Geothermal and wind power

courtesy : Geothermal and wind power

Solar Energy

Sun is the primary source of energy. Sunlight is a clean, renewable source of energy. It is a sustainable resource, meaning it doesn’t run out, but can be maintained because the sun shines almost every day. Coal or gas are not sustainable or renewable: once they are gone, there is none left. More and more people are wanting to use clean, renewable energy such as solar, wind, geothermal steam and others. It is called ‘Green Power’. It lights our houses by day, dries our clothes and agricultural produce, keeps us warm and lots more. Its potential is however much larger

Advantages

• It is a perennial, natural source and free
• It is available in plenty
• It is non-polluting
• It does not emit any green house gases.
• Solar energy offers decentralization in most (sunny) locations, meaning self-reliant societies.
• One of the biggest advantages of solar energy is the ability to avoid the politics and price volatility that is increasingly characterizing fossil fuel markets.
• It doesn’t result in the destruction of forests and eco-systems that occurs with most fossil fuel operations.

Disadvantages

• Dependent on change in seasons / weather – hence they may not be used always
• Requires high initial investments for productive use
• Solar systems doesn’t work at night directly but the battery bank, which stores energy during day-time can be used during night.
• Solar electricity storage technology has not reached its potential yet.
• Solar panels are bulky. This is particularly true of the higher-efficiency, traditional silicon crystalline wafer solar modules.

Technologies for productive use of solar energy

Solar energy can be used to generate electricity. Through Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) cells, solar radiation gets converted into DC electricity directly. The generated electricity can either be used as it is or can be stored in the battery. The stored electrical energy can be used when solar energy is not available. SPV is nowadays successfully used for home and street lighting and water pumping in villages. In hilly areas, solar water heating is also being used.

Wind Energy

Wind is the natural movement of air across the land or sea. The wind when used to turn the blades of a wind mill turns the shaft to which they are attached. This movement of shaft through a pump or generator produces electricity. The Potential for wind power generation for grid interaction has been estimated at about 3,02,251 MW ( MW taking sites having wind power density greater than 200 W/sq. m at 80 m hub-height with 2% land availability in potential areas for setting up wind farms @ 9 MW/sq. km. India now has the 4^th largest wind power installed capacity in the world which has reached 39990.10 MW (as on Oct, 2021). Private agencies own 95 % of the wind farms in India.

Advantages

• It is environment friendly
• Its freely and abundantly available

Disadvantages

• High investment requirement
• Wind speed is not uniform all the time which affects power generated.

# Geothermal and wind power

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