EE8703 – RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS

REG NO. 113017105034 VH NO. 8635

NAME: RAKSHA . R DATE: 7/7/2020

ASSIGNMENT 1

UNIT – 1 RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES

PART-A ( 2 MARKS )

1) list three non – conventional energy sources of electric energy in india.

answer:

 Solar Energy
 Wind Energy
 Hydro Power

2) Mention the present contribution of different types of plants in India.

Answer:

At present contributions of various plants are:

 Thermal power plant: 2,30,189 W

 Nuclear power plant: 6780 W
 Hydro power plants: 45,399 W

3) List any two renewable sources of energy.

Answer:

 Solar energy
 Wind energy

4) What is the approximate amount of total power generation in India?

Answer:

The national electric grid in India has an installed capacity of 370.106 GW as of 31 March 2020.

5) Write any four differences between renewable and non renewable sources.

Answer:

RENEWABLE ENERGY NON RENEWABLE ENERGY

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Causes lot of pollution when

Clean source of energy burnt for power

It is a non-depletable source of If used at present rate it may get

energy extinct in the near future
Good efficiency Low efficiency

The rate of renewal is greater The rate of renewal is lower than

than the rate of consumption. the rate of consumption.

6) Define energy.

Answer:

Energy is the capacity to do work; the influence required to perform an action. The amount
of energy in a system is the amount of change that can be made to it.

7. What are the different forms of energy?

Answer:

Energy can be basically classified as kinetic energy and potential energy. Other than this there
are various forms of energy like light energy, heat energy, sound energy, chemical energy,
nuclear energy, electrical energy etc.

8. What are the compounds present in the coal.

Answer:

The organic compounds in coal are composed of the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,

nitrogen, sulfur, and trace amounts of a variety of other elements.

9. Name the products that can be obtained from crude oil.

Answer:

Petrol products are the main thing acquired from crude oil. These petroleum products
include gasoline, distillates such as diesel fuel and heating oil, jet fuel, petrochemical feedstocks,
waxes, lubricating oils, and asphalt.
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10. Name at least three green house gases responsible for global warming.

Answer:

The gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2),

methane, nitrous oxides, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

PART B

Discuss the following

1(a) Obstacle to the implementation of renewable energy sources.

Answer:

The main obstacles and challenges faced by renewable energy are:

 A lack of reliable energy storage technologies – Technologies are still in the early stages
of research and development. Although a great deal of money is being ploughed into their
development, utilities will not rush in until the technology has proven its reliability.
Where storage solutions are available, for example hydroelectric pumped storage, it is
normally not located close to the renewable source which makes the supply less
controllable than fossil fuel supplies. 
 Outdated business models- There are utilities which continue to receive rewards for the
construction and maintenance of fossil fuel plants.
 High initial capital costs-Although the costs of renewable energy technology are coming
down, it’s the initial implementation costs that can be rather high. Transmission systems
must be adjusted in order to handle renewable energy integration and a huge investment
is required to construct power lines across jurisdictions. 
  Balance of system costs-These can add up as they include the cost of the inverter and
electrical system, mechanical racking, installation, and permitting. However, large
installations could work out cheaper than smaller installations.
 Lack of appropriate transmission infrastructure to support these projects-There is a need
for new transmission corridors to serve remote sites, as well as extensive environmental
impact assessments which can take years to complete
 Ideal locations for renewable energy development-Sometimes these may be too far from
demand centres and existing distribution networks. To extend the transmission network,
may cost a great deal of money.
  Use of dated technology - Old models do not adequately consider input from renewable
resources, preventing grid companies from including them in to the supply mix. The
smart grid will also assist in the integration and management of renewable energy. It is
therefore essential that the right technology exists to support the introduction and
maintenance of renewables.
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1 (b) Advantages of renewable energy sources.

Answer:

1. It is a safe form of energy.

The dangers of electricity and other high-power loads apply to all forms of energy. What we do
know about renewable energy is that the collection and use process is typically safer than non-
renewable energy methods. If you’re using wind or solar energy, for example, then you don’t
have to worry about the threat of a nuclear meltdown or particulate contamination from a coal-
fired plant.

2. It is an abundant form of energy.

There is enough sunlight that falls on our planet every day that it could meet our energy needs
for an entire year. One day of sunlight equals one year of energy. We just do not have the
resources at the moment to collect that energy. Wind provides us with constant energy resources
as well. The tides are always moving because of the moon. Waves happen because of the tidal
energy and the wind. The internal mechanisms of our planet provide us with heat that can be
turned into energy.

3. It is a clean form of energy to use.

Although renewable energy is built on an infrastructure that uses fossil fuels, the emissions cost-
savings of renewables occurs quite rapidly. Depending upon the type of renewable energy being
used, positive gains can be expected between 5-25 years with most options. Depending on the
levels of energy collected, it may be sooner or later than that generic timeframe. That means a 5-
year investment can begin improving how we collect energy for a lifetime.

4. It can be collected in multiple locations simultaneously.

We use many different forms of renewable energy today, even without realizing it. One of the
most common forms of renewable energy in the United Kingdown comes from hydropower.
Dams are built on rivers and the moving water runs turbines that are able to generate electricity.
In 2017, hydropower accounted for over 1.8% of the electricity used and 18% of renewable
energy production.

5. It can provide nations with energy independence.

The average country in our world depends on non-renewable energy for their power resources.
Transitioning to renewable energy can lessen the dependence on fuel imports or international aid
to meet power demands. An example of this is the Aswan High Dam in Egypt. With just 12
turbines, the dam is able to generate up to 10 billion kilowatt-hours of energy every year. When
it first reached peak production, it was provided Egypt with more than 50% of its total energy
needs.

6. It is a stable form of energy.

The power produced from all forms of renewable energy is just as stable and useful as any form
of non-renewable energy. The power it creates can be used with the current infrastructure, as
long as there is a link to the renewable facility that accesses the main network. That makes it
suitable for virtually any power need, from computers to automobiles to general heating and
cooling.
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7. It is relatively easy to maintain renewable energy collectors.

Once a renewable energy product has been installed, the costs of maintaining that technology are
relatively low. Many solutions can have a no-maintenance lifestyle for years at a time. At the
same time, the costs of manufacturing renewable energy collectors are going down. Over the
lifetime of the product, some users may see net profits from personal renewable installations at
their home right from the start. In Washington State, for example, the average homeowner,
through tax credits and electricity purchases, can see a net gain of about 7 cents per kilowatt hour
generated from Day 1.

8. It may be able to improve public health.

There are potential health benefits that a society may see if it transitions to renewable energy use.
A study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency discovered that almost $1 trillion is spent
each year on conditions that could be linked to the consumption of fossil fuels. That includes
heart disease, certain cancers, neurological disorders, asthma, and several other health concerns.
Reducing the reliance on fossil fuels not only helps us live healthier, but it puts more money
back into our pockets from related expenses we don’t even think about.

9. It can be used to recycle our waste products.

This is one specific benefit that biomass energy tends to have more than any other form of
renewable. Biomass consumes used organic products to generate energy. That means it can
produce power from used vegetable oil, corn and soybean byproducts, or even algae. At the same
time, it reduces the amount of waste that goes into landfills while also reducing the amount of
overall carbon that goes into the atmosphere.

2) What are the conventional sources of energy and explain briefly?

Answer:
When we cannot reuse a source of energy after using it once we call them “conventional sources of
energy” or “non-renewable energy resources”. They are the most important conventional sources of
energy. These include coal, petroleum, natural gas . Oil is the most widely used source of energy. 
Coal, petroleum and natural gas account for about 90% of world’s production of commercial energy
and hydroelectric and nuclear power account for about 10%.
Coal
Coal is the most abundant conventional source of energy which could last for at least 200 years. It is
a black-brown sedimentary rock. Formation of coal occurs when the remains of plants convert into
lignite and then into anthracite. This involves a long process that takes place over a long period of
time. Coal helps for various proposes such as heating of the house, as fuel for boilers and steam
engines and for generation of electricity by thermal plants. It constitutes about 70% of total
commercial energy consumption in the country.
Oil
Out of all the conventional sources of energy, oil is used abundantly all over. Considering, oil is one
of the most important conventional sources of energy in India, the resources for same are even
smaller. The extraction of oil from deposits is known as oil resources.
Petroleum and Natural Gas
Petroleum is the mixture of hydrocarbons like alkanes and cycloalkanes. In crude form black liquid
is known as petroleum and the formation of a natural gas occurs when the gas comes in contact with
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petroleum layer. Natural gas is a mixture of 50-90% of Methane, Ethane, Propane, Butane, and
Hydrogen sulphide.  After refining and purifying crude petroleum, it is available as petrol, diesel,
lubricating oil, plastic etc. Natural gas is also making a significant contribution to the household
sector. It causes less air pollution as compared to other fossil fuel.
Fuel Woods
Rural people use the fuelwood for their day to day cooking which comes from natural forests and
plantations. The availability of fuelwood has become difficult due to rapid deforestation. We can
avoid this problem by planting more trees on degraded forest land, culturable wasteland, barren land
grazing land.
Thermal Power Plant
Power stations burn a large number of fossil fuels to heat up water, to produce steam, which further
runs the turbine to generate electricity. Transmission of electricity is more efficient than, transporting
coal or petroleum over the same distance. It is called as the thermal plant because fuel is burnt to
produce heat energy which is converted into electrical energy.

3)What are the non-conventional sources of energy and explain briefly?

Answer:
Solar energy
Solar energy is the most readily available and free source of energy since prehistoric times. It is
estimated that solar energy equivalent to over 15,000 times the world's annual commercial
energy consumption reaches the earth every year. Solar energy can be utilized through two
different routes, as solar thermal route and solar electric (solar photovoltaic) routes. Solar
thermal route uses the sun's heat to produce hot water or air, cook food, drying materials etc.
Solar photovoltaic uses sun's heat to produce electricity for lighting home and building, running
motors, pumps, electric appliances, and lighting. In solar thermal route, solar energy can be
converted into thermal energy with the help of solar collectors and receivers known as solar
thermal devices.
Wind energy
Wind energy is basically harnessing of wind power to produce electricity. The kinetic energy of
the wind is converted to electrical energy. When solar radiation enters the earth's atmosphere,
different regions of the atmosphere are heated to different degrees because of earth curvature.
This heating is higher at the equator and lowest at the poles. Since air tends to flow from warmer
to cooler regions, this causes what we call winds, and it is these airflows that are harnessed in
windmills and wind turbines to produce power. Now wind power is harnessed to generate
electricity in a larger scale with better technology.
Bio energy
Bio-energy, in the form of biogas, which is derived from biomass, is expected to become one of
the key energy resources for global sustainable development. Biomass is a renewable energy
resource derived from the carbonaceous waste of various human and natural activities. Biomass
does not add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as it absorbs the same amount of carbon in
growing as it releases when consumed as a fuel. Its advantage is that it can be used to generate
electricity with the same equipment that is now being used for burning fossil fuels. Bio energy is
being used for cooking, mechanical applications, pumping, power generation etc.
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Hydro energy
The potential energy of falling water, captured and converted to mechanical energy by
waterwheels, powered the start of the industrial revolution. Wherever sufficient head, or change
in elevation, could be found, rivers and streams were dammed and mills were built. Water under
pressure flows through a turbine and causes it to spin. The Turbine is connected to a generator,
which produces electricity.
Ocean energy
The ocean contains two types of energy: thermal energy from the sun's heat, and mechanical
energy from the tides and waves. Ocean thermal energy is used for many applications, including
electricity generation. There are three types of electricity conversion systems: closed-cycle, open
cycle, and hybrid. Closed cycle systems use the ocean's warm surface water to vaporize a
working fluid, which has a low boiling point, such as ammonia. The vapour expands and turns a
turbine. The turbine then activates a generator to produce electricity. Open-cycle systems
actually boil the seawater by operating at low pressures. This produces steam that passes through
a turbine / generator. The hybrid systems combine both closed-cycle and open-cycle systems.
Ocean mechanical energy is quite different from ocean thermal energy. Even though the sun
affects all ocean activity, tides are driven primarily by the gravitational pull of the moon, and
waves are driven primarily by the winds. A barrage (dam) is typically used to convert tidal
energy into electricity by forcing the water through turbines, activating a generator.
Energy from Wastes (Biomass)
An estimated 50 million tons of solid waste and approximately 6,000 million cubic meters of
liquid waste are generated annually in the urban areas of India. In India, there is a great
potentiality of generating approximately 2,600 MW of power from urban and municipal wastes
and approximately, 1,300 MW from industrial wastes, respectively. A total of 48 projects with
aggregate capacity of about 69.62 MW ex. have been installed in the country thereby utilizing
only 1.8% of the potential that exists.

4)Explain why it is necessary to develop non-conventional method of generating electrical

energy.

Answer:
India has a vast supply of renewable energy resources, and it has one of the largest programs in
the world for deploying renewable energy products and systems. Indeed, it used to be the only
country in the world to have an exclusive ministry for renewable energy development; Ministry
of New and Renewable Energy Sources (MNRE) supports the implementation of a large broad-
spectrum of programs covering the entire range of new and renewable energies. These programs
broadly seek to supplement conventional fossil fuel based power with renewable energy and
make it available to remotest rural areas for a variety of applications like water pumping for
irrigation and drinking water purposes, dying farm produce, improved chulhas and biogas plants,
energy recovery from the urban, municipal and industrial wastes. In addition, they plan to exploit
hydrogen energy, geothermal energy, tidal energy and biofuels for power generation and
automotive application on large scale.India is the fifth largest consumer of energy in the world,
and will be the third largest by 2030
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Why Non-Conventional Energy?

In 2013-14, peak power shortage of India was around seven percent and electricity demand is
expected to rise by 7.4 per cent a year during the next quarter of a century. Unfortunately, India
cannot realistically expect to bridge this power deficit by increasing reliance and dependence on 
the fossil fuels.The reason for the same are many, ranging from socio-economic to
environmental and health issues. According to Energy Statistics 2012, India imports about 75
percent of its oil which in fact comprises one- third of its total imports. Similarly, India’s coal
imports are likely to touch a whopping 185 million tonnes by 2017. Hence, the Indian
government has been also making serious efforts to enhance India renewable energy production
since recent past.

A major advantage of renewable energy is that it can be regenerated and is therefore

sustainable as it will never run out. It has several advantages over its hydrocarbon based
alternatives and provides substantial benefits for our climate, our health and our economy.
Some of the important benefits of renewable energy are, little to be no global warming
emissions, improved public health and environmental quality, a vast and inexhaustible
energy supply, stable energy prices and a more reliable and resilient energy system.