Alternate Energy Solutions
Alternate Energy SourcesSolar energy
India receives solar energy equivalent to over 5,000 trillion kWh per year. The daily average solar energy incident varies from 4 -7 kWh per square meter depending upon the location. The annual average global solar radiation on horizontal surface, incident over India, is about 5.5 kWh per square meter per day. There are about 300 clear sunny days in most parts of the country.
The solar energy can be typically collected in the form of heat and various applications can be performed. This form termed as solar thermal energy which leads to applications wherein water is heated and used for drinking, bathing or even for various processes involving heat in industries.
This energy can also be collected to generate electricity using a semiconductor technology. Multiple panels of this material can produce enough current to run appliances like computer, LED lighting fixtures or even water pumps.
Wind energy
Wind Energy is the energy contained in the force of the winds blowing across the earth's surface. The wind is one of our earliest energy resources. Wind has been harnessed throughout recorded history, first to power boats and grind grain, later to pump water, press oil, saw lumber and make paper.
The first windmills were mentioned at the beginning of the Islamic civilization (7th Century). Windmills were developed in Persia for about 500-900 A.D and used paddles made of bundled reeds. Egyptians may have been the first to go up the Nile River around 4th Century B.C., powered by wind. Ancient Chinese used vertical axis windmills to grind grain and pump water. Windmills were introduced to Europe by the Crusaders around 1300 A.D.
The modern wind turbine is the result of design and material advances made during the 1980s and 1990s, which have enabled wind turbines to become increasingly efficient. Today, wind turbines of the same size as the traditional European windmill can generate 250 to 300 kilowatts of power-a nearly tenfold increase in efficiency.
Modern wind energy systems consist of three basic components:- Tower on which the wind turbine is mounted
- Rotor that is turned by the wind
- Nacelle, which houses the equipment, including the generator, that converts the mechanical energy in the spinning rotor into electricity.
Bio mass energy
Biogas typically refers to a gas produced by the biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Biogas originates from biogenic material and is a type of biofuel.
One type of biogas is produced by anaerobic digestion or fermentation of biodegradable materials such as biomass, manure or sewage, municipal waste, green waste and food waste. This type of biogas comprises of primarily methane and carbon dioxide.
The gases methane, hydrogen and carbon monoxide can be combusted or oxidized with oxygen. Air contains 21% oxygen. This energy release allows biogas to be used as a fuel. Biogas can be used as a low-cost fuel in any country for any heating purpose, such as cooking. It can also be used in modern waste management facilities where it can be used to run any type of heat engine, to generate either mechanical or electrical power.