Power Resources: Conventional and Non-Conventional Sources of Energy

Source, fuel and electricity

• A power resource is a natural source or fuel that gives useful energy.
• Electricity is an energy carrier made from several sources.
• Coal, oil, gas and firewood are fuels.
• Sunlight, flowing water, wind and tides supply energy without burning.

Two separate labels

• Conventional means long used in a place. Non-conventional means newer or less used there.
• These labels can change over time.
• Renewable means nature replenishes the source in useful time.
• Renewable does not mean harmless. Biomass can run out if cut faster than it regrows.

• The labels do not measure pollution or cost. Compare those for each project.

Coal and Indian coalfields

• Ancient plants were buried and changed under heat and pressure.
• Over millions of years this formed coal.
• A coal plant makes steam. Steam turns a turbine and generator.
• Coal is finite. Burning it releases carbon dioxide and air pollutants.
• Raniganj is in West Bengal. Jharia and Bokaro are in Jharkhand.
• Dhanbad is a district that includes Jharia.
• See coal power plants.

Petroleum and natural gas

• Petroleum is crude oil from underground rock. Refineries turn it into petrol, diesel and more.
• Natural gas occurs with oil or in separate fields.
• Both are fossil fuels. They form far more slowly than we use them.
• India has oil or gas output near Digboi, offshore Mumbai and the Krishna–Godavari basin.
• Gas burns with less particle pollution than coal. Methane leaks matter for climate.

Hydropower

• Moving water turns a turbine. The turbine turns a generator.
• Bhakra and Nagarjuna Sagar show large hydro’s role.
• Dams can displace people and change river flow.
• Water supply shifts with seasons.

Solar

• A solar cell turns light into electricity. Many cells make a module.
• Solar heaters use sunlight for heat without making electricity first.
• Panels give less power at night and under heavy cloud.
• Installed capacity is the rated maximum. It is not hourly output.
• Storage and a flexible grid help fill gaps.
• See solar energy in India.

Wind

• Wind pushes turbine blades. A generator turns that motion into electricity.
• Wind speed changes, so output varies.
• MNRE calls India fourth in the world for installed wind capacity.
• Its August 2026 table shows about 58.5 gigawatts.
• A 100-megawatt wind farm cannot promise 100 megawatts every hour.
• Muppandal in Tamil Nadu is a well-known wind area.
• Sources: MNRE wind overview; MNRE physical progress.

Nuclear

• A reactor uses fission. Heat from fission makes steam to drive a turbine.
• Fusion joins light nuclei. Commercial reactors do not use it.
• NPCIL lists stations at Tarapur, Rawatbhata, Kalpakkam, Narora and Kaiga.
• Nuclear power is low-carbon in operation. It needs strict safety and waste management.
• Source: NPCIL, all plants.

Earth, sea and waste

• Geothermal energy uses heat from inside Earth, where suitable resources exist.
• Tidal power uses tides. France opened the La Rance tidal barrage in 1966.
• Wave power and ocean thermal power remain site-dependent.
• Biogas forms when microbes break down dung and organic waste without oxygen.
• MNRE describes raw biogas as about 55–65% methane.
• The leftover slurry can be used as fertiliser after proper handling.
• Source: MNRE biogas programmes.