By

Aveek Saha, Debraj Saha, Partho Sarathi Ghosh & Pritam Sinha Roy

60 50 40 30 20 10

X-axis: Time in Years Y-Axis: Power Consumption in Mega Watts

Mumbai Kolkata New Delhi chennai

0
2007 2008 2009 2010

The conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy

Most productive in open windy spaces Climatically stable environments

Neighboring to urban areas Relatively near to an existing power grid

Positioning the body in the most optimum location

The internal working of an ordinary windmill.

Aligning the generator with the body and harnessing the pedals

One of the oldest forms of eco-friendly power generation

Requires the least amount of startup finances as compared to almost every other urban power generation method (solar, thermal, hydel)

ideal for generation of power to light a small town for 4 hours every day

Depends heavily upon climactic conditions, too high or too low wind velocities not feasible Too low velocities would not produce sufficient Voltage; Too high velocities may damage the shaft or even the stator. For sufficient urban power generation, a considerably large number of windmills would be required.

Generation of useable power through Sunlight

Ideal for capita level power generation, i.e. per house or per residential locality

A sufficient amount of open sky is required

How it works
Sunlight is incident on the semiconductor Silicon Plates or Solar Panels.

The electrons on the surface of the plates get extra energy and jump to higher levels.

These electrons when connected trough a circuit display a net potential difference and thus current flows.

Primary Advantages
Apart from installation costs, solar panels require very little maintenance and are thus very cost-effective on the long run

Can be easily designed to optimize power generation by variety of sizes shapes structures.

Primary disadvantages
Like wind power, for sufficient Power Generation, a very large number of panels would be required.

Even today the cost of a single set of solar panels is equivalent to the price of half a ton of coal

Tidal Power
Generation of power through tidal kinetic energy
Most conveniently used in coastal regions Very effective in areas where power demand is low but infrastructure is poor.

A few geographic restrictions exist; the turbine cannot be built on a steep coast

How it works
When the tide enters, the armature rotates to a sufficient velocity generating a current The identical phenomenon occurs when the tide goes out.

Commutator rings help maintain polarity

Primary Advantages
The rise and fall of the tide is consistent, which makes it very predictable and reliable. Tidal energy does not depend on the weather The making of electricity in this way is usually not very costly, Also tides are active 24 hours a day

Primary disadvantages
Right now tides do not produce a lot of electricity so its not very efficient. Barrages across river estuaries can change the flow of the water, and because of that it is the place for birds and other wildlife to live, because of this, there are some wildlife that could be in danger.

These two mackerel had gotten inside the turbine shaft container, as a result the generator was shut down for 8 eight hours

Hydel power Generation

the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. Once constructed: the project produces no direct waste

Has a considerably lower output level of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) than fossil fuel powered energy plants
The Three Gorges Dam in China, the largest hydro-electric power station in the world.

How it works
Water is accumulated in a great reservoir/dam and dropped from a great height.

The turbine velocity increases with increase in depth of turbine in reservoir.

The generator power supply cords are thus connected to the urban main supply units.

Primary Advantages
Largest, cheapest renewable source of energy does not pollute the atmosphere

very low operating costs.

respond to utility load demands

Primary Disadvantages
Construction of dams is expensive
Bhakra Nangal Dam was constructed at a cost of Rs 245 Crores in 1948.

causes habitats to change, thereby endangering local and surrounding wildlife, earthquakes, landslides etc produce large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane from rotting vegetation.