Renewable Energy Sources

Important Questions & Answers

Short Questions
1. A) What is the difference between renewable and non-renewable energy sources?
Ans: Renewable: Naturally replenished on a human timescale (e.g., solar, wind). These sources are virtually
inexhaustible.
Non-renewable: Formed over millions of years and are finite (e.g., coal, oil, natural gas). Their use leads to
resource depletion.

1. B) what are the environmental impacts of non-renewable energy sources?

Ans: The environmental impacts of non-renewable energy sources are: -
 Greenhouse Gas Emissions
 Air Pollution
 Water Pollution
 Land Degradation

1. C) Define Solar Radiation?

Ans: The energy emitted by the Sun as an electromagnetic wave is called Solar radiation. This energy influences
atmospheric and climatological processes and phenomena like photosynthesis. Moreover, it is responsible for
keeping the planet's temperature compatible with life and wind formation.

1. D) Compare direct radiation Vs diffuse radiation?

Ans: Direct radiation is used to describe solar radiation traveling on a straight line from the sun down to the
surface of the earth. On the other hand, Diffuse radiation describes the sunlight that has been scattered by
molecules and particles in the atmosphere but that has still made it down to the surface of the earth. Direct
radiation has a definite direction but diffuse radiation is just going any way.

1. E) Name the components of a solar water heater?

Ans: Components of a solar water heater are: -

 A flat plate collector to absorb solar radiation and convert it into thermal energy.
 Storage tank to hold water for use and cold water feeding the flat plate collector.
 Connecting pipes inlet and outlet for feeding cold water from the storage tank and taking hot water to
the storage tank or point of use.

1. F) What are the advantages of renewable energy sources?

Ans: The advantages of renewable energy sources are: -

 Renewable energy won’t run out.
 Maintenance requirements are lower.
 Renewable save money.
 Renewable energy has numerous health and environmental benefits.
 Renewable lower reliance on foreign energy sources.
1. G) What are fossil fuels and why they are non-renewable?

Ans: Fossil fuels are hydrocarbon-containing materials of biological origin occurring within Earth’s crust that can
be used as a source of energy. Coal, oil and natural gas are called as fossil fuels. The energy can be obtained by
burning or lightening them. Once they burnt they can’t be regenerated hence they are called as non-renewable.

1. H) How do solar photovoltaic (PV) panels work?

Ans: Solar panels absorb the sun's energy throughout the day and convert it into Direct Current (DC) electricity.
Most homes and businesses run on Alternating Current (AC) electricity, so the DC electricity is then passed
through an inverter to convert it to usable AC electricity. At that point, you either use the electricity in your house
or send it back to the electric grid.

1. I) What are the energy needs procured for India?

Ans: Energy procurement from different sectors in India: -

 Thermal power - 30 % approx.

 Hydro power - 20 % approx.
 Nuclear power - 1 % approx.

1. J) Is Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Non-renewable Energy?

Ans: The latest renewable energy projects to generate power are now providing cheaper electricity than fossil
fuels. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), in 2019, electricity from utility-scale
solar cost just under seven cents (0.068 cents) per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Onshore wind was slightly over five cents
per kWh, and sometimes as low as four cents. Electricity produced by fossil fuels generally ran from five cents to
17 cents per kWh.
Long Questions
2. Explain about the renewable energy potential in India?

Ans: India has lot of potential for renewable energy. Solar is the prime free source of inexhaustible energy available
to all. India is one of the sun’s most favoured nations, blessed with about 5,000 TWh of solar isolation every year. Even
if a tenth of this potential was utilized, it could mark the end of India’s power problems by using the country’s deserts
and farmland to construct solar plants.

Renewable energy has the potential to re-energize India’s economy by creating millions of new jobs, allowing the
country to achieve energy independence, reduce its trade deficits and propel it forward as a “Green Nation.” India
should take full advantage of this golden opportunity because renewable energy has particular relevance in remote
and rural areas where there are around 289 million people who don’t have access to reliable sources of energy. Solar
energy is the most cost-effective option for India to reduce energy poverty without having to extend national grid
services to provide power for individual homes and buildings.

India’s present generation capacity is about 200,000 MW. The country could potentially increase grid-connected solar
power generation capacity to over 200,000 MW and wind energy to over 100,000 MW by 2030 if the right resources
(and more importantly, energy policies) were developed. India can develop massive commercial wind farms to harness
the strong onshore coastal area and offshore wind to boost the country’s supply of clean renewable energy.

Another opportunity for sparking investment in solar, is the U.S.-India Energy partnership program called SERIIUS (the
Solar Energy Research Institute for India and the United States). This collaboration could lay the foundation for an
energy independent future – one in which the Indian government takes advantage of the vast amounts of energy
available from the Rajasthan Desert sun (instead of oil from the Arab nations) to power its future energy needs. In
addition, renewable energy would not only create millions of jobs, but also sustain India’s positive economic growth,
help lift its massive population out of poverty, and combat climate change.

3. Explain briefly about Pyrheliometers?

Ans:

 Acceptance angle

Now we want to measure the solar radiation we will set the Pyrheliometer at specific which will measure the radiation
coming from the sun. The acceptance angle of the instrument should be close to 0 degrees as possible so that the lens
can bend and focus the light into black body. Generally this angle is usually 5°.

 Glass Window

The shutter of glass window opens, allowing solar radiation to enter the instrument through the window.

 Tube

The sunlight will enter in the long collimator and will incident on black absorber plate. The tube allows only the direct
portion of the solar radiation to be measured.

 Thermopile

Thermopile is located below the black absorber plate which will be used to measure the emf. It will measure the heat
from the black body which is recorded for the system.
4. Explain briefly the working of Solar Pond?

Ans:

A solar pond is an artificially constructed water pond in which significant temperature rises are caused in the lower
regions by preventing the occurrence of convection currents. The more specific terms salt-gradient solar pond or non-
convecting solar pond are also used. The solar pond, which is actually a large area solar collector is a simple technology
that uses a pond between one to four metres deep as a working material.
Typically, a salt gradient solar pond consists of three zones: -
 An upper convective zone of clear fresh waters that acts as solar collector/receiver and which is relatively the
shallowest in depth and is generally close to ambient temperature.
 A gradient which serves as the non-convective zone which is much thicker and occupies more than half the
depth of the pond. Salt concentration and temperature increase with depth.
 A lower convective zone with the densest salt concentration, serving as the heat storage zone. Almost as thick
as the middle non-convective zone, salt concentration and temperatures are nearly constant in this zone.

When solar radiation strikes the pond, most of it is absorbed by the surface at the bottom of the pond. The
temperature of the dense salt layer therefore increases. But the salt density difference keeps the ‘layers’ of the solar
pond separate. The denser salt water at the bottom prevents the heat being transferred to the top layer of fresh water
by natural convection, due to which the temperature of the lower layer may rise to as much as 95 °C.

5. What are the 5 Main Types of Renewable Energy? Elaborate it?

Ans: There are many kinds of renewable energy sources, and they’re evolving all the time. What connects them all,
said Weinstein, is that these sources are primarily replenished on their own through the natural functioning of the
planet.

Some of the most common types of renewable energy include:

 Solar Energy

Solar energy is energy derived from sunlight. According to Weinstein, solar energy can be harnessed through anything
from small solar panels on an individual house to massive solar farms covering thousands of acres. Solar power is
consistently the fastest-growing sector of renewable energy jobs. According to a 2023 report from the World Economic
Forum (WEF), there were nearly 4.9 million solar energy jobs in 2022, accounting for more than a third of all renewable
energy jobs worldwide.
  Wind Energy

Wind energy is typically harnessed with large turbine or turbine arrays in open water or on mountain ridges, Weinstein
said. But smaller-scale applications of wind energy are also starting to be used.

 Hydropower

Hydropower relies on the flow of water to generate energy. According to the U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy (EERE), hydropower is one of the oldest and largest sources of renewable energy, accounting for
28.7% of total U.S. renewable electricity generation.

 Geothermal Energy

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the breakdown of radioactive particles in the earth’s core
produces geothermal energy, which can be used for everything from bathing and heating buildings to producing
electricity.

 Biofuels

Biofuels are organisms grown specifically as a fuel source, like trees for burning wood, or ethanol, which is made from
corn. Weinstein said that while biofuels are technically renewable because we can always plant more trees, they aren’t
the cleanest option since they require combustion to produce energy.