and some parts of Himalayas. It occurs in igneous rocks of Bihar, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. A substantial source of uranium deposits is also found in the monazite sands along the Kerala coasts.
- In Jaduguda, Jharkhand uranium occurs associated with hard compact and somewhat mylonitised chlorite-sericite schist and granular metasedimentaries. Indicated ore reserves at Jaduguda have been estimated at 2.8 Mt with an average grade of about 0.08% uranium oxide. Uranium is found associated with copper mineralisation in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand and Lalitpur district, Uttar Pradesh.
Mazor Atomic Minerals are:
- Uranium
- Monazite
- Ilmenite
- Rutile
- Zircon
Thorium is principally obtained from monazite. The beach sands of Kerala in Palghat and Quilon district contain the world’s richest monazite deposits. It also occurs on the sands of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
Development of non-conventional sources of energy is of prime importance for the sustainable and inclusive growth in the state. Conventional energy resources are depleting at an accelerated rate and non-conventional resources could play a leading role in energy security in the state.
Non-Conventional energy resources could minimise the transmission cost and energy divide between the remote locations
- Indian has a unique geographical location in the tropical climate which enables it with high solar radiation intensity throughout the year.
- Solar radiation which we receive as heat and light can be converted to useful thermal energy or for production of electricity either through solar photovoltaic route or through solar thermal route.
- Sky is clear with abundant sunlight for about 300 days a year
- Solar insulation is greater than 4-7 kwh per square per metre per day for the nation.
- solar energy could be used as heat energy or could be converted into electricity through photovoltic cells
- National Solar Mission
- Wind can be used as a source of energy in those regions where strong and constant winds blow throughout the year. Wind energy can be used for pumping water for irrigation and also for generating electricity. India has about 45,000MW estimated wind power potential. Prospective sites for generating electricity wind have been located in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. The potential that can be tapped at present is limited to around 13,000 MW. But at present 2,483MW is generated through wind which places India in the fifth position globally after Germany, USA, Denmark and Spain.
Hydroelectricity is electricity that is made by the movement of water. It is usually made with dams that block a river to make a reservoir or collect water that is pumped there. When the water is released, the huge pressure behind the dam forces the water down pipes that lead to a turbine.
The rivers originating from the northern mountainous region are the most important source of the generation of Hydroelectricity . They have their sources in glaciers and snowfields, therefore, they are perennial and their flow of water is regular throughout the year. Velocity of flow is high because of dissected terrain and the competition for use of water for other purposes is low.
The northeastern part of this mountainous region, constituting the Brahmaputra basin, has the largest power generating potential. The Indus basin in the northwest is at second place. The Himalayan tributaries of the Ganga have a potential of 11,000 MW. Thus, three-fourths of the total potential is confined in the river basins originating from the northern mountainous region.
The rivers of peninsular India are comparatively poor in this respect. They depend entirely on the rainfall for their flow, and therefore, their flow is very erratic exceptionally high flow during the monsoon period fol1owed by a long period of lean flow
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