• NON-CONVENTIONAL SOURCES OF ENERGY

• Introduction:
Sources of energy developed in the recent past as an alternative to conventional sources of
energy- non-conventional sources of energy
Solar energy, wind energy, nuclear energy, tidal energy, geothermal energy, biogas are non-
conventional sources of energy
As they are renewable, they are:
• Inexhaustible,
• Non-polluting
• Less expensive
• Easy maintenance
Considered as energy sources of the future
Many benefits-implemented in many countries
Continuous research for development of energy

Solar energy;
· Sun is the ultimate source of energy
· India receives 5,000 trillion kilowatts of energy per year because of location in
Tropic of Cancer
• Generation of Solar Energy
· Solar Cells
▪ Known as photovoltaic cells
▪ Made of thin wafers of semiconductor materials from silicon and
gallium.
▪ On striking, sun radiations are converted into electricity
▪ Used in- calculators, electronic watches, street lighting, traffic signals,
water pumps
▪ A group of solar cells joined together in a solar panel can give out
large amount of solar energy and produce electricity enough to run
street lights, water pump, heating of house etc
· Solar Cooker
▪ Solar cookers use solar heat by reflecting the solar radiations using a
mirror onto a glass sheet which covers the black insulated box.
▪ The raw food is kept in the box
▪ The inside walls are painted black for efficient absorption of light
▪ The box is insulated on the outside so that the heat cannot escape
▪ The heated inside of the box emits infra red radiations to which the
glass window is opaque-significant amount of heat energy is retained
▪ Cooking pot is placed inside the box and cooking is made possible
· Solar water heater
▪ Sunlight is allowed to fall on flat-plate collectors, which are shallow
rectangular trays filled with water
▪ Properly inclined so tht efficiency of collection is highest
▪ Consists of an insulated box painted black from inside and having a
glass lid to collect and store solar heat.
▪ Inside the box it has black painted copper coil through which cold
water is made to flow in
▪ The coil gets heated-in turn heats the stored water-stored in water
tank
• Advantages:
· Harnessed in most areas of the world
· Used for many purposes
 · Low maintenance
· Saves fossil fuels
Wind Energy

• Inexpensive, reliable and non-polluting

• Generation of wind energy:
o Through windmills
o Bladed rotate due to wind
o The rotational motion of the blades drives a number of machines like water
pumps, flourmill and electric generators
o A number of windmills are installed in a definite cluster called wind farms-
generate large amounts of electricity
o Installed in coastal regions, hilly regions and open grasslands
o Indian wind energy programme is the fifth largest in the world
o Largest wind farm cluster are situated from Nagarcoil to Madurai in TN
• Advantages
o Renewable sources of energy
o No pollution
o Reduces dependence on fossil fuels
o Source of additional income for farmers
Tidal Energy

• Tide is a periodic rise and fall of waters of he ocean produced by the attraction of the
Moon and Sun
• Rise and fall produces a large amount of energy called tidal energy
• Generation of tidal energy
o By constructing tidal barrage
o (Explain how tidal barrage works)
• Advantages
o Easy to harness energy
o Inexhaustible
o Little maintenance and little number of personnel
o Can be produced even if water moves at low speed
o No carbon emissions-no effect on global environment
Geothermal Energy

• Heat energy contained in the rocks and fluids that fills the fractures and pored in the
rock in the earth’s crust
• Generation:
o From Text book pg 164
• Advantages
o Accessible
o Environment friendly
o Independent of external supply
o Independent of weather and season
• Distribution
o From Text book pg 164
Nuclear power

• Obtained from energy stored in nuclei of atoms of naturally occurring radioactive

elements
• Generation:
o Nuclear fission
o Details from Text book pg 165
• Distribution
Power Station State
Kaiga Karnataka
Kakrapar Gujarat
Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu
Narora Uttar Pradesh
Rawatbhata Rajasthan
Tarapur Maharashtra
Kudankulam Tamil Nadu

• Advantages
o Reduces amount of energy obtained from fossil fuels
o Saves on raw materials, transport and handling/extraction of nuclear fuel
o Continuous production
Biogas

• Composed of methane, CO2 , Hydrogen and Hydrogen Sulphide(H2S)

• Produced by anaerobic degradation of animal and plant wastes in the presence of
water
• Fermentation of waste products is carried out by bacteria- produces hydrocarbon
gas, predominantly methane and alcohol
• Residue in the tank is rich in nutrients can be used as valuable manure
• Generation:
o Details in Textbook page 166
• Advantages:
o Clean non-polluting and cheap
o No storage issues
o Sludge left behind is a rich fertilizer containing bacterial biomass