Feature Article

Windmills have been turning for millennia, but they have only been producing electricity for 125 years. Scotsman James Blyth is regarded as the inventor of the technology, He could not celebrate his success, as electric power was seen as the work of the devil.

The US has reached a preliminary decision on punitive duties for Chinese solar manufacturers. An anti-dumping case is also now on the cards in the European Union. What are its chances of success?

Kenya is finally starting to systematically exploit its vast geothermal resources. It is counting on renewables to help it upgrade to an emerging economy.

A year on from Fukushima, Japan is only gradually setting a course for renewable energies. Strong resistance from the nuclear lobby, inadequate infrastructure, and a lack of reforms in the energy market are hampering progress.

Today’s fast paced world is overly dependent on energy to fulfill its various requirements related to daily life. Biogas, a clean and renewable source comes as a efficient and cost effective method to generate power. This case study of a biogas bottling plant showcases the efforts of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to usher in new technological breakthroughs in the arena of renewable energy.

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a fairly new technology which uses the ocean’s natural thermal gradient to produce energy to drive a powerproducing cycle. Considering the fact that the ocean’s layers of water have different temperatures, an OTEC system can produce a significant amount of power. The oceans are thus a vast renewable resource, with the potential to help us produce billions of watts of electric power.

The article focuses on the great potential of geothermal energy and indicates the possible developments that can be achieved with greater benefits in terms of the use for the new renewable resource.

The use and applicability of geothermal energy in the context of the Indian scenario is described in the essay. The future prospects of this heat energy as a sustainable source of renewable energy is indeed promising.

Energy security is a major challenge that needs imaginative and innovative solutions for a country like India. Therefore, options for diversification of fuels and energy sources need to be pursued vigorously to enhance the economic growth rate for socio-economic development.

A maroon car, powered by fuel obtained from photosynthetic microorganisms, was flagged off for a test run by Union minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Vilasrao Deshmukh in New Delhi on March 30. The event brings alternative fuels from microorganisms closer to reality. With fossil fuels set to get exhausted in the next few hundred years and the spectre of global warming looming over the planet, the world is increasingly looking at alternative energy options.