Renewable Energy Source: An Overview

Abstract

Energy has been a vital input into the economic and social development. It is the gift of the nature to the mankind in various forms. The
consumption of the energy is directly proportional to the progress of the mankind. However, one third of the world population, living in
developing and threshold countries, has no access to electricity. These people mostly live in remote and rural areas with low population
density, lacking even the basic infrastructure. Accordingly, utility grid extension is not a cost-effective option and sometimes technically not
feasible. Therefore, it is imperative to look for sustainable (that is., cost-effective, environmentally benign and reliable) sources of energy
for the development of these regions. The primary source of energy is fossil fuel, however the finiteness of fossil fuel reserves and large
scale environmental degradation caused by their widespread use, particularly global warming, urban air pollution and acid rain, strongly
suggests that harnessing of non-conventional, renewable and environment friendly energy resources is vital for steering the global energy
supplies towards a sustainable path. This paper describes in brief the non-conventional energy sources and their usage in India.