CLIMATE CHANGE AND CITIES

Assignment-1

Renewable and Non-Renewable Energy

1. Energy (Renewable and Non-renewable):
Energy is a property of objects which can be transferred to other objects
or converted into different forms, but cannot be created or destroyed. It is the "ability
of a system to perform work". There are 2 types of energy; kinetic energy and
potential energy. Different forms of energy can be attributed to gravitational,
thermal, radiant, kinetic, electrical, and chemical and nuclear energy. These
attributes of energy have different sources. The main source of energy can be
considered as renewable energy and non renewable energy. Renewable energy is
generally defined as energy that is collected from resources which are naturally
replenished on a human timescale, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and
geothermal heat. There are five main renewable energy sources. They are Solar
energy from the sun, which can be turned into electricity and heat, Wind energy,
Geothermal energy from heat inside the earth, Biomass from plants, which includes
firewood from trees, ethanol from corn, and biodiesel from vegetable oil and
Hydropower from hydroelectric turbines. Non-renewable energy is the form of
energy that cannot be replenished. Most non-renewable energy sources are fossil
fuels: coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Carbon is the main element in fossil fuels.
Contrast to the pollution and Co2 emission caused by non-renewable resources, Use
of renewable resources doesnt pollute the environment and becomes the best
precaution to prevent climate change.

2. Non-renewable Energy Consumption in Indias context

and its effects:
Considering the context of Indias energy consumption, India was the fourth-largest
energy consumer in the world after China, the United States, and Russia in 2011.
Indias largest energy source is coal, followed by petroleum and traditional biomass.
Following this, India is the 4th largest CO2 emitter in the world. This is due to
increased coal consumption for satisfying the energy needs of the people. The usage
of non-renewable resources are increasing at a great trend in India, even though
projects on use of renewable resources of wind and solar are coming up in many
places.
Example: One example of excess use of non-renewable energy source in India is the
case of jharia coalfield in Jharkhand. The Jharia coalfield in Jharkhand is the
biggest storehouse of coking coal in the India, consisting of 23 large underground
and nine large open cast mines. The mining activities in these coalfields started in
1894 and had really intensified in 1925. At present, more than 70 mine fires are
reported from this region.
Coal, a non-renewable source of energy, is found in several parts of the world. Coal is
formed from organic matter with a high carbon content, which when exposed to
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certain conditions (temperature, moisture, oxygen etc.) tends to ignite/ burn
spontaneously at rather low temperatures. This may occur naturally or the
combustion process may be triggered by other causes. However, once a coal seam
catches fire, and efforts to stop it an early stage fail, it may continue to burn for tens
to hundreds of years, depending primarily on the availability of coal and oxygen.
Coal fires have occurred in nearly all parts of the world like India, the US, Indonesia,
South Africa, Australia, China, Germany and many other countries. However, the
nature and magnitude of the problem differs from country to country. In India, the
fire in the Jharia coalfield has mainly been due to unscientific mining and extraction
of coal in the past. Fires may occur in coal layers that are exposed to the surface of
the earth or areas close to it. These are visible to the naked eye. Also, fires erupt in
the underground seams, which have large cracks that serve as channels for oxygen to
the burning coal. The main cause of natural coal fires are lightening, forest fires, bush
fires, etc. Among human causes are accidents, negligent acts, domestic fires, lighting
fires in abandoned underground mines for heating or distilling alcohol etc. Besides,
burning away of an important energy resource, it creates problems for exploitation of
coal, poses danger to humankind, raises the temperature of the area, and when
present underground, can cause land to subside.
The pollution caused by these fires affects air, water, and land. Smoke, from these
fires contains poisonous gases such as oxides and dioxides of carbon, nitrogen and
sulphur, which along with particulate matter are the causes of several lung and skin
diseases. High levels of suspended particulate matter increase respiratory diseases
such as chronic bronchitis and asthma, while the gases contribute to global warming
besides causing health hazards to the exposed population. Methane emission from
coal mining depends on the mining methods, depth of coal mining, coal quality and
entrapped gas content in the coal seams. These fires also pollute water by
contaminating it and increasing its acidity, which is due to a certain percentage of
sulphur that is present in coal. These fires lead to degradation of land and do not
allow any vegetation to grow in the area. Thousands of residents are living on top of
a veritable inferno whereas powerful mafia organisations are exploiting the
underprivileged by mining illegally, supervising organised pilferage, running
extortion rackets and bagging lucrative contracts. This is the scenario of India.
An example of usage of renewable sources of energy for production of energy is the
usage of solar and wind energy in India. Every half hour on the Earth's surface,
there is more than enough light to provide energy needs for the whole world in a
year. The problem with the usage of solar energy is the conversion problem. It's too
expensive, takes too much space, too much material, it costs more energy than it
brings, and it is still not efficient enough.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND CITIES

Assignment-1
3. Use of Renewable Source of Energy in India
India is rich with renewable resources. Since Indias energy demand is inevitable and
that the main source of energy is Coal; excess usage of Coal threatens over 1.5
million Ha of land that includes forest, which indirectly affects the livelihood of
Tribes and other bio-diversity. As a country, there is a lag behind actions in the usage
of renewable energy. Only 12.5% of indias generation is from renewable resources.
Gujarat government has taken initiative in promoting Renewable energy use through
canal solar power project. The Narmada canal is used here, to set solar panels for
energy generation. Another initiative taken by Gujarat government is jaranka solar
park. Here, photovoltaic power cells are set. A private service known as Grampower
set in rural Gujarat also helps in energy production using solar energy.
In the state of bihar, Solar energy is used to generate power for irrigation and fish
culture. In ladakh, solar energy is used for cooking, lighting and heating. Electricity
is generated in ladakh through micro hydropower unit.
Another electricity generation is done through using rice husk. Husk power system
is modest establishments, where husk of rice is used to produce power by generating
gas. This system took origin in bihar.
CELKO delivers 100.000 solar lighting systems to the parts of karanataka. In many
villages here, people shift from coal to biogas for cooking purpose. Most of the
villages produce biogas from cow-dung.
It is an inevitable truth that the crisis faced in India in terms of power generation can
only be overcome by the usage of Renewable energy.

4. International Scenario in
Renewable sources of energy:

terms

of

usage

of

Taking the case internationally, in terms of usage of solar or wind energy

(Renewable); it is a marginal player in the global energy game. There are rolling Giga
Watts of solar cells on the conveyor belt in different industries, especially German
industries. The industry has mastered the technology and the machines. Villagers
have completely installed solar power on empty lands in germany. Power stations
contribute to the network and where they are deserved. Many countries follow the
German example. The Americans have their Grand Solar Plan. According to the
Spanish electricity producers, oil companies will be left out. This will result in
reduced energy crisis, overcoming problem with resource availability. There is
widespread popular support for using renewable energy, particularly solar and wind
energy, which provide electricity without giving rise to any carbon dioxide
emissions. Harnessing these for electricity depends on the cost and efficiency of the
technology, which is constantly improving, thus reducing costs per peak kilowatt.
Utilising electricity from solar and wind in a grid requires some back-up generating
capacity due to their intermittent nature. Policy settings to support renewables are
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also generally required to confer priority in grid systems and also subsidise them,
and some 50 countries have these. Utilising solar and wind-generated electricity in a
stand-alone system requires corresponding battery or other storage capacity.
Technology to utilise the forces of nature for doing work to supply human needs is
very old. But attention has gone away from renewable sources, as the industrial
revolution progressed on the basis of the concentrated energy locked up in fossil
fuels. This was compounded by the increasing use of reticulated electricity based on
fossil fuels and the importance of portable high-density energy sources for transport.
As electricity demand increased, with supply depending largely on fossil fuels and
some hydro power and then nuclear energy, concerns arose about carbon dioxide
emissions contributing to possible global warming and climate change. Attention
again has turned to the huge sources of energy surging around us in nature sun,
wind, and seas in particular.
The challenge due to all these problems is tackled with the use of technology. Wind
turbines have developed greatly in recent decades, solar photovoltaic technology is
much more efficient, and there are improved prospects of harnessing tides and
waves. Solar thermal technologies with some heat storage ability have great potential
in hot climates. With governments encouragement in various countries to utilise
wind and solar technologies, their costs have come down and are now in the same
league as the increased costs of fossil fuel technologies due to likely carbon emission
charges on electricity generation from them.
Also, rising environmental concerns in regard of depletion of surroundings and
exploitation of non-renewable energy, the emphasis is given on clean energy. The
focus is on both adequacy of energy supply long-term and also the environmental
implications of particular sources. In that regard the near certainty of costs being
imposed on carbon dioxide emissions in developed countries at least has profoundly
changed the economic outlook of clean energy sources.
Policies which favour renewables over other sources are bought in action by many
countries. Such policies, now in place in about 50 countries, include priority dispatch
for electricity from renewable sources and special feed-in tariffs, quota obligations
and energy tax exemptions.

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In 2015 over 140 countries submitted to the UNs Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) secretariat their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions
(INDCs) to combat climate change. Together, these would lead to an 8% per capita
reduction in CO2 emissions by 2025 and 9% by 2030. The role of India and China
INDCs is noteworthy here. Regarding solar capacity, India has pledged 246 GWe and
China 352 GWe by 2030 on top of present world 178 GWe. Regarding wind, China
has pledged 345 GWe and India 78 GWe capacity by 2030 on top of todays 370 GWe
world capacity.

5. Conclusion:
The use of renewable sources of energy is less polluting, compared to that of nonrenewable sources. Specifically, increased reliance on renewable sources of energy is
a key element of efforts to avert climate change.