Sources of Energy

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Written by: Devrat Agrawal
  • Energy is the ability to do work.
  • Sources of energy can be broadly classified into two categories –
Non – Renewable resource Renewable Resource
1. These resources are present in quantity.
2. These cause pollution.
3. Maintenance cost is low.
4. Examples: coal, petroleum etc. 		1. These resources are present in unlimited quantity.
2. These are pollution free.
3. Maintenance cost is high.
4. Examples: solar energy, wind energy, thermal energy etc.



Some sources of energy are:

Sources Benefits Problems Explanation
CoalCoal 1. Reliability: can supply power during peak time.
2. Cheap
3. Present in huge quantity. 		1. Causes green house gas emission.
2. Creates million tons of waste.
3. Causes destruction of habitat near coal mines. 		Coal is burned, resulting heat is used to heat water which in turns helps to rotate turbines connected to an electric generator. This rotation of turbine generates electricity.
PetroleumPetroleum 1. It can be extracted easily.
2. It can be easily transported.
3. It has broad areas for application. 		1. Expensive than other sources.
2. Resouces are limited.
3. Contributes to environmental pollution. 		It is burned to heat water and hence rotate turbines or it can be burned under pressure to emit hot exhaust gases which rotate turbine. This rotation of turbine generates electricity.
Natural GasNatural Gas 1. It is environmentally clean source of energy.
2. Easy and safe to use.
3. Is easy to transport through pipelines. 		1. Is very expensive to store.
2. It is highly combustible.
3. Has long processing time. 		There are variety of ways to generate electricity.The most basic is heating of water to steam which further helps to rotate turbines. This rotation of turbine generates electricity.
Solar EnergySolar Energy 1. Low maintenance cost.
2. Reduces electricity bill.
3. Has application in various fields. 		1. Weather dependent.
2. High set-up cost.
3. Needs large area for set-up. 		Photovoltaic (PV) panels convert the sun’s rays into electricity by exciting electrons in silicon cells using the photons of light from the sun.
Wind EnergyWind Energy 1. Can provide power to remote locations.
2. Small footprint.
3. Clean source of energy. 		1. Wind fluctuates.
2. Kills birds.
3. Installation is expensive. 		Wind turbine usually consists of propellers; the turbine can be connected to a generator to generate electricity, or the wind is used as mechanical power to perform tasks such as pumping water or grinding grain.
Hydro PowerHydro Power 1. Clean source of energy.
2. Flow of water can be controlled.
3. Creates reservoir that provides various recreational activities. 		1. Fish population is impacted.
2. Disturbs quality and flow of water.
3. Can be impacted by drought. 		The most common type of hydroelectric power plant uses a dam on a river to store water in a reservoir. Water released from the reservoir flows through a turbine, spinning it, which in turn activates a generator to produce electricity.
Geothermal EnergyGeothermal Energy 1. No fuel is required.
2. Small footprint.
3. Has a potential capacity to supply power. 		1. Location specific.
2. High cost of energy conversion.
3. Causes surface instability. 		Geothermalpower plants use steam produced from reservoirs of hot water found a couple of miles or more below the Earth’s surface. The steam rotates a turbine that activates a generator, which produces electricity.
  • Apart from these sources of energy OTEC, Nuclear Energy, Biomass Energy, Tidal Energy etc are also used and are developed for sustainable development.
  • According to a report the development towards the clean energy sources is increasing at a rapid rate.
  • The following pie chart shows the dependency of world on different energy sources.

Energy Source Consumption

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