The document outlines the objectives, outcomes, and content of a course on renewable energy sources and technologies. The objectives are to impart knowledge about renewable energy sources and issues related to harnessing renewable energy. The outcomes include the ability to create awareness and understand the current and future roles of renewable energy. The course content covers 5 units - renewable energy sources, wind energy, solar PV and thermal systems, biomass energy, and other sources like tidal, wave, and hydrogen energy. It provides details on the technologies, principles, and applications of various renewable energy resources.

2. OBJECTIVES:
• To impart knowledge and create
• Awareness about renewable Energy
Sources and technologies.
• Adequate inputs on a variety of issues in
harnessing renewable Energy.
• Recognize current and possible future role of
renewable energy sources.
OUTCOMES:
• Ability to create awareness about renewable
Energy Sources and technologies.
• Ability to get adequate inputs on a variety of
issues in harnessing renewable Energy.
• Ability to recognize current and possible future role of renewable energy sources.
• Ability to explain the various renewable energy resources and technologies and
their applications.
• Ability to understand basics about biomass energy.
• Ability to acquire knowledge about solar energy.

3. UNIT I RENEWABLE ENERGY (RE) SOURCES 9
Environmental consequences of fossil fuel use, Importance of renewable sources of energy,
Sustainable Design and development, Types of RE sources, Limitations of RE sources, Present
Indian and international energy scenario of conventional and RE sources.
UNIT II WIND ENERGY 9
Power in the Wind – Types of Wind Power Plants(WPPs)–Components of WPPs-Working of
WPPs- Siting of WPPs-Grid integration issues of WPPs.
UNIT III SOLAR PV AND THERMAL SYSTEMS 9
Solar Radiation, Radiation Measurement, Solar Thermal Power Plant, Central Receiver Power
Plants, Solar Ponds.- Thermal Energy storage system with PCM- Solar Photovoltaic systems :
Basic Principle of SPV conversion – Types of PV Systems- Types of Solar Cells, Photovoltaic cell
concepts: Cell, module, array ,PV Module I-V Characteristics, Efficiency & Quality of the Cell,
series and parallel connections, maximum power point tracking, Applications.
UNIT IV BIOMASS ENERGY 9
Introduction-Bio mass resources –Energy from Bio mass: conversion processes-Biomass
Cogeneration-Environmental Benefits. Geothermal Energy: Basics, Direct Use, Geothermal
Electricity. Mini/micro hydro power: Classification of hydropower schemes, Classification of
water turbine, Turbine theory, Essential components of hydroelectric system.
UNIT V OTHER ENERGY SOURCES 9
Tidal Energy: Energy from the tides, Barrage and Non Barrage Tidal power systems. Wave
Energy: Energy from waves, wave power devices. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)-
Hydrogen Production and Storage- Fuel cell : Principle of working- various types - construction
and applications. Energy Storage System- Hybrid Energy Systems.

4. UNIT I
RENEWABLE ENERGY (RE) SOURCES
• Environmental consequences of fossil fuel use,
• Importance of renewable sources of energy,
• Sustainable Design and development,
• Types of RE sources,
• Limitations of RE sources,
• Present Indian and international energy scenario of
conventional and RE sources.

5. What are fossil fuels?
• Fossil fuels are rock-like, gas, or liquid resources
that are burned to generate power.
• They include coal, natural gas, and oil, and are used
as an energy source in
the electricity and transportation sectors.
• They’re also a leading source of the world’s global
warming pollution.

6. Environmental consequences
Contents
• Land Use
• Water Use
• Hazardous Materials
• Life-Cycle Global Warming Emissions
• Wildlife and Habitat
• Public Health and Community
• Air Emissions

7. Extracting fossil fuels
• There are two main methods for removing fossil fuels from the
ground:
• Mining.
• Underground mining
• Surface mining
• Drilling. Oil and gas drilling
• Mining is used to extract solid fossil fuels, such as coal, by
digging, scraping, or otherwise exposing buried resources.
• Drilling methods help extract liquid or gaseous fossil fuels that
can be forced to flow to the surface, such as conventional oil
and natural gas. Both processes carry serious health and
environmental impacts.

10. Water impact
• When oil and gas are extracted, water that had been trapped
in the geologic formation is brought to the surface. This
“produced water” can carry with it naturally-occurring
dissolved solids, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and radioactive
materials in concentrations that make it unsuitable for
human consumption and difficult to dispose of safely.
• When hydraulic fracturing methods are used, the total
amount of waste water is amplified by the large volume of
water and chemicals involved in the process. Drilling and
fracking shale gas formations (like the Marcellus Shale)
typically requires 3 to 6 million gallons of water per well, and
an additional 15,000-60,000 gallons of chemicals, many of
which are undisclosed to Federal regulators.
• Researchers could track only 353 chemicals from that larger
list and found that 25 percent of those chemicals cause
cancer or other mutations, and about half could severely
damage neurological, cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune
systems [13].

11. Global warming emissions
• Natural gas’s climate emissions are not only generated when it’s burned as a fuel at
power plants or in our homes. The full global warming impact of natural gas also
includes methane emissions from drilling wells and pipeline transportation.
• Methane, the main component of natural gas, is a much more potent greenhouse
gas than carbon dioxide—some 34 times more effective at trapping heat over a
100-year timescale and 86 times more effective over a 20-year timescale.
Preliminary studies and field measurements show that these so-called “fugitive”
emissions range from 1 to 9 percent of total natural gas lifecycle emissions.
Methane losses must be kept below 3.2 percent for natural gas power plants to
have lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions than coal.
• Oil drilling can also produce methane. Although it can be captured and used as an
energy source, the gas is often either vented (released) or flared (burned). Vented
methane contributes greatly to global warming, and poses a serious safety hazard.
Flaring the gas converts it from methane to carbon dioxide, which reduces its
impact but still releases additional greenhouse gases to into the atmosphere.
• The World Bank estimates that 5.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the equivalent
of 25 percent of total US consumption, is flared annually worldwide, generating
some 400 million tons of unnecessary carbon dioxide emissions [18].

12. Transport
• Transporting fossil fuels
Depending on where fossil fuels are extracted and used, the resource itself
may need to travel across long distances—but transporting fuel can
generate its own pollution, and increase the potential for catastrophic
accidents.
• Coal
In most cases, coal is transported from mines to power plants. In 2014,
approximately
68 percent of the coal used for electric power in the US was transported by
rail
13 percent was transported on river barge and another
11 percent by truck.
Train cars, barges, and trucks all run on diesel fuel, a major source of
nitrogen dioxide and soot, which carry substantial human health risks .
Transporting coal can also produce coal dust, which presents serious
cardiovascular and respiratory risks.

13. • Natural gas
Natural gas is transported over long distances by transmission
pipelines, while distribution pipelines deliver gas locally to homes
and businesses. But natural gas is also highly flammable, making
the process of transporting it from wellhead to homes and
businesses dangerous. Between 2008 and 2015, there were 5,065
significant safety incidents related to natural gas pipeline
transmission and distribution, leading to 108 fatalities and 531
injuries.

14. • Burning fossil fuels
• Some of the most significant hidden costs of fossil fuels are from the air
emissions that occur when they are burned. Unlike the extraction and
transport stages, in which coal, oil, and natural gas can have very different
types of impacts, all fossil fuels emit carbon dioxide and other harmful air
pollutants when burned. These emissions lead to a wide variety of public
health and environmental costs that are borne at the local, regional, national,
and global levels.
• Global warming emissions
• Of the many environmental and public health risks associated with burning
fossil fuels, the most serious in terms of its universal and potentially
irreversible consequences is global warming. In 2014, approximately 78
percent of US global warming emissions were energy-related emissions of
carbon dioxide. Of this, approximately 42 percent was from oil and other
liquids, 32 percent from coal.
• Non-fossil fuel energy generation technologies, like wind, solar, and
geothermal, contributed less than 1 percent of the total energy related
global warming emissions. Even when considering the full lifecycle carbon
emissions of all energy sources, coal, oil, and natural gas clearly stand out
with significantly higher greenhouse gas emissions .

15. Air pollution
• Burning fossil fuels emits a number of air pollutants that are harmful
to both the environment and public health.
• Sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions, primarily the result of burning coal,
contribute to acid rain and the formation of harmful particulate
matter. In 2014, fossil fuel combustion at power plants accounted for
64 percent of US SO2 emissions.
• Nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, a byproduct of all fossil fuel
combustion, contribute to acid rain and ground-level ozone (smog),
which can burn lung tissue and can make people more susceptible to
asthma, bronchitis, and other chronic respiratory diseases.
• Acid rain is formed when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides mix with
water, oxygen, and other chemicals in the atmosphere, leading to rain
and other precipitation that is mildly acidic. Acidic precipitation
increases the acidity of lakes and streams, which can be harmful to
fish and other aquatic organisms. It can also damage trees and
weaken forest ecosystems.

16. Green House Effect

17. Environmental Impacts of Solar Power
Two broad categories:
• Photovoltaic (PV) solar cells.
• Concentrating Solar thermal Plants (CSP).
Environmental impacts associated with solar power
• land use
• habitat loss
• water use
• use of hazardous materials in manufacturing
• can vary greatly depending on the technology.

18. Photovoltaic (PV) Solar cells
Bhadla Solar Park – 2245MW – India
Spread over 4500 hactare, Bhadla solar park near Jodhpur has a capacity
of 2245 MW which is set to be online in December 2019.

19. Concentrating Solar thermal Plants (CSP)
Noor Complex is the world’s largest concentrated solar power (CSP) plant, located in
the Sahara Desert. The project has a 580-megawatt capacity and is expected to
provide electricity for over 1 million people once completed by 2020.

20. Land Use
• Depending on their location, larger utility-scale solar facilities can
raise concerns about land degradation and habitat loss.
• Total land area requirements varies depending on the technology,
the topography of the site, and the intensity of the solar resource.
• Estimates for utility-scale PV systems range from 3.5 to 10 acres
per megawatt.
• Estimates for CSP facilities are between 4 and 16.5 acres per
megawatt.
• Unlike wind facilities, there is less opportunity for solar projects to
share land with agricultural uses. However, land impacts from
utility-scale solar systems can be minimized by siting them at lower-
quality locations such as brown fields, abandoned mining land, or
existing transportation and transmission corridors.
• Smaller scale solar PV arrays, which can be built on homes or
commercial buildings, also have minimal land use impact.

21. Water Use
• Solar PV cells do not use water for generating electricity.
However, as in all manufacturing processes, some water is used
to manufacture solar PV components.
• Concentrating solar thermal plants (CSP), like all thermal
electric plants, require water for cooling. Water use depends on
the plant design, plant location, and the type of cooling system.
• CSP plants that use wet-recirculating technology with cooling
towers withdraw between 600 and 650 gallons (2000 to 2500
litre) of water per megawatt-hour of electricity produced.
• CSP plants with once-through cooling technology have higher
levels of water withdrawal, but lower total water consumption
(because water is not lost as steam).

22. Hazardous Materials
• The PV cell manufacturing process includes a number of
hazardous materials, most of which are used to clean and purify
the semiconductor surface.
• These chemicals, include hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric
acid, hydrogen fluoride, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and acetone.
• The amount and type of chemicals used depends on the type of
cell, size and the amount of cleaning that is needed.
• Workers also face risks associated with inhaling silicon dust.
• Thin-film PV cells contain a number of more toxic materials than
those used in traditional silicon photovoltaic cells, including
gallium arsenide, copper-indium-gallium-diselenide, and
cadmium-telluride.
• If not handled and disposed of properly, these materials could
pose serious environmental or public health threats.

23. Life-Cycle Global Warming Emissions
• While there are no global warming emissions associated with
generating electricity from solar energy, there are emissions
associated with other stages of the solar life-cycle, including
manufacturing, materials transportation, installation,
maintenance, and decommissioning and dismantlement.
• Most estimates of life-cycle emissions for photovoltaic systems
are between 0.07 and 0.18 pounds of carbon dioxide
equivalent per kilowatt-hour.
• Most estimates for concentrating solar power range from 0.08
to 0.2 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour.
In both cases, this is far less than the lifecycle emission rates for
natural gas (0.6-2 lbs of CO2E/kWh) and coal (1.4-3.6 lbs of
CO2E/kWh).

24. RENEWABLE ENERGY
• Renewable energies are sources of clean, inexhaustible and
increasingly competitive energy. They differ from fossil fuels principally
in their diversity, abundance and potential for use anywhere on the
planet, but above all in that they produce neither greenhouse gases –
which cause climate change – nor polluting emissions. Their costs are
also falling and at a sustainable rate, whereas the general cost trend for
fossil fuels is in the opposite direction in spite of their present volatility.
• Growth in clean energies is unstoppable, as reflected in statistics
produced in 2015 by the International Energy Agency (IEA): they
represented nearly half of all new electricity generation capacity
installed in 2014, when they constituted the second biggest source of
electricity worldwide, behind coal.
• According to the IEA, world electricity demand will have increased by
70% by 2040 - its share of final energy use rising from 18 to 24% during
the same period – driven mainly by the emerging economies of India,
China, Africa, the Middle East and South-East Asia.

25. • Clean energy development is vital for combating climate
change and limiting its most devastating effects.
• The 2014 was the warmest year on record. The Earth’s
temperature has risen by an average 0.85 °C since the end of
the 19th Century, states National Geographic in its special
November 2015 issue on climate change.
• Meanwhile, some 1.1 billion inhabitants (17% of the world
population) do not have access to electricity. Equally, 2.7
billion people (38% of the population) use conventional
biomass for cooking, heating and lighting in their homes - at
serious risk to their health.
• As such, one of the objectives established by the United
Nations is to achieve to access to electricity for everyone by
2030, an ambitious target considering that, by then,
according to the IEA’s estimates, 800 million people will have
no access to an electricity supply if current trends continue.

26. • Renewable energies received important backing from the
international community through the Paris Accord signed at
the World Climate Summit held in the French capital in
December 2015.
• The agreement, which will enter into force in 2020,
establishes, for the first time in history, a binding global
objective. Nearly 200 signatory countries pledged to reduce
their emissions so that the average temperature of the planet
at the end of the current century remains “well below” 2 °C,
the limit above which climate change will have more
catastrophic effects. The aim is to try to keep it to 1.5 °C.
• According to the International Renewable Energy Agency
(IRENA), doubling the renewable energy share in the world
energy mix, to 36% by 2030, will result in additional global
growth of 1.1% by that year (equivalent to 1.3 trillion dollars),
a increase in wellbeing of 3.7% and in employment in the
sector of up to more than 24 million people, compared to 9.2
million today.

27. TYPES OF RENEWABLE ENERGY
Renewable energies include:
• Wind energy: the energy obtained from the wind
• Solar energy: the energy obtained from the sun. The main
technologies here are solar photovoltaic (using the light from
the sun) and solar thermal (using the sun’s heat)
• Hydroelectric energy: energy obtained from rivers and other
freshwater currents
• Biomass and biogas: energy extracted from organic material
• Geothermal energy: heat energy from inside the Earth
• Tidal energy: energy obtained from the tides
• Wave energy: energy obtained from ocean waves
• Bioethanol: organic fuel suitable for vehicles and obtained
from fermentation of vegetation
• Biodiesel: organic fuel for vehicles, among other applications,
obtained from vegetable oils

28. Solar energy (From the sun)
• We use the sun to collect energy and convert it to electricity. This can
be used as a source of heat and light.
It is free to collect sunlight as it
is always present.
Disadvantages:
It is very expensive to collect
this energy using the tools
needed.
We must collect this energy
during the day when it is sunny.
Advantages:
Sunlight does not produce any wastes or pollutants for environment.

29. Concentrating Solar thermal Plants (CSP)

30. The Wind
• In the past, we used windmills for hundreds of years
to pump water from the ground. However, we now
use large, tall wind turbines to generate electricity
using wind.
• We often place many wind turbines together in wind
farms in flat areas with strong winds.
Advantages:
• The wind doesn’t produce any wastes or pollutants
for environment.
• It takes up little ground space.
Disadvantages:
• Wind turbines kill flying creatures like bats and birds.

31. Wind Power Plant[WPP]

32. Hydropower Power
• We use water to move wind turbines and
generate electricity.
Advantages:
• Hydropower is considered as inexpensive source.
• It does not leave any harmful chemicals as waste.
Disadvantages:
• Fish can’t migrate from dams.
• Dams change and destroy habitats near the
rivers.

33. Hydro Power Plant

34. Biomass
• We use plant matter and animals waste to
produce electricity.
Advantages:
• Growing biomass crops use up carbon dioxide
and increase oxygen
• Biomass is always available, thus, it can be used
as a renewable resource.
Disadvantages:
• It can have a significant negative impact on the
environment if it has been wrongly used.

36. Geothermal Energy
• We can convert the steam to electricity by using
power stations. To run these stations, we use heated
water and steam from the earth.
Advantages:
• For heating and cooling, geothermal heat pump
systems use 25% to 50% less electricity than
conventional systems.
• Biomass is always available and can be used as a
renewable resource.
Disadvantages:
• It is expensive to build plants.

37. Geothermal Energy

38. Tidal energy
Energy obtained from the tides
• Tidal energy is a renewable energy powered by the
natural rise and fall of ocean tides and currents.
• Using the power of the tides, energy is produced from
the gravitational pull from both the moon and the sun,
which pulls water upwards, while the Earth’s rotational
and gravitational power pulls water down, thus creating
high and low tides.
Air has a density of about
1.2 g /litre, and water has
a density of about 1 kg
/litre. Air is therefore
about 830 times less
dense than water.

40. MAIN ADVANTAGES OF CLEAN ENERGIES
• The indispensable partner in the fight against climate change.
Renewables do not emit greenhouse gases in energy generation
processes, making them the cleanest, most viable solution to
prevent environmental degradation.
• Inexhaustible. Compared to conventional energy sources such as
coal, gas, oil and nuclear - reserves of which are finite - clean
energies are just as available as the sun from which they originate
and adapt to natural cycles, hence their name “renewables”. This
makes them an essential element in a sustainable energy system
that allows development today without risking that of future
generations.
• Reducing energy dependence: the indigenous nature of clean
sources gives local economies an advantage and brings meaning to
the term “energy independence”. Dependence on fossil fuel
imports results in subordination to the economic and political
short-term goals of the supplier country, which can compromise
the security of energy supply. Everywhere in the world there is a
renewable resource – whether that be the wind, sun, water or
organic material – available for producing energy sustainably.

41. MAIN ADVANTAGES OF CLEAN ENERGIES
• Increasingly competitive. The main renewable technologies –
such as wind and solar photovoltaic – are drastically reducing
their costs, such that they are fully competitive with
conventional sources in a growing number of locations.
Economies of scale and innovation are already resulting in
renewable energies becoming the most sustainable solution,
not only environmentally but also economically, for powering
the world.
• Benefiting from a favourable political horizon. Decisions
adopted at COP21 have shone the spotlight firmly on
renewable energies. The international community has
understood its obligation to firm up the transition towards a
low-carbon economy in order to guarantee a sustainable
future for the planet. International consensus in favour of the
“de-carbonization” of the economy constitutes a very
favourable framework for the promotion of clean energy
technologies.

42. Threats of Renewable Energy
•Many people hope we can avoid the threatened difficulties by switching
from petro-energy to solar energy, backed by increased energy
conservation. The possibilities seem promising. New technologies include
wind- and solar- powered electric generating stations, solar heating
systems, ocean energy systems of several kinds, and possibly geothermal
energy.
•Because of this urgency, research, experimentation, and use of energy
efficient and renewable energy technology is very exciting and moving
forward, though slowly. Important demonstration projects around the
world offer stimulating work, opportunities to create new low-energy-
consuming systems, challenges to develop and install many solar
technologies, and the potential for contributing to the betterment of
humankind.
•Energy demand increase results from a combination of population growth
and growth in per capita energy use. In the developed world, both are
growing relentlessly

43. • The population of China is now around 1.3 billion. That
of India is about 1.1 billion. Together they constitute
over a third of the 6.3 billion world total. The rapid
industrialization of these two countries will place a
heavy burden on the world’s ecosystem.
• Just as we are trying to improve energy use efficiency
and switch (slowly) to renewable, the demand for
energy worldwide is growing.
• There have been several energy transitions in the past.
Previous transitions from wood to coal and then to
petroleum and natural gas were fairly rapid

44. Limitations of Solar Power
The issue is not just about the non-renewable energy subsidy
required to make and operate solar energy systems.
The degree of environmental destruction associated with an energy
consuming or producing system of any kind is also critical.
As Baron pointed out in 1981, “Even more serious would be the
impact upon public health and occupational safety if solar energy
generates its own pollution when mining large quantities of energy
resources and mineral ores.”
Some solar energy manufacturing processes produce toxic or
otherwise undesirable waste products which have to be recycled,
discarded, or otherwise rendered benign.
Clearly, we’ll have to pick and choose amongst the solar alternatives
to find the least environmentally impacting ones, and work hard to
improve all the rest.

45. • From data provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, I
estimated the total combined commercial and residential building roof area
in the United States in the year 2000 at 18 billion square meters. From a
National Renewable Energy Laboratory web site, I found that the
approximate annual average quantity of solar energy falling on a square
meter of land area in the United States is about 4.5 kWh of energy per
square meter of area per day. Multiplying this by 365 days in a year and by
the 18 billion square meter roof area figure, yields the total energy received
by rooftop systems in this scenario: 2.46 x 1013 kWh per year, or 84 Quads
per year. This is just a bit below the 102 Quads per year U.S. primary energy
consumption.
• Deserts are not devoid of wildlife; they contain varieties of flora and fauna,
adapted over millions of years to desert conditions. There is a limit to how
much desert we can or even want to cover with solar collectors.

46. • One of the biggest problems that solar energy technology
poses is that energy is only generated while the sun is shining.
That means night time and overcast days can interrupt the
supply. The shortage created by this interruption would not
be a problem if there were low-cost ways of storing energy as
extremely sunny periods can actually generate excess
capacity
Land Use
• Another concern is that solar energy may take up a significant
amount of land and cause land degradation or habitat loss for
wildlife. While solar PV systems can be fixed to already
existing structures, larger utility-scale PV systems may require
up to 3.5 to 10 acres per megawatt and CSP facilities require
anywhere from 4 to 16.5 acres per megawatt. However, the
impact can be reduced by placing facilities in low-quality
areas or along existing transportation and transmission
corridors.
LIMITATIONS OF SOLAR POWER GENERATION

47. Scarcity of Materials
Certain solar technologies require rare materials in their production.
This, however, is primarily a problem for PV technology rather than
CSP technology. Also, it is not so much a lack of known reserves as
much as it is the inability of current production to meet future
demand: Many of the rare materials are by products of other
processes rather than the focus of targeted mining efforts. Recycling
PV material and advances in nanotechnology that increase solar-cell
efficiency could both help boost supply, but perhaps finding material
substitutes that exist in greater abundance could play a role.
An Environmental Downside
The one environmental downside to solar technology is that it
contains many of the same hazardous materials as electronics. As
solar becomes a more popular energy, the problem of disposing the
hazardous waste becomes an additional challenge. However,
assuming the challenge of proper disposal is met, the reduced
greenhouse gas emissions that solar energy offers makes it an
attractive alternative to fossil fuels.

48. LIMITATIONS OF WIND POWER
• Wind power must still compete with conventional generation
sources on a cost basis. Even though the cost of wind power has
decreased dramatically in the past several decades, wind projects
must be able to compete economically with the lowest-cost source
of electricity, and some locations may not be windy enough to be
cost competitive.
• Good land-based wind sites are often located in remote
locations, far from cities where the electricity is
needed. Transmission lines must be built to bring the electricity
from the wind farm to the city. However, building just a few
already-proposed transmission lines could significantly reduce the
costs of expanding wind energy.
• Wind resource development might not be the most profitable
use of the land. Land suitable for wind-turbine installation
must compete with alternative uses for the land, which might be
more highly valued than electricity generation.

49. • Turbines might cause noise and aesthetic pollution.
Although wind power plants have relatively little impact on
the environment compared to conventional power plants,
concern exists over the noise produced by the turbine blades
and visual impacts to the landscape.
• Wind plants can impact local wildlife. Birds have been killed
by flying into spinning turbine blades. Most of these problems
have been resolved or greatly reduced through technology
development or by properly siting wind plants. Bats have also
been killed by turbine blades, and research is ongoing to
develop and improve solutions to reduce the impact of wind
turbines on these species. Like all energy sources, wind
projects can alter the habitat on which they are built, which
may alter the suitability of that habitat for certain species.

50. Limitations of Hydropower plant
• Disrupts aquatic
ecosystems
• Constructions needs a
large area
• Initial costs are
significantly high
• Uproots human
populations
• Requires high-quality
construction materials
• Impacts on environment
• Concerns about safety of
the dams
• The risk of drought
• Geological damage

51. • Hydropower plants are typically constructed across rivers, and this
can interfere with aquatic life and result in their huge scale
devastation. There is a huge probability that the fish or other river
animals may find way into the penstock and eventually into the
turbines where they will be exterminated. Construction of dams in
specific places can interfere with the mating patterns, seasons and
breeding areas of the water animals.
Disrupts aquatic ecosystems

52. Constructions needs a large area
•To be able to construct a dam, install power production units, plus
transformers, and tether them to the main grid requires a large piece of
land. This may call for clearing of large chunks of forest to provide space
for building the dam. Clearing of forest greatly impacts the natural
ecosystems.
Initial costs are significantly high
•It’s generally expensive to build up a power plant, and hydropower
plants are no exception. The cost of a hydropower plant, in reality,
hinges on the specific site than the cost of the power generation
equipment. The land ownership and water rights have to be ironed out,
and this costs money. The size of the reservoir to be constructed
massively adds up the cost. A massive reservoir will utilize lots of
reinforced concrete, require construction of large tunnels in the bedrock
on each side of the dam and necessitate the construction of new
bridges and roads to get the dam construction materials to the site. This
means the reservoir dam alone could cost inaccessibility of the site and
its distance from construction crews and materials.

53. • The generated power has to be transmitted to the grid, and this
means parting with hundreds of thousands of dollars per mile. In a
nutshell, the logistics involved in building a hydropower plant alone
may drive the costs further.
Uproots human populations
• Because construction of a dam takes up a large chunk of land, it
forces relocation of humans. It’s almost an insurmountable challenge
to convince individuals to uproot their lives including their
businesses. In most instances, these people are never compensated
adequately for their land and inconveniences caused. This always
turns out to be chaotic with revolts and large-scale opposition against
the dam construction.
Concerns about safety of the dams
• The safety of the dam is paramount for the nearby population. In the
modern day where acts of terror are life, dams can be a major target
to kill thousands of people. This is why after construction and fully
operational, the dam has to be accorded maximum security. Security
adds up the overall cost of constructing a hydropower plant.

54. • The risk of drought
• Power generation and electricity prices are closely related to the
amount of water available. A severe drought could impact this. When
there is prolonged drought, rivers tend to dry up, which means no or
less water for electricity generation. When this happens, power
rationing becomes the order of the day and electricity prices shoot
up.
• Geological damage
• Construction of large-scale dams can contribute to grave geological
damage. A classic example of geological damage is the construction
of the Hoover Dam in the United States that caused earthquakes and
led to the depression of the earth’ surface in the area.

55. Limitations of Tidal Energy
Environmental Effects
• The effects tidal power plants have on the environment are not
completely determined yet. We know that these power plants generate
green electricity
• Tidal barrages relies on manipulation on ocean levels and therefore
potentially have the environmental effects on the environment similar
to those of hydroelectric dams.
Close to Land
• Tidal power plants needs to be constructed close to land. This is also an
area where technological solutions are being worked on.
Expensive
• It is important to realize that the methods for generating electricity from
tidal energy is a relatively new technologies. It is projected that tidal
power will be commercially profitable within 2020 with better
technology and larger scales.

56. Tidal Energy also has a large
potential, but is restricted to
the estuarine areas
experiencing significant tidal
swings. Tidal power plants
that dam estuaries can
impede sea life migration,
and silt build-ups behind
such facilities can impact
local ecosystems adversely.
Tidal “fences” may also
disturb sea life migration.
Newly developed tidal
turbines may prove
ultimately to be the least
environmentally damaging
of the tidal power
technologies because they
don’t block migratory paths,
however the future
economic feasibility of these
huge underwater structures,
anchored to the bottom, has

57. Under water hydro power plant Impacts include:
• Hydrological effects of structures could alter the shoreline and
adversely affect shallow areas, and the plant and animals life in these
areas.
• There are potential navigation hazards. This might be mitigated with
proper signaling devices, such as reflective paint, radar reflectors, and
sound sources, but this hazard would remain.
• Some devices can be very noisy. The potential for damage to marine
mammals is relatively unknown, but many species utilize sound
waves for a variety of communication purposes. For humans, this
problem is likely to be little more than an annoyance.
• When located on or close to shore, significant visual effects are likely.
• The installation of ocean wave energy conversion devices, and the
laying of electrical cables will damage and affect species on the sea
bed and in the water column.
• Marine mammals will also be affected in several ways during the
installation, and possible in the operation of devices.

58. Limitations of Geothermal
• According to the Geothermal Education Office, “hydrogen
sulphide gas (H2S) sometimes occurs in geothermal
reservoirs. H2S has a distinctive rotten egg smell that can be
detected by the most sensitive sensors (our noses) at very
low concentrations (a few parts per billion). It is subject to
regulatory controls for worker safety because it can be toxic
at high concentrations. Equipment for scrubbing H2S from
geothermal steam removes 99% of this gas.”
• Carbon dioxide occurs naturally in geothermal steam but
geothermal plants release amounts less than 4% of that
released by fossil fuel plants. And there are no emissions at all
when closed-cycle (binary) technology is used. Geothermal
water contains higher concentrations of dissolved minerals
than water from cold groundwater aquifers.
• In geothermal wells, pipe or casing (usually several layers) is
cemented into the ground to prevent the mixing of
geothermal water with other groundwater.

59. Present Indian and International energy
scenario of conventional and RE sources
• India’s population of more than 1028 million is growing at an
annual rate of 1.58%.
• The Indian renewable energy sector is the fourth most
attractive1 renewable energy market in the world.
• India is ranked fourth in wind power, fifth in solar power and fifth
in renewable power installed capacity as of 2018.
• According to 2018 Climate scope report India ranked second
among the emerging economies to lead to transition to clean
energy.
• As India looks to meet its energy demand on its own, which is
expected to reach 15,820 TWh by 2040, renewable energy is set
to play an important role. As a part of its Paris Agreement
commitments, the Government of India has set an ambitious
target of achieving 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by
2022. These include 100 GW of solar capacity addition and 60 GW
of wind power capacity. Government plans to establish renewable
energy capacity of 500 GW by 2030

60. Market Size
• As of February 2020, the installed renewable energy
capacity is 86.75 GW, of which
• Solar 34.40 GW and wind 37.66 GW respectively.
• Biomass 9.80 GW and Small Hydro Power 4.6 GW,
respectively. Off-grid renewable power capacity has
also increased.
• As of February 2020, generation capacities for Waste
139.80 MW , Biomass Gasifiers stood at 9,806.31 MW,
respectively.
• With a potential capacity of 363 gigawatts (GW) and
with policies focused on the renewable energy sector.

61. Investments/ Developments
• Around Rs 36,729.49 crore (US$ 5.26 billion) investment has been
made during April-December 2019 by private companies in
renewable energy.
• Brookfield to invest US$ 800 million in ReNew Power.
• ReNew Power and Shapoorji Pallonji will invest nearly Rs 750 crore
(US$ 0.11 billion) in a 150 megawatt (mw) floating solar power
project in Uttar Pradesh.
• In November 2019, Renew Power, Avaada, UPC, Tata unit won solar
projects in 1,200 MW auction of the Solar Energy Corp of India.
• As of 2019, India is getting its solar power plant Bhadla Solar Park in
Rajasthan, which will be world’s largest solar plant, with a capacity of
2,255 MW.
• World’s largest solar park named ‘Shakti Sthala’ was launched in
Karnataka in March 2018 with an investment of Rs 16,500 crore (US$
2.55 billion).

62. Government initiatives
•India plans to add 30 GW of renewable energy capacity along a desert on its
western border such as Gujarat and Rajasthan.
•Delhi government decided to shut down thermal power plant in Rajghat and
develop it into 5,000 KW solar park.
•Rajasthan government in Budget 2019-20 exempted solar energy from
electricity duty and focuses on the utilization of solar power in its agriculture
and public health sectors.
•A new Hydropower policy for 2018-28 has been drafted for the growth of
hydro projects in the country.
•The Government of India has announced plans to implement a US$ 238
million National Mission on advanced ultra-supercritical technologies for
cleaner coal utilisation.
•The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has decided to provide
custom and excise duty benefits to the solar rooftop sector, which in turn will
lower the cost of setting up as well as generate power, thus boosting growth.
•The Indian Railways is taking increased efforts through sustained energy
efficient measures and maximum use of clean fuel to cut down emission level
by 33% by 2030.

63. Road Ahead
• The Government of India is committed to increased use of clean energy
sources and is already undertaking various large-scale sustainable power
projects and promoting green energy heavily.
• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set an
ambitious target to set up renewable energy capacities to the tune of
175 GW by 2022 of which about 100 GW is planned for solar, 60 for
wind and other for hydro, bio among other.
• About 5,000 Compressed Biogas plants will be set up across India by
2023.
• It is expected that by the year 2040, around 49 per cent of the total
electricity will be generated by the renewable energy, as more efficient
batteries will be used to store electricity which will further cut the solar
energy cost by 66 per cent as compared to the current cost.
• Use of renewables in place of coal will save India Rs 54,000 crore (US$
8.43 billion) annually5. The renewable energy will account 55 per cent of
the total installed power capacity by 2030.

64. RES established in India as on 31.3.2019

65. National Solar Mission (NSM)
• National Solar Mission (NSM), launched on 11th January, 2010, had
set a target for development and deployment of 20 GW solar power
by the year 2022. The Cabinet in its meeting held on 17/6/2015 had
approved revision of target under NSM from 20 GW to 100 GW.
• It included three stages: (i) Migration Scheme (ii) NSM Phase-I, Batch-
I and (iii) NSM Phase-I, Batch-II.
• Out of the sanctioned 3000 MW solar power projects under NSM
Phase-II, Batch-II, Tranche-I, 47 projects with an aggregate capacity of
2750 MW was commissioned with NTPC allocating 1375 MW thermal
capacity up to 31.03.2019.
Under the above scheme, solar power projects were planned to be
developed in different states as under:

66. 1. Andhra Pradesh 38.44
2. Arunachal Pradesh 8.65
3. Assam 13.76
4. Bihar 11.20
5. Chhattisgarh 18.27
6. Delhi 2.05
7. Goa 0.88
8. Gujarat 35.77
9. Haryana 4.56
10. Himachal Pradesh 33.84
11. Jammu & Kashmir 111.05
12. Jharkhand 18. 18
13. Karnataka 24.70
14. Kerala 6.11
15. Madhya Pradesh 61.66
16. Maharashtra 64.32
17. Manipur 10.63
18. Meghalaya 5.86
19. Mizoram 9.09
20. Nagaland 7.29
21. Odisha 25.78
22. Punjab 2.81
23. Rajasthan 142.31
24. Sikkim 4.94
25. Tamil Nadu 17.67
26. Telangana 20.41
27. Tripura 2.08
28. Uttar Pradesh 22.83
29. Uttarakhand 16.80
30. West Bengal 6.26
31. UTs 0.79
TOTAL 748.98
3.2 State-wise estimated Solar Energy Potential in the Country
Sr. No. State/UT Solar Potential (GWp) #

68. WIND ENERGY PROGRAMME
• India’s wind energy
sector is led by
indigenous wind
power industry and
has shown
consistent progress.
•The expansion of the wind industry has resulted in a strong
ecosystem, project operation capabilities and manufacturing
base of about 10,000 MW per annum.
•The country currently has the fourth highest wind installed
capacity in the world with total installed capacity of 35.62 GW
(as on 31st March 2019) and 62 Billion Units were generated
from wind power during 2018-19.
Wind Turbine with Hybrid Lattice Tower installed in
Kutch, Gujarat

69. POTENTIAL OF WIND
ENERGY IN INDIA
100 MW wind farm in Jaisalmer,
Rajasthan

71. OFF shore Wind Potential India

72. BAGASSE CO-GENERATION
• Ministry has been promoting ‘Biomass Power and Bagasse
Co-generation Programme’ with the aim of recovering energy
from biomass including bagasse, agricultural residues such as
shells, husks, de-oiled cakes and wood from dedicated energy
plantations for power generation.
• A new scheme (up to March 2020) to support biomass based
cogeneration in sugar mills and other industries was notified
on 11.05.2018.
• The potential for power generation from agricultural and
agro-industrial residues is estimated at about 18,000 MW.
• Thus the total estimated potential for biomass power is about
26,000 MW.

73. Over 500 biomass power and cogeneration projects with aggregate
capacity of 9103.50 MW have been installed in the country up to March
2019. These projects have been commissioned mainly in the states of
Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Punjab.

75. SMALL HYDRO PROGRAMME
• Hydro-power is another source of renewable energy that converts the
potential energy or kinetic energy of water into mechanical energy. It refers
to the energy produced from water (rainfall flowing into rivers, etc.). Hydro-
power is the largest renewable energy resource being used for the
generation of electricity. Only about 17% of the vast hydel potential of
150,000 MW has been tapped so far.
• In India, hydropower projects with a station capacity of up to 25 megawatt
(MW) fall under the category of Small Hydropower (SHP). India has an
estimated SHP potential of about 15,000 MW, of which about 11% has been
tapped so far. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) supports
SHP project development throughout the country.
• The estimated potential of small / mini/ micro hydel projects in the country
is 21133.65 MW from 7133 sites located in different States of India. In
cumulative terms, 1115 small hydropower projects aggregating to 4593.155
MW.
• The national target for SHP is to achieve a cumulative capacity of 5000 MW
by 2022, under overall targets of achieving a cumulative grid connected
Renewable Energy Power Projects of 175,000 MW.

76. 1.5 MW Sangrah SHP in Kargil district of Jammu & Kashmir under ‘Ladakh Renewable Energy Initiative’
The Ministry is also implementing a project titled ‘Ladakh Renewable Energy
Initiative’ since June 1st, 2010 to minimize dependence on diesel / kerosene in
the Ladakh region and meet the power requirement through renewable
energy sources available locally. The approach is to meet power requirements
through small / micro hydel and solar photovoltaic power projects /systems
and use solar thermal systems for water heating, space heating and cooking
requirements. The total cost of the project was Rs.473.00 crore.

78. WASTE TO ENERGY
•About 100 tons/day of municipal solid waste have capacity to generate 1MW
of power and 100 tons/day of cow dung can generate about 1600 kgs of
BioCNG per day. In addition to Bio-CNG/Biogas, biogas plants generate organic
fertilizer as a by product which is valuable for agricultural fields.
Details of the projects are given below:
•a. 19,926 m3/day Biogas Generation Plant from Maize Processing Effluent by
M/s Tirupati Starch and Chemicals Ltd. at Dist. Dhar, Madhya Pradesh.
•b. 13500 m3/day Biogas Generation Plant from Starch Processing Effluent by
M/s Sanstar Ltd. at Dist. Dhule, Maharashtra.
•c. 24000 m3/day Biogas generation plant from Starch and allied
Manufacturing Unit by M/s Gujarat Ambuja Exports Ltd. at Jalgoan,
Maharashtra.
•d. 6400 kgs/day Bio-CNG generation plant at 180 MLD Sewage Treatment
Plant, AMC, Ahmedabad by M/s Rockstone Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd.
•e. 2200 kgs/day Bio-CNG based on Vegetable Waste, Hotel waste & cow dung
at Sardar Market, Dumbhal, Surat by M/s Agricultural Produce Market
Committee (APMC), Surat.

79. 24000 m3/day Biogas generation plant from Starch and allied
Manufacturing Unit of Ms Gujarat Ambuja Exports Ltd. at
Jalgoan, Maharashtra.
f. 138.30 MW capacity Grid interactive projects, 111.43 MW capacity Off-
grid power projects, 78 biogas generation plants with 6,65,606 cubic
meters per day generation capacity and 16 Bio-CNG generation plants with
59028 kgs per day generation capacity have been set up in the country so
far.

80. BIOGAS POWER
Biogas Power (Off-grid) Generation and Thermal Application
Programme (BPGTP)
• The Ministry is implementing biogas based schemes/ Programme
for promoting biogas generation for decentralized applications viz.
decentralized power generation in the capacity range 3 kW to 250
kW and also for thermal energy applications having biogas
generation capacity in the matching size range of 30 m3 to 2500 m3
per day.
• The organic bio-degradable wastes from various sources such as
cattle dung/ animal wastes, food & kitchen waste, poultry
dropping waste, agro-industry waste, etc. are the feed stock for
Biogas plants.