Renewable Energy in the 21st Century

-- Mr. Daniel Alexander Dawes

Department of Environmental Education
Bishop Cotton School, Shimla

Renewable Resources as Against Conventional

Resources

Taking a bus ride through Thirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu

is a unique visual experience as well as it unwinds one who
has a concern for the Energy Crisis these days. At almost
any point on the journey, your eyes would flash upon atleast
one or two gigantic three-bladed wind turbines turning
slowly in the breeze, quietly and cleanly converting currents
of air into currents of electricity. These shiny machines now
produce a full 7% of electricity in the state. Kudos to them
for this venture!
Around the world, new energy technologies that do not rely
on fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas are
moving from the experimental stage to commercial reality.
Sunlight, wind, and other renewable resources are
increasingly converted into useful forms of energy with ever-
greater efficiency. The new technologies still provide less
than 1 % of the world's energy supply, but they appear to be
advancing rapidly. Countries, like never before are making
remarkable strides in the field of nuclear energy. In the
1950’s one expert said ‘nuclear power will produce
electricity so cheaply that it will not be worth charging
people for it!’ This is because nuclear power uses only small
amounts of radioactive material to produce enormous
quantities of energy.
The timing of these advances could be of critical importance
to the future of modern civilization. Most experts believe that
an energy system based on fossil fuels cannot be sustained
for another century. According to several recent estimates
based on currently known oil reserves, oil production will
peak within the first 10 to 20 years of the 21st century.
Even if additional reserves are discovered, many scientists
say that continued reliance on fossil fuels as a primary
energy source over the coming decades could release into
the atmosphere billions of metric tons of carbon dioxide and
other heat-trapping gases, contributing to the Green House
Effect. International efforts like the Kyoto Protocol held in
December 1994, are already underway to cap emissions of
these gases, which many scientists have linked to global
warming (an increase in the earth's surface temperature).
Many experts believe a transition towards renewable,
carbon-free energy technologies would go a long way toward
addressing the problems of dwindling oil reserves and the
potentially ruinous environmental impacts linked to the
burning of fossil fuels. A wide range of renewable energy
resources is likely to play an important role in this 21st
century. These include ancient sources of power, such as the
wind and sun, as well as comparatively new forms of power,
such as the fuel cell. A host of other resources, including
geothermal heat, biomass, and ocean power, will also figure
prominently in the world's next energy system. Such a
transition to the above forms of inexhaustible energy
resources would most certainly make the 21st century ‘The
Age of Renewable Energy’.

Solving the Energy Crisis for the 21st Century

Many believe that a series of revolutionary new

technologies-including advanced solar cells, wind turbines,
and fuel cells-are in about the same place today that the
internal-combustion engine and electromagnetic generator
occupied in the 1890’s. These key technologies have already
been developed and commercialized, but they are employed
only in small niche markets. In the next century these
devices could lead to a new generation of mass-produced
machines-machines that efficiently and cleanly provide the
energy that enables people to take a hot shower, sip a hot
cup of coffee in an air-conditioned room or surf the Internet
24/7 without the least interruption in the power supply.
Thanks to a potent combination of advancing technology and
government incentives, renewable energy may finally be
here to stay. Signs of this change are visible in world energy
markets. In the 1990s wind power generation grew at a rate
of 25.7% per year, and production of solar energy expanded
16.8% annually.
The silicon semiconductor chip, a technology that is less
than 40 years old, is now used in nearly every industry.
Increased processing power and the miniaturization of
electronic devices make it possible to control nearly all
energy devices more efficiently, opening new ways of
producing, consuming, and conserving energy. Most experts
are of the opinion that a paradigm shift in the energy domain
will take decades to develop, nevertheless they concede that
investments in this sector of renewability will pay overriding
dividends in the long run.

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