Abstract

Today's crisis in the field of energy supplies, environmental control, population increase,
poverty and shortage of food and materials are closely interrelated.

Now we see that a 5 % yearly increase in the use of energy not only points to fuel
depletion, but is also a main cause for increase in pollution level and related disasters.
Too many ambitious single-purpose plans are made with little or no regard to the
interdependent short and long-term social-economic and environmental effects, which
has caused concern over the arising global environmental issues.

The present paper highlights the perspectives and some issues related to integrated
renewable energy system. Though the global issues related to renewable energy are
discussed here, the paper concentrates on the issues, which are more directly related to
developing country like India.

Extensive survey has been carried out to cover domestic, agricultural and industrial
sector to know their energy related details. The study shows that bio energy caters
about 84% of the domestic energy needs. This study shows that the present use pattern
is non-sustainable and planning of regional energy lacks integrated approach. Thus,
even though the bioenergy is a renewable resource, because of vast gap between rate
of consumption and rate of regeneration has led to unsustainability.

The factors, which directly and indirectly affect the use and promotion of energy sources
in the area, are discussed in detail.

Introduction

Ever since 1973 oil crises, many countries have justifiably maintained an abiding
interest in renewable energy sources and as a result many renewable energy programs
were developed.

Main advantage of renewable energy is that its main ingredient is renewable and it
plays crucial role in environmental standards by combating global warming and other
threats. At the current rate of energy consumption, the limited reserves of coal, oil, and
gas may last only for 197 years, 40 years, and 56 years respectively.

Our forests on the other hand are declining due to many reasons and recent studies
show that firewood demand is not the only reason for forest degradation, though it
contributes significantly.

Environmental health of our planet is degrading and it is losing its ecological balance.
Climate change, ozone depletion, acid rain, global warming, loss of biodiversity are
some of the threats to be tackled if planet earth has to survive for long time.

Energy issues are the focus of all these threats and therefore it needs special attention.
Renewable energy sources promise to meet all the challenges, so as to attain the
sustainable development.
What is Renewable Energy?

Renewable energy uses energy sources that are continually replenished by nature—the
sun, the wind, water, the Earth’s heat, and plants. Renewable energy technologies turn
these fuels into usable forms of energy—most often electricity, but also heat, chemicals,
or mechanical power.

Why Use Renewable Energy?

 Today we primarily use fossil fuels to heat and power our homes and fuel our
cars. It’s convenient to use coal, oil, and natural gas for meeting our energy
needs, but we have a limited supply of these fuels on the Earth.

 We’re using them much more rapidly than they are being created. Eventually,
they will run out. And because of safety concerns and waste disposal problems,
The Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal demand high reductions of
greenhouse gas emissions, which require switching to renewable energy
resources and thus performing an energy transition.

 Achieving the targets of the energy transition, however, will demand a change in
the design of the energy systems and their supporting infrastructure.

 Energy production will consist of larger shares of renewable and will therefore
need supporting infrastructure such as batteries and other storages, more grid
infrastructure due to more small producing sites, and sector coupling
infrastructure. This leads to a shift in resource use. For example: in 2000 the
main resources used by the German energy system were coal, crude oil, oil
products and natural gas , whereas by 2050 the German energy system will
most likely be dependent on copper, aluminum, lithium, nickel, rare earth
elements, etc., due to the shift to renewable energies.

 Renewable energy is plentiful, and the technologies are improving all the time.
There are many ways to use renewable energy. Most of us already use
renewable energy in our daily lives.
The principle types of renewable energies available today are:

 Solar energy
 Hydro power
 Wind power
 Biomass energy
 Municipal waste
 Industrial waste
 Wave energy
 Tidal power
 Geo thermal energy
Solar Energy :
 Solar energy is the most readily available and free source of energy since
prehistoric times.

 India receives solar energy in the region of 5 to 7 Kwh/m2 for 300 to 330 days in
a year. This energy is sufficient to set up 20 MW solar power plant per sequel
kilometer land area solar energy can be utilized directly by two technologies ;
namely solar thermal and solar photovoltaic. (Solar electric)

Wind energy
 Wind power is defined by the conversion of wind energy by wind turbines into a
useful form, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, wind mills for
mechanical power, wind pumps for pumping water or drainage, or sails to propel
ships.

 The first wind turbines for electricity generation were developed at the beginning
of the 20th century. The technology has gradually improved since the early 1970s.
By the end of the 1990s, wind energy has re-emerged as one of the most
important sustainable energy resources.

Geo thermal energy :

 Geo thermal energy is a renewable heat energy from underneath the earth.

 Heat is brought to neat surface by thermal conditions and by intrusion into the
earths crust.

 It can be utilized for power generation and direct neat application. Potential sites
for geo thermal power generation have been identified mainly in central and north
regions of the country.

 Suitable technologies are under development to make its exploitation viable.

Biomass co-generation :
 Co-generation improves viability and profitability of sugar industries. Indian sugar
mills are rapidly turning to bagasse, the leftover of cane after it is crushed and its
juice extracted, to generate electricity.

 This is mainly being and earn additional revenue. According to current estimates,
about 3500 MW of power can be generated from bagasse in the existing 430
sugar mills in the country.

 Around 270 MW of power has already been commissioned and more is under
construction.

Biofuels

 Biomass can be converted directly into liquid fuels, called biofuels.

 Because biofuels are easy to transport and possess high energy density, they are
favored to fuel vehicles and sometimes stationary power generation.

 The most common biofuel is ethanol, an alcohol made from the fermentation of
biomass high in carbohydrates.

 The current largest source of ethanol is corn.

 Some countries use ethanol as a gasoline additive to help meet air quality
standards for ozone. Flex-fuel vehicles are also now on the market, which can use
a mixture of gasoline and ethanol, such as E85—a mixture of 85 percent ethanol
and 15 percent gasoline.

 Another biofuel is biodiesel, which can be made from vegetable and animal fats.
 Biodiesel can be used to fuel a vehicle or as a fuel additive to reduce emissions.
Corn ethanol and biodiesel provide about 0.4 percent of the total liquid fuels
market.
 To increase our available supply of biofuels, researchers are testing crop
residues— such as cornstalks and leaves—wood chips, food waste, grass, and
even trash as potential biofuel sources.
Advantages of Renewable Energy

Renewable Energy is Eco-friendly

 Renewable energy is considered clean energy since it doesn’t cause grave

environmental pollution, and it has low or zero carbon and greenhouse emission.

 Fossil fuels emit high levels of greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide, which are
greatly responsible for global warming, climate change, and degradation of air
quality.

 Fossil fuels also contribute to sulfur emission to the atmosphere leading to acid
rains. Acid rains can cause damage to buildings.

 Solar and wind power are considered eco-friendly because they emit zero toxic
gases to the environment. The use of renewable energy dramatically reduces the
dependence on fossil fuel as a source of energy, hence, cutting back on air
pollution.

It’s a Renewable Resource

 This implies that they do not deplete over a lifetime, and there is zero possibility
that they will run out (sustainable source of energy).

 Sources of energy like fossil fuels (oil, gas, and coal) are considered limited
resources, and there is a strong possibility that they will run out in the future.

 Renewable energy can help developing countries from over-reliance on fossil

fuels.

 Powerful winds, heat emanating from beneath the earth, sunshine and moving
water can guarantee a huge and steady energy supply to a nation for many years.
Leads to Job Creation

 Renewable energy makes real economic sense because it is a cheaper

alternative to most traditional sources of energy.

 Since the inception of renewable energy, new and stable jobs have been added to
most world economies.

 For instance, in Germany and UK, many jobs have already been created. Thanks
to their relentless efforts to develop and encourage the use of renewable forms of
energy.

 Experts project that with the ongoing rigorous campaigns to embrace renewable
energy, thousands of stable jobs will be created.

Renewable Energy has Stabilized Global Energy Prices

 Change up to renewable sources of energy means the stability of energy prices

across the globe.

 This is because the cost of renewable energy depends on the initial cost of
installation of renewable energy technologies as opposed to fossil fuels, which
increase and decrease depending on the current inflation and availability of the
resource.

 Respective governments would only need to cater to the initial costs, and that’s it.

Boosts Public Health

 This is a no-brainer. The sources for renewable energy generation emit little to no
greenhouse gases or pollutants into the air.

 This means a smaller carbon footprint and an overall healthier atmosphere.

 If governments took upon themselves to build more renewable energy facilities,

the population would enjoy the health benefits.
It is a Technology
 Renewable energy technology is a term used to refer to hybrid technology or
other forms of technology that store up energy created or produced by renewable
sources.

 It can anticipate renewable energy supply and helps to deliver energy produced
by renewable energy technologies to the final consumer.

 Renewable energy technologies include wind power, solar power,

hydroelectricity, biomass energy, and biofuels, which are chiefly used for
transportation.

 Over time, technology becomes cheaper when production and installation

methods are refined; therefore, renewable are on a path that will constantly
become cheaper.

It Can be Used to Recycle Our Waste Products

 Biomass energy tends to have this specific benefit that more than any other form
of renewables.

 Biomass consumes used organic products such as used vegetable oil, corn and
soybean byproducts, or even algae to generate energy.

 At the same time, it reduces the amount of waste that goes into landfills, also
reducing the amount of overall carbon that goes into the atmosphere.

Disadvantages of Renewable

Energy

 The Electricity Generation Capacity is Still Not Large Enough

 There are still challenges to the generation of large quantities of power in

renewable energy technology compared to traditional forms of energy generation
like fossil fuel.
  Fossil fuel still produces large quantities of electricity today, by far. This,
essentially, means that it can’t be solely relied upon to power the whole nation.

 This means that either we need to set up more such facilities to match up with the
growing demand or lookout for ways to reduce our energy consumption.

Low-efficiency Levels

 Renewable energy technologies are still significantly new to the market, meaning,
they still lack the much-needed efficiency.

 Lack of sufficient knowledge on how to effectively harness these forms of energy

makes the installation and maintenance cost for such facilities quite high.

 This poses forecast problems, and investors may shy away from investing their
money for fear of not getting returns pretty quickly.

It Still Generates Pollution

Renewable energy may be a better option for emission than fossil
fuels, but they are not completely free from pollution. Many
renewable energy forms or their manufacturing processes emit
greenhouse gases like particulates into the air, carbon dioxide, or
worse – methane. It is partly because the resources needed for
renewables are built using fossil fuels.
Still not every renewable resource is clean such as biomass that
burns organic matter directly into the atmosphere.