Non-conventional sources of energy are those that are more or less, still at an experimental stage. They are non-traditional. They are less expensive and do not have much of adverse effect on the environment. In future, the dependency on these resources will increase manifolds.
Solar energy: Sun is the greatest source of unlimited energy. Specially, in the tropical zone, it can be tapped to get maximum output. Now-a-days, solar energy is used for a number of purposes, such as solar cookers, solar gysers, solar cars, solar dryers, solar lanterns, solar street lighting system, solar air conditioning, etc. People are taking initiative to make it more cost effective.
Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan and USA are some of the countries doing research and promoting its utilisation in their countries. The largest solar plant in India is located in Gujarat.
Wind energy: in the areas of high wind velocity, wind is used to generate energy. Coastal areas are ideal for it. Wind energy is mainly used for pumping water, grinding grains, sailing and electricity generation. It is developed in coastal regions of European countries (specially Netherlands), India, Japan and USA. In Tokyo, wind power is used to run the air conditioning system of buildings. In India, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have a few windmills.
Geothermal energy: The internal heat of the earth generates geothermal energy. It is more prominent in volcanically active areas, where frequency of hot springs, is high.
Some countries like Iceland, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia and USA are generating geothermal energy. Basically, this energy is used in cold storage plants, industries and for domestic purpose. In India, Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh is famous for harnessing geothermal energy.
Nuclear Energy: It is obtained from energy stored in nuclei of atoms of naturally occurring radioactive elements like uranium and thorium. Nuclear energy is an alternative to fossil fuels and can reduce the emission of the greenhouse gases. It is a very powerful and efficient source of energy.
The greatest producers of nuclear energy are USA, France, Russia, South Korea, Germany, China and Canada. In India, Jharkhand and Rajasthan have large deposits of uranium, and thorium is found in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha. Nuclear power stations in India are located at Kaiga in Karnataka, Kalpakkam and Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, Narora in UP, Rana Pratap Sagar near Kota in Rajasthan and Tarapur in Maharashtra.
Tidal Energy: Energy generated from tides is called tidal energy. Tidal energy can be harnessed by building dams at narrow openings of the sea. France, Russia and Gulf of Kutch in India have huge tidal mill farms.
Biogas: Organic wastes, such as dead plants, animal dung and kitchen waste can be converted into a gaseous fuel called biogas. It is an excellent fuel for cooking and lighting, and produces huge amount of organic manure.
Conservation of Energy Resources
Conservation of energy resources is required because of the rapid depletion and very slow regeneration of the exhaustible sources of energy, i.e. coal, petroleum and natural gas. Due to the growing population, consumption of energy resources has increased manifolds. The fossil fuels are non-renewable in nature. Rampant exploitation of non-renewable resources like coal and petroleum can lead to energy crisis. Scarcity of conventional resources of energy is referred to as energy crisis. The rate of consumption of energy sources is more than the rate of their formation. Therefore, we need to conserve energy resources. It does not mean the curtailment of energy consumption, but to restrict unnecessary wasteful consumption of energy.
You have already studied about natural resources, such as land, soil, water, vegetation and wildlife. Now, let us study about some other important natural resources, i.e. mineral and energy resources.