NIMRA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND
TECHNOLOGY
I B TECH I SEM :
ENGLISH NOTES
DR. SHAIK SHAHEEN TAJ
MBA., MA., M PHIL., PHD.
UNIT 4
ENERGY: ALTERNATIVE SOURCES
Indian power system: Issues and Opportunities
Power generation is the
indication of economic growth and industrial development of any country. India
has a large verity of renewable and non-renewable energy resources still it
suffers lack of generation, Transmission and distribution of electricity due to
its poor policies and week planning strategy.
Economic growth the world
over is driven by energy, whether in the form of finite resources such as coal,
oil and gas or in renewable forms such as hydroelectric, wind, solar and
biomass, or its converted form, electricity. This energy generation and
consumption powers the nation’s industries, vehicles, homes and offices. It
also has significant impact on the quality of the country’s air, water, land
and forest resources. For future growth to be both rapid and sustainable, it
needs to be as resource-efficient and environmentally benign as possible
Limited
fuel: In the Indian Power
sector, primarily electricity production is from thermal power stations. The
main fuel used is coal. Additional power generation is likely to require
incremental amount of coal transportation by Indian Railways within the country
and increasing unloading at ports in India for imported coal.
Equipment Shortage: Equipment shortages have
been a significant reason for India. While the shortage has been primarily in
the core components of Boilers, Turbines and Generators.
Land
Acquisition and Environment Clearance:
Land Acquisition poses an increasingly significant challenge in the Indian
Power sector. Power plants and utilities face major constraints and delays
regarding the availability of land and obtaining the requisite environment and other
clearances for the projects.
Transmission
& Distribution Losses:
High distribution-line losses are among the most vexing problems in the Indian
power sector. This is a matter of concern as well as potential for saving,
which may reduce the demand supply gap. A reduction in Transmission &
Distribution losses by 1% would result in a saving in capacity by about 800 MW.
Aging
Power Plants and Transmission network:
Since most of the power plants and transmission lines have been installed
immediately after the independence; they have become old and inefficient. This
is the main reason for low growth and transmission rate in electricity
generation and transmission during the recent years. Old and inefficient plants
and lines need to be replaced or renovated and modernized to achieve the
electricity production and demand target.
Sharp
increase in demand: Although India has large
installed capacity but still there is large demand and supply difference.
Interstate Disputes: India is a
federal democracy, and because rivers cross state boundaries, constructing
efficient and equitable mechanisms for
allocating river flows has long been an important legal and constitutional
issue. Due to this there is not availability
of water all the times to operate hydro plants. Inter-state disputes also
restrict the excess power exchange between
the states.
Delay in construction of projects: The
commissioning of new power projects have been delayed for too long. The main
reason behind this is the lack of
financing and long route of money flow from the departments.
Erratic monsoons: India is a big country with different geographical
conditions. The monsoon in India is very erratic so that the hydro plants can’t
be operating during whole year. Many times, the depletion of the reservoirs
caused a shortage in generation from the hydro plants.
Less inclination to renewable: India is abundantly gifted
with variety of renewable energy (RE) sources, not all States are endowed with
same level of renewable energy sources. While some States have very high
renewable energy potential, some States have very little renewable energy
potential. But still the renewable resources are not explored, having only
approx. 10% of total energy generation.
Alternative
energy devises:
Write one major advantage and one disadvantage, with reasons,
for using Pedal Power in Indian
villages.
Pedalling
needs muscles of the human body. Pedal power is the transfer of energy from a human source through the
use of a foot pedal and crank system. This technology is most commonly used for
transportation and has been used to propel bicycles for over a hundred years.
Less commonly pedal power is used to power agricultural and hand tools and even
to generate electricity. Some applications include pedal powered laptops, pedal
powered grinders and pedal powered water wells. Some third world development
projects currently transform used bicycles into pedal powered tools for
sustainable development.
In Philippines
engineers have developed a small lightweight, inexpensive foot-powered pump to
lift large qualities of water several feet. The operator uses moderate amounts
of human power. It stands on two footrests at either end of the pump and rocks
back and forth.
Disadvantages of pedal power is for every
application in the household, farm or workshop we need a lot of space.
And designing a pedal power unit for every tool might become labour-intensive,
costly and energy-intensive. As it is in-efficient with loss of energy we
should avoid whenever a device can be powered in a mechanical way.
Wind Power:
Renewable energies are
very important for human development. Though we have sufficient quantity of
coal and natural gas supplies at present, it might be insufficient in future.
So we have to find sources of renewable energies. Wind energy has become popular source of
renewable energy. It has been around for thousands of years.
There is a lot of
popular support for wind energy. There is also a lot of apathy as well. We are
gulping down the few remaining years of cheap natural gas and Mid East oil. Due
to this the inertia of global warming is unavoidably building.
Wind energy
conservation is a fascinating field. Unlike the aerospace industry, the
computer industry, and any other successful industry wind energy is the leading
mechanically based renewable energy. It’s a technology that has been reinvented
numerous times. This clearly proves that there always will be success with wind
power.
Transfer the information given in the following graph in a verbal text
of not less than 200 words. It can include the facts and also your inferences
from the facts presented in the graph.
The bar chart illustrates the usage of internet in Malaysia according to
the Age Group from the year 2005 to 2007.
Disadvantages of Electricity
Electricity is potentially dangerous, and
small mistakes often lead to electrocutions. Electricians receive years of
training before they are able to work, but their training does not prevent all
injuries. Wall outlets are potentially dangerous, and water on electrical
devices can cause electrocution as well.
Electricity is mostly generated in power
plants, and most of these plants release carbon dioxide in the process. This
release is one of the major factors for global climate change. There are other
technologies that do not pose the same risks, but developing nations cannot
afford their high costs. Particulate pollution has a number of significant
health effects as well.
Ø It can kill us
Ø We become dependent on it
Ø We use other dirtier forms of energy
(nuclear, fossil fuels) to produce it
Ø There is growing concern that the magnetic
fields around transmission lines may be unhealthy
Essay on Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources
We can not use our feet to power our cars like
the flinstones. So, how do cars move around? Energy! what is energy? energy is
the ability to do work. All living things need energy to grow, plants use light
from the sun to grow, also light is a type of energy we use all the time, we
get most of the light from the sun, but at night we make our own light using
another energy source known as electricity. Energy makes things move, cars run
on the energy stored in gasoline sail boats are pushed by the energy in the
wind. It takes energy to run our televisions, computers, and video games in the
form of electricity, we use electricity all day long, it gives us light and
heat, it makes things operate. After a long day don't you feel too tired to
move? Well you have ran out of
energy, you need some food to refuel. Imagine what your life would be without
electricity?!
There are two main types of energy; renewable and
non-renewable, basically Most of the energy we use comes from fossil fuels,
such as coal, natural gas and petroleum. Uranium is another nonrenewable
source, but it is not a fossil fuel. Uranium is converted to a fuel and used in
nuclear power plants. Once these natural resources are used up, they are gone
forever. The process of gathering these fuels can be harmful to the biomes from
which they come. Fossil fuels are put through a process called combustion in
order to produce energy. Combustion releases pollution, such as carbon monoxide
and sulfur dioxide, which may contribute to acid rain and global warming. Other
than Renewable sources of energy can be used over and over again. Renewable
resources include solar energy, wind, geothermal energy, biomass and
hydropower. They generate much less pollution, both in gathering and
production, than nonrenewable sources. But it is believed that petroleum in
particular will not be depleted as it is generated in the deep sedimentary
basins even if it will take thousands of years but it will be generated and
petroleum will still be one of main and important sources of energy and the
source upon which countries' economies depend on, in the following report we
will try to identify different energy sources available in the world.
All the natural resources can be divided into two categories:
(i) Exhaustible natural resources (ii) Inexhaustible natural
resources
Exhaustible natural resources are soils, forests, water, coal,
petroleum, natural gas, minerals etc. These are consumed or exhausted through
continuous use or misuse. Exhaustible natural resources can be further divided
into two-
(a) Renewable natural resources
(b) Non-renewable natural resources
Inexhaustible natural resources are those which cannot be
exhausted through continuous use or misuse eq. air and sunlight etc.
Renewable Resources:
The natural resources which are consumed/exhausted/depleted
through continuous use and can be recovered by very hard efforts taken up for
long periods are called Renewable Resources, for e.g. Soils, forests,
groundwater etc. In other words we can say that all renewable resources are
replenished through natural cycles or manually. For example oxygen in air is
replenished through photosynthesis. 'Forest is maintained themselves and
manually. Similarly fresh water is available through cycles & manually too.
Most of the removable resources are interdependent to each other.
Forests maintained the environment/climate; plants need to check soil erosion
& soil is needed for plants. Air and insects are needed for pollination.
Wood, fibre, fodder, fruits, vegetables, milk etc. are developed directly or
indirectly by recent photosynthetic activity.
Thus the renewal of these resources will continue at as long as
photosynthesis continues on this planet. These resources are the life support
system which can fulfill all human needs. But its productivity/renewability is
limited or depends upon availability of water, nutrients and environmental
conditions.
The natural resources are useful to human society in one way or
other. Hence we should ensure a continuous yield of useful plants, animals and
materials by establishing a balanced cycle of harvest and renewal (Odom -
1971).
Non-Renewable Resources:
Non renewable resources are not replenished able or we cannot get
back our coal and petroleum reserves in our life time, if ones they are
consumed/exhausted completely. Non-renewable resources are metals (iron,
copper, zinc etc.), coal, oil deposits, minerals, stone, mineral, salts
(Phosphate, nitrates, carbonates etc.) etc.
Minerals are often called the 'STOCK' resources, because their new
materials can only be extracted from the earth's crust once. But even in the
transformed state in which they are used, they are not lost to the planet and
so are ideally available for reuse. Metals/minerals come from a very slow
process of geo-chemical concentration, which took millions of years to form.
Therefore, these deposits which occur today can disappear at some point of time
in future.
Coal, petroleum and natural gas are called as 'FOSSIL FUELS'
because they are formed from dead remains of plants and animals buried in the
earth long ago. They are called fuels because they are burnt to give off
energy. Coal have a high heating value, hence it is a useful fuel. Since fossil
fuels are non-renewable sources of energy, therefore it is essential to explore
more and more alternatives. Today we are utilizing solar energy, wind energy,
ocean, geothermal & atomic energy as alternative sources of energy.
Minerals, rocks, salts and chemicals etc. are termed as 'a biotic
resources', as biological activity is not involved in their formation.
Continuous over exploitation of these resources shall exhaust many of our
valuable deposits, which took millions of years to form. They cannot be
duplicated within the human scale of time.
THE SCARECROW
(Satyajit Ray)
“The
Scarecrow” tells the story of man who dismisses his old servant on suspicion of
thieving. One day, when he is driving out of town his car runs out of petrol.
Forced to wait, the man spies a scarecrow in a field. The scarecrow suddenly
stirs to life. It is the old servant who says that he had never committed the
crime. The startled man decides he will never again accuse anyone without
ascertaining the facts first.
Q. Who was Mriganko Shekhar Mukhopadhyay?
Ans: Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker, widely regarded
as one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century. He was also a fiction
writer, publisher, illustrator, calligrapher, music composer, graphic designer
and film critic. He authored several short stories and novels. Feluda, the
sleuth, and Professor Shonku, the scientist in his science fiction stories, are
popular fictional characters created by him. The Government of India honored
him with the "Bharat Ratna" in 1992.
In the present short story, the protagonist Mriganko Shekhar
Mukopadhyay was a well-known Bengali writer. He was invited by a club in
Durgapur to a cultural function where he would be felicitated. He was an
amiable man. He never believed in superstitions.
Q. Why was he stuck in the middle of nowhere?
Ans: Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker, widely regarded
as one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century. He was also a fiction
writer, publisher, illustrator, calligrapher, music composer, graphic designer
and film critic. He authored several short stories and novels, primarily aimed
at children and adolescents. Feluda, the sleuth, and Professor Shonku, the
scientist in his science fiction stories, are popular fictional characters
created by him. The Government of India honored him with the "Bharat
Ratna" in 1992.
In the present short story, the protagonist Mriganko Shekhar
Mukopadhyay was a well-known Bengali writer. He was invited by a club in
Durgapur to a cultural function where he would be felicitated. He was stranded
in the middle of nowhere when his car ran out of petrol. Even though he pointed
out to his driver Sudhher to check the condition, he didn’t pay any attention.
It was because of his driver’s negligence he sat alone in the car in the middle
of nowhere for more than two and a half hours.
Q. What did Mriganko Babu notice while waiting for his driver to
return? and
Q. How did Mriganko Babu pass time while waiting for his driver?
Ans: Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker, widely regarded
as one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century. He was also a fiction
writer, publisher, illustrator, calligrapher, music composer, graphic designer
and film critic. He authored several short stories and novels, primarily aimed
at children and adolescents. Feluda, the sleuth, and Professor Shonku, the
scientist in his science fiction stories, are popular fictional characters
created by him. The Government of India honored him with the "Bharat
Ratna" in 1992.
In the present short story, the protagonist Mriganko Shekhar
Mukopadhyay- a famous Bengali author, was stranded in the middle of nowhere
when his car ran out of petrol. He sends his driver to Panagarh to fetch
petrol. He had to while away the time till the driver returned. He lit a
cigarette and looked around the barren land stretched out for miles. It was
winter when the farmer completed his harvest. There was no sign of habitation
on one side. He could see a small hut standing next to a tamarind tree and the
row palm trees beyond which lay a dense, dark forest. On the other side he was
greeted by a few trees and two huts where there was no sign of people living.
In the middle of the field there was a scarecrow. He took out a detective novel
from his bag to read but could not concentrate on it either.
Q. Describe Mriganko Babu’s reaction to the scarecrow?
Ans: Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker, widely regarded
as one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century. He was also a fiction
writer, publisher, illustrator, calligrapher, music composer, graphic designer
and film critic. He authored several short stories and novels, primarily aimed
at children and adolescents. Feluda, the sleuth, and Professor Shonku, the
scientist in his science fiction stories, are popular fictional characters
created by him. The Government of India honored him with the "Bharat Ratna"
in 1992.
Mriganko Babu was stranded in the middle of nowhere when his car
ran out of petrol. While waiting for his driver to return, he saw a scarecrow
in the middle of the field on the western side in winter. He experienced the
selfish nature of fellow humans who never respond to same human suffering.
Unable to concentrate on anything, he walked a few faces in the middle of the
road. It seemed the road was deserted. But he felt someone else was there in
the cloudy evening. It was that scarecrow. It was fixed to the bamboo sticks
right in the middle of the field. It was wearing a torn, red and black printed
shirt. An earthen pot painted black, with huge white eyes had been placed
upside down as its head. It was a weird figure. He felt as if this weird figure
frightened birds to cause no harm to the crop.
Q. Who was the scarecrow?
Ans: Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker, widely regarded
as one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century. He was also a fiction
writer, publisher, illustrator, calligrapher, music composer, graphic designer
and film critic. He authored several short stories and novels, primarily aimed
at children and adolescents. Feluda, the sleuth, and Professor Shonku, the
scientist in his science fiction stories, are popular fictional characters
created by him. The Government of India honored him with the "Bharat
Ratna" in 1992.
Mriganko Babu was stranded in the middle of nowhere when his car
ran out of petrol. While waiting for his driver to return, he saw a scarecrow
in the middle of the field on the western side in winter. At the sunset
Mriganko Babu found the scarecrow came to life. He heard that it was calling
him. He was trembled that it had spoken with a human voice. He recognized it.
It was Mriganko Babu’s old servant Abhiram. He remembered that Abhiram inivited
him to visit his village somewhere in this region at once. As the scarecrow
headed towards him, he was terrified and took a few steps back. It enquired
Mriganko Babu if he could recognize him. He mustered his courage and said it
was Abhiram.
Q. Narrate the incident that occurred between Abhiram and Mriganko
Babu?
Ans: Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker, widely regarded
as one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century. He was also a fiction
writer, publisher, illustrator, calligrapher, music composer, graphic designer
and film critic. He authored several short stories and novels, primarily aimed
at children and adolescents. Feluda, the sleuth, and Professor Shonku, the
scientist in his science fiction stories, are popular fictional characters
created by him. The Government of India honored him with the "Bharat
Ratna" in 1992.
Mriganko Babu was stranded in the middle of nowhere when his car
ran out of petrol. He found a scarecrow in the middle of the field. He
recognized it by its torn, red and black printed shirt that it was his old
servant Abhiram. He spoke to Mriganko Babu as a normal human. Abhiram lost his
job for stealing the gold watch of Mriganko Babu which was given as a wedding
gift. Abhiram asked him what had happened to him later. He could work nowhere
and fell ill. He had no money to go to the doctor and died. After his death his
son wore that red and black printed shirt for some time and kept it on me. And
that he had become a scarecrow. He said that he had been waiting for this time
to tell what had happened. His heart longed to prove that he was not a thief
but trusted servant. He asked Mriganko Babu to find the watch under the
wardrobe.
Q. Justify the title of the story ‘The Scarecrow”.
Ans: In the present short story “The Scarecrow”, a writer
gets stranded near a paddy field on his way to the city and encounters the
scarecrow in the field that becomes alive. It seemed to be a Ghost, which occupied an
abandoned burnt bungalow told about its past life and how it was to be a ghost.
In the case of Mrigaonko Babu, the
protagonist felt that he had not evolved as a complete human being. The
scarecrow which had come to life and talked to him what had happened before.
Abhiram accused Mriganko Babu of being unjust toward him and made certain
revelations that created a dramatic twist in the story. It was not his fault to
lose trust least he was punished. He could not prove his honesty as he was servant to his master.
Unable to cope with poverty, he could do no job anywhere and died. The story
presented the real human psyche where one had lost trust he could no longer
survive. People were also indifferent to the fellow human suffering. It was a
pathetic story of Abhiram who turned himself as a scarecrow and scared his
master. His heart longed till he proved that he was innocent.
