Essay, Paragraph or Speech on “Our Energy Resources” Complete Essay, Speech for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Our Energy Resources

Social and economic development of any country is directly proportional to the development of energy resources of that country. Industrial development is impossible without energy. Science and technology is at the root of all power development projects. However, the present stock of energy resources of the world is limited and the world can be benefited from this stock only for few decades. On the other hand, the consumption rate of energy is increasing day-by-day because of technical advancement and increasing population. Sources of energy have been getting particular attention all over the world in the face of the realisation that some of them are non renewable. Hence mankind is searching new source of energy and the development of renewable sources of energy along with existing non-renewable energy and their conservation.

Energy Policy in India—The Government of India has formulated an energy policy with the objective of ensuring adequate energy supply. The main features of the energy policy are :

(i) accelerated exploration of domestic conventional energy resources.

(ii) Intensification of exploration to achieve indigenous production of oil and gas,

(iii) Management of demand of oil and other forms of energy,

(iv) Energy conservation and management,

(v) Optimisation of utilisation of existing capability in the country,

(vi) development and exploration of renewable sources of energy to meet energy requirements of rural communities,

(vii) Intensification of resources and development activities in new and renewable energy resources,

(viii) Organisation of training for personnel engaged at various level in the energy sector.

Conventional Sources of Energy

Coal is one of the most important sources of energy and is used for various purpose such as heating of houses, as fuel for boilers and steam engines and for generation of electricity by thermal power plants. It can be made to yield both gas and liquid fuels. Coal has also become a precious source of production of chemical and industrial importance. All fossil fuels namely coal. oil and natural gas, are generally considered to be the result of decomposition and conversion of plants and other living matter.

When the plant dies it gets decomposed by combining with the oxygen present in the atmosphere to form carbon dioxide and water and the plant matter rots away. The plant matter is attacked by anaerobic bacteria which does not require free oxygen to live. In this process both hydrogen and oxygen escape and slowly and gradually the carbon concentration in the residue goes on increasing with the passage of time, the matter gets compressed by the additional weight of accumulating dust, stone and other matter and forms a spongy mass called peat. This was the first stage in the formation of coal. After the passage of over 250 million years, due to compression, more gases were forced out and the proposition of carbon went on increasing further. In this way the peat converted to various forms of coal such as lignite and anthracite, bituminous coal. Most of the coal, which is obtained today, is from underground mines of different types depending on their distance from the Earth surface.

Coal comprises three fourth of the total fossil fuels of the world. India ranks third in terms of world production of coal.

Hydrocarbon Vision 2025

The government has released a report to remove the barriers of demand and supply in energy. The study conducted suggests the following measures :

(1) Revision of foreign ownership regulation for refinery operation allowing hundred percent foreign ownership.

(2) Elimination of Govt. subsidies for petroleum for next 3-5 years.

(3) Target to meet 90% of petroleum and diesel needs through domestic sources.

(4) Encouragement to allow gas prices to float to international level.

Indian Power Scene

Sources                                                         Total

Coal, Gas, Oil                                              70%

Hydro-electricity                                        25%

Renewable Energy Resources                  3%

Nuclear Energy                                            2%

Oil and Natural Gas

Like coal, petroleum is also derived from plants and also from dead animals that lived in remote past. Natural gas has also been produced in the Earth’s crust by similar processes and this is also a combustible fuel. The exploration of oil on a large scale redly started after 1860, the year. New engines and machines came into existence and productivity increased. Indeed this was a period of the industrial revolution. Oil and its derived products are very Convenient and versatile as fuels and can easily be transported.

Liquid Fuel Policy

The Liquid Fuel Policy reviewed by government of India in October 1998 aims at proper use of liquid fuels for power generation. Some of the vital points of the policy are :

(1) Permission to all non traditional fuels, for power generation.

(2) Permission to HSD for power generation for isolated areas where diesel based capacities are sought to be set up and where other fuels is not feasible.

(3) Environment friendly step by using integrated gasification combined cycle technology which can bring sulphur within prescribed limits.

Efforts in the Field of Gas

In India, efforts made by the oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India since the late 1950s have led to the identification of a number of oil and gas deposits both offshore and onshore. The onshore fields were mainly discovered in the Mumbai, Gujrat, Assam and Arunchal Pradesh, and the offshore fields in the sea were nobly the Mumbai High fields such as North and South Basin and South Tapti. Oil and gas has also been discovered in the Godavari Basin and on the East West. The new exploration strategy developed during the first two years of Seventh Plan places emphasis on intensive exploration survey and drilling in order to add to petroleum reserves and to augment production as early as possible. At present there are 12 refineries in the public sector in India.

Hydro Energy–Hydro-energy can also be considered as an indirect source of solar energy. The potential energy of water stored at a height is converted into mechanical and electrical energy as this water fallsand drives turbines and electric generators. Hydro energy can also be tapped from flowing and falling water, as in the case of the Himalayan hills.

Today about 23 percent of the total electric power in the world comes from hydro power. The total hydro-electric potential in India has been estimated at about 472 x 109 kilowatt hours or 472 terrawatt hours normally. But we have exploited only a little more than 16 percent of the total potential. In addition, it is also estimated that an annual energy generation of about 25 terrawatt could be obtained economically through mini and micro-hydal project, coal drops and other possible low heat developments. Several fields projects in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are being initiated to utilise the potential availability of canal drops falls, run off river systems etc.

Electrical energy generation by hydro-electric power plants, is not polluting and uses a renewable source of energy. However there are several problems associated with the construction of giant dams on natural water ways. The construction of such dams alter the downstream ecology as well as that in the lake area behind the dam. Huge areas get submerged and flora and fauna or any agricultural produce of this land get affected. People and towns in this area have to be removed and rehabilitated, causing disurbance and sometimes hardship. Again the time taken for such larger schemes to fructify is usually quite long. For these reasons emphasis is now being given to supplement such large projects with small size hydro-projects called mini hydro or micro hydel projects which can be built on small streams and even on canals, without large dams.

The National Hydro-electric Power Corporation (NHPC) was incorporated in 1975 with the objective to plan, promote and organize the integrated development of hydro-electric power. Projects constructed by NHPC are at Salal (both in Jammu and Kashmir) Tanakpur (U.P.) Chamera (H.P.), etc. TheNational Projects Construction Corporation (NPCC) was set up in 1957 as a joint venture of central and state government as a construction-contracting agency for the execution of multipurpose river valley projects. As a part of divers fiction plan, the corporation proposes to take up the work of transmissions lines also.

Electricity Bill 2000 —This bill has been meant to reform the process of power generator and restructure the power sector to bring about more transparency accountability and efficiency. It has suggested transforming State Electricity Board into independently managed corporations for power generation, transmission and distribution. It is expected that the bill shall be useful in confidence building among foreign investors and at the same time shall streamline the process by breaking state monopoly. It also aims at maintaining a power pool.

Bio-Energy —Bio-energy includes those processes and biological forms of matter such as plants, vegetable, enzymes etc. which provide the basis for energy or its conversion from one form to another form of energy. The widest use of bio-energy is in the traditional way, where wood plants and agricultural matter are directly burnt to provide heat. Vegetable biomass is a new name for plant organic matter, wherein solar energy is trapped and stored through the process of photosynthesis in which carbon-dioxide and water are transformed and form energy rich organic compounds. Biomass covers a wide range of materials encompassing all kinds of animals organic and synthetic wastes. This biotechnology is one of the oldest manufacturing activities, having started ever, since man learnt to produce bread, wine, beer and cheese. However only recently the process is well understood and mankind has started to move in the right direction to make better. Major components of biomass are mainlycarbohydrates sugars, starches and cellulose with variable nitrogen and phosphorus contents. Animal organic and synthetics wastes cover the balance components. There are three basic systems for conversion of biomass into energy resources.

(a) Combustion—Chemical decomposition through high temperature upto 500°C in partial or total absence of air to produce fuel gas, oil (methanol) and charcoal.

(b) Biogasification—Anaerobic digestion of biomass to produce combustible gas (biogas) comprising of methane, hydrogen etc.

(c) Fermentation—Conversion of sugar and starch into alcohol to produce ethanol and solid residual fuel.

There are immense benefits with such a planned biomass cultivation. It offers clean fuel/energy and maintains an unpolluted environment, reduces, carbondioxide content in the atmosphere and improves soil and water retention capacity of the threatened lands.

Bio Gas—Bio gas is a clean unpolluted and cheap source of energy in rural areas. It contains 55 to 70 percent methane, which is inflammable. Bio gas is produced in a Biogas plant commonly known as Gobar Gas Plant through a process called digestion. The manurial value of the dung is enhanced in the process. A biogas plants helps in obtaining both cooking fuel and enrich manure from the some quantity of cattle dung. Village sanitation is also improved; environmental conditions are upgraded as the forest cover is protected by saving fuel wood. Bio-gas is also used for running engines of small horse power. Large scale promotion of bio gas plants helps to generate employment for masons, village technicians and unskilled workers in rural areas.

The National Project for Bio gas Development (NPBD) is being implemented by the Department of Non-Conventional Energy sources is co-operation with State Departments, State Nodal Agencies and Governmental Agencies. NPBD caters to the promotion of family type biogas plants. It was started in 1981-82. The broad objectives of the project are (a) to provide energy in a clean and unpolluted form (b) to produce enriched manure to supplement the use of chemical fertilizers, (c) to bring improvement in the life of rural womenfolk and children by returning them from drudgery (d) to improve sanitation and hygiene.

Non Conventional Sources -Mineral fuels, coal petroleum and natural gas are all exhaustible sources of energy. Enormously growing demand for energy and the increasing exploration of the available energy resources is causing rapid depletion in their reserves which may thus not last for a verylong time. Efforts are therefore being made to develop non-conventional energy resources which are either non exhaustible or renewable. Energy from water, wind power, bio-gas, bio-mass and solar energy hold out a major promise in this direction. Since water resources are limited only to a relatively fewer regions, greater stress is being laid on harnessing wind power, solar energy and development of biogas and biomass projects.

MINERAL AND ENERGY RESOURC2S OF INDIA

• India is the largest producer of Mica in the world.
• Gold is found in the veins of quartz rocks.
• Dolomite is limeston with 45% content of magnesium.
• Gypsum used in manufacturing of cement is also known as seleenite.
• 99% of zinc is produced in the Jawar area in Udairpur (also known as Machimagrajawarmala) of Rajasthan.
• Degana is Rajasthan and Chandipur in W.B. are major producing region of tungsten.
• Coal contributes 65% of total electricity generation 96% of total coal belongs to Gondwana rocks.
• 61% of total demand of commercial energy is fulfilled by coal.
• Coal is found in sedomentary rocks.
• Mumbai high oil field is the largest oil producing field of India. It is offshore oil field of India.
• Two third of oil production comes from off shore petroleum.
• Jamnagar (Motikawadi) refinering established by Reliance is the largest oil refinery of India. • India imports 60% of its requirement of petroleum.
• Natural Gas from Mumbai high is transported from Hazira (Gujrat) to Jagdishpur (UP). It is known as HBT pipeline.
• Uranium is found in Dharwar and archean system of rocks.
• The Gulf of Cambay near aliset island has huge oil reserve.
• Bassein oil field is located near Mumbai High.
• Of Gujrat oil fields Ankleshwar oil field is most import.