Economics_Topic

 ENERGY AND SOURCES OF ENERGY Energy and sources of energy Energy is the power to change things or in other words we can say that it is the ability to do work. It gives us light it runs our machines it keeps us warm and many other things. In other words we can say that it is impossible to survive without energy in the present time. More over energy also plays a great role in the economic development of . a country utilizing all its sources of energy has a better chance to grow economically as compared to a country where the sources of energy are less or not utilized properly. This is because energy has a direct impact on the standard of living of people and industrial side of the country and both of these are a good measure of economic development of a country. If people of a country are having a high standard of living and their industrial side is progressing well (means the exports are greater than the imports) than it is a clear sign that the country is making full use of its resources its growth rate is high. The main sources of energy in Pakistan (for generating electricity) A) Conventional sources:  Conventional energy sources are typically fully developed, nonrenewable resources It includes 1) Thermal energy 2) Hydel energy 3) nuclear energy B) Non conventional sources : Nonconventional sources may be functional but are still undergoing development and use renewable resources. .1) Wind energy 2) Solar energy 3) Bio gas (energy animal &plant wastes) A) Conventional sources  Conventional sources of energy are those sources which are generally used In the country for the production of heat, electricity, and power. Pakistan has the following conventional sources of energy that are as follows: 1. THERMAL ENERGY   Thermal energy refers to the type of energy in which heat is used to produce energy. Thermal Energy is the oldest type of energy. With all known history available, Wood was always used for heating and cooking. In 2nd world war fossil fuels entered in the form of coal to get the energy, until liquid fuels were discovered and because of their convenience of transportation they took over as major contributors of the energy source. Once the steam engines were invented then the coal or liquid fuel was burnt in the boilers and the heat produces steam which is used to drive electrical generators, or any other mechanical device. [pic][pic][pic] Rudolph diesels invention of diesel engine revolutionaries the energy concept and today we see sine the majority of machines moving ondiesel engines. Thermal energy sources in Pakistan1. Coal Pakistan has huge reserves of coal which can be used to overcome theproblem of energy crises in the country . The government of Pakistanis making hectic efforts to introduce the coal usage in the industrialsector. The machinery for these units is totally exempted from importduties and taxes. A coal based power plant of 150MW has been set upin the interior sindh. 2. Oil  Oil is one of the most important sources of energy through out theworld and its importance is increasing day by day. many wars arebeing fought just tov get the reserves of the oil..the government of Pakistan is making sincere efforts to find out new oil fields in thecountry .the policy is to attain self sufficiency in oil because oil as asource of energy is expensive if it is imported from other countries andit greatly increases the import bills of the country.at present thegeneration capacity of electricity through oil is 12340MW 3.Natural gas : Natural gas is also a precious gift of Allah to our country. huge depositsof natural gas has been discovered in many parts of Baluchistan andsindh.natural gas is a cheap sources of energy in comparison to oiland it can also play a great role in the industrial sector because it isused as a raw material in many industries like fertilizers cement andplastics etc. 2. HYDEL ENERGY  [pic][pic][pic][pic][pic]   Page| 5 Water flowing in the rivers has kinetic energy. Once they are used todrive the turbine and produce electricity the power generated as HydelEnergy.Power produced by the turbines depends on quantity of waterflowing/minute and the head of water available.Mostly river flows by melting glaciers on high mountains. Oncethe water start flowing in the valleys it changes its head very rapidly. This energy can be converted into electrical energy. Two method are normally used:-1. Dams2. Run of River projects.In case of Dams the water flow is restricted by making a hugestorage device and the head of water is increased, the water then isallowed to flow by means of gates and pass through the turbines, thehead of reservoir level is maintained to provide uniform power, and thewater stored in peak season additionally is used for irrigation purposesin dry seasons.In run of river projects the water is diverted through the tunnelsand once it gains the head allowed to fall and pass through theturbines and back to river. the water in these projects is continuouslyflowing and not being stored.Geographical situation is paramount importance in choosing asuitable site for the hydro project and it evolves a very serious timeand money consuming study.Once a site is located further detailed feasibility study is requiredbefore proceeding any serious effort to start the work. The feasibility study should include following field work.1. Detailed Mapping of the area5. Weather data containing, Temperatures, pressures, rainhumidity6. Water sampling and testing7. Environmental study8. Social impact9. Wild life and fish study10. Identification of stake holders of the area11. Coring and getting samples of the soil at 50-200 metersdepth12. Laboratory testing of the cores samples13. study to evaluate earth quake dangers Hydel energy in Pakistan : [pic][pic]   Page| 6 In Pakistan hydel energy is usually generated through waterfalls(dams).there are many dams in the country which play a great role inthe generation of electricity for household, business and industrial sector. since independence huge amounts have been allocated for the development of hydel energy as it is a main source of electricity generation in the country as a result of this the generation of electric power through hydel energy has been increased from 68MW in 1947 to6555MW in 2009. 3. Nuclear energy  The importance of nuclear energy as a source of electricity generation is increasing very rapidly throughout the world as many developed as well as developing countries are making use of nuclear energy to generate electricity. the main fuel which is required to run the nuclear reactor is called uranium. with the grace of all mighty uranium is found in excess in Pakistan. at present there are two nuclear electric power generation plants in Pakistan namely Karachi nuclear power plant and chasma nuclear power plant. B) Non-conventional sources of energy    The less developing countries are now developing other renewable sources of energy. These sources are comparatively cheaper to those of conventional sources of energy and these sources have a simplified technology, the non-conventional sources of energy are as follows: 1. Wind energy Wind energy is a very cheap source of generating power in windy areas, the windmills can be used for supplying electricity on a small scale the windmill can be used for pumping water for crops, grinding corn, crushing sugar cane, thrashing, cutting of wood etc etc.at presentthere are four mechanical wind pumpers and one wind powergeneration system has been set up 2. Solar energy [pic][pic][pic][pic][pic]