An energy crisis is any great bottleneck in the supply of energy sources to an economy. It is also the gap between demand and supply. It usually refers to the shortage of oil, or the shortage of electricity or other natural resources. Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources which can be generated continuously in nature and are inexhaustible. The various renewable sources of energy are :
(i) Solar Energy : Solar energy is the energy received by the earth from the sun. The solar energy can be converted into other forms of energy mainly by two methods :
1. Thermal Method : In this method, solar radiation in the form of heat is converted into mechanical, electrical and chemical energy by using solar thermal devices.
2. Photo voltaic Method : The sun’s energy is directly converted into electricity using a photo voltaic cell.
3. Biomass Energy : Biomass includes firewood, crop and timber wastes, aquatic plants, animal wastes and organic matter from household, municipal and certain types of industrial wastes. India produces about 300 million tones of crop residue every year in which it generate about 40,000 MW of electricity.
