Energy found in nature is the prime mover of economic growth and a vital sustenance of each economy of the world. The Difference between conventional and non-conventional sources of energy shall primarily be the focus of discussion in this article.
With the growing population, improvement in standard of living of the people, industrialization of developing countries, the global demand of energy is constantly increasing as each day passes. India ranks currently fifth in the world in total energy consumption and is working on accelerating the development of the sector.
Energy resources are broadly classified into two- conventional and non- conventional sources of energy. Conventional sources of energy are the ones that are not present in the environment in abundance. The non-conventional energy sources are the sources present in the environment in large quantities but are used only for limited purposes.
But this cannot be the only point of Difference between conventional and non-conventional sources of energy, can it be?
Surely, there ought to be a lot of points on Difference between conventional and non-conventional sources of energy. Let us now see how they differ from each other!
Major Difference between conventional and non-conventional sources of energy
1. On the basis of their meaning
Conventional energy is the one that cannot be renewed easily in time scale. Due to ever- growing population,the consumption of such energy is increasing day by day leading to its depletion at an alarming rate. It is thus an exhaustible energy resource.
An example of conventional energy is a carbon-based fossil fuel. The original organic matter under intense heat and pressure becomes carbon based fossil fuel such as oil or gas. The earth minerals, metal ores, fossil fuels (for example coal, petroleum, natural gas etc) and groundwater are all considered conventional sources of energy in certain aquifers although the individual elements are always conserved one,s (except in nuclear reactions).
On the other hand, the non- conventional sources of energy are those that are continuously and easily replenished by natural processes and are present in the environment in large quantities. Most of the non-conventional energy comes directly or indirectly from sun or wind. These energy sources are essentially flows of energy, whereas fossil and nuclear fuels are in essence, stocks of energy.
The significant efficiency opportunities for non- conventional energy sources exist over much wider geographical areas in comparison to other energy sources which are concentrated in a limited number of countries. Rapid deployment of non- conventional energy and technological diversification of these energy sources result in a large and significant energy security and economic benefits for every country round the globe.
The meaning of the two concepts is hence the first and the foremost basic Difference between conventional and non-conventional sources of energy.
2. On the basis of other name they are often referred to as.
Conventional energy is also known as the non-renewable source of energy because of the fact that they take thousands of years to form and once depleted, they cannot be sustained at the same pace.
They are mostly formed from the deposition of decayed matter over a period of hundreds or millions of years. These resources have now become scarce due to their depletion at great extent (which in turn is due to their exploitation). It is believed that the deposits of petroleum in our country will be exhausted within a few upcoming decades and the coal reserves in an upcoming hundred years or so.
On the other hand, the non- conventional energy is also known as the renewable sources of energy. This is what causes a Difference between conventional and non-conventional sources of energy.
They are pollution free and are present in abundance in nature. They are constantly re- generated. Therefore can never be exhausted easily and used again and again.
They achieved popularity in recent years after the oil crisis in 1973 and since then they have been in use on a large scale. Each country is trying to make more use of this energy for their economic development keeping in mind the growing global warming issue. Renewable energy is easily obtained from various natural sources like the sun, wind, biological wastes, hot springs, tides, etc. and can be used in generation of heat and power.
This is the absolute, main- core Difference between conventional and non-conventional sources of energy.
Related: Sources of energy
3. On the basis of level of pollution their use causes.
The conventional sources of energy pollute the environment on a large scale through the smoke and hazardous waste emitted from them while they are used in power plants and factories. Excessive use of this source of energy leads to increase in global warming.
Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases emitted during burning of fossil fuels, and while conventional sources being put to use are collected in the atmosphere and they absorb the solar radiations trying to bounce off the earth’s surface and keep them trapped. Normally, this radiation otherwise escapes into space but these pollutants lead to the trapping of heat and cause the planet to get hotter. The normal phenomena is known as the greenhouse effect.
Global warming is a leading cause of worry in the 20th century. It holds the potential to melt the ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland at a much faster pace leading to expansion of oceans. Low-lying areas of Bangladesh, Florida, the Netherlands etc will have to face massive flooding if the ocean expands much beyond the natural levels.
This is what causes a Difference between conventional and non-conventional sources of energy. On the contrary, the non-conventional sources of energy are completely environment- friendly and do not pollute the environment at all. Their market is projected to continue strong growth in the upcoming decade and that’s just the beginning.
The main reason for this is because these sources of energy cause no pollution. With the global warming levels already too high in today’s world, no economy is willing to keep the environment at stake at longer. They are trying to make more and more use of non- conventional sources of energy and are trying to develop such technologies that could help them in the same.
The level of pollution caused by both the sources of energy is thus another point of Difference between conventional and non- conventional sources of energy.
4. On the basis of their use.
The energy produced from conventional sources are highly used for commercial purposes and in industries.
For example-
•According to the data of a substantial report, India was the second-largest importer of coal- 141.7 Mtoe in 2018 and the second-largest consumer of coal with 452.2 Mtoe in 2018. Apart from electricity production, coal is also used for cement production in substantial quantity in India.
Gasification of coal or lignite leads to production of syngas or coal gas which is a mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide gases. Coal gas can be converted into synthetic natural gas (SNG) by the process of Fischer–Tropsch under the conditions of low pressure and high temperature.
•Petroleum products are used for generation of electricity, asphalt and road oil and feedstocks that are used for making chemicals, plastics synthetic materials, etc. Petroleum is also used as fuel oils for heating in vehicles. The total U.S. petroleum consumption in 2019 was 45% of motor gasoline, 20% of distillate fuel (heating oil and diesel fuel) and 9% was jet fuel.
On the other hand, non- conventional sources of energy are mostly used for domestic purposes. They provide energy in four important areas- electricity generation, water heating or cooling, transporting and rural energy services. This reason causes yet another Difference between conventional and non-conventional sources of energy.
For example-
•By 2040 the Non- conventional energy is projected to equal coal and natural gas electricity generation. Several economies including Denmark, Germany, the state of South Australia and some US states have already achieved high integration of variable renewables.
•Solar water heating makes an important contribution to the use of renewables in many countries like The United States, China, India and so on. Most of these systems are installed on multi-family apartment buildings for fulfilling a portion of the hot water needs of many households. Worldwide, total installed solar water heating systems fulfill water heating needs of over 70 million households. The use of biomass for heating has grown immensely, surpassing the use of oil in recent years.
Thus, undeniably the point of Difference between conventional and non-conventional sources of energy on the basis of their use makes the concept of identification of type of energy much easier.
5. On the basis of their cost.
The Difference between conventional and non-conventional sources of energy can also be made out on the basis of their cost due to the following reason-
The availability and use of energy resources influence the economic growth of an economy. Many occupations, businesses, and public services depend on the development and use of energy resources. The market price of energy includes the cost of energy resource exploration, refining, distribution and transportation, taxes and other fees. Other costs that are not part of the market price of energy, mainly known as the externality costs are due to factors such as environmental damage, property damage, health care etc.
The rate of energy consumption is determined by the summation of both energy prices and externality costs.
When comparing the cost of conventional energy to non-conventional energy, externality costs associated with non-conventional energy makes them really different to one another. Most of the non- conventional energy sources are free. The development and production investments related to non- conventional thus go toward material i.e. for putting them to use and for labor rather than on their purchase or extraction.
In short, we can reason out that conventional sources of energy are costly in nature as they are scarce and their uses are endless due to the ever growing population, industrialization and many other reasons. In contrast, the non-conventional sources of energy are comparatively less expensive because of their enormous presence in nature.
This forms indeed a major point of Difference between the conventional and non-conventional sources of energy.
6. On the basis of their phase of development.
The conventional sources of energy have been in use for a very long time. Therefore it will be righteous to conclude that they are already well developed and are being put to best possible use.
On the other hand, the non- conventional sources of energy are still in their development phase and have been so over the past few years. Many renewable energy technologies are still under development including cellulosic ethanol, hot-dry-rock geothermal power, and marine energy.
These technologies are not yet widely demonstrated and have limited commercialization. Many are on the horizon (have been developed) and have potential comparable to other renewable energy technologies but they all still depend on attracting sufficient attention and research, development and R&D funding, which thus makes it righteous to still count them in the undergoing energy development phase.
There are various organizations within the academic, federal, and commercial sectors involved in conducting large- scale advanced research in the field of non-conventional energy. This research spans focus over many areas of the spectrum of non- conventional energy. Most of the research is targeted at improving the efficiency and the overall yields derived from this source of energy.
Many federally supported research organizations have focused on renewable energy in recent years including The Sandia National Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), both of which are funded by the United States Department of Energy.
Thus, the point of Difference between conventional and non-conventional sources of energy on the basis of their phase of development is an important one.
Conclusion
The conventional sources are not sufficient enough for meeting the ever growing demand for energy due to the enormous time- scale they take for their formation and the alarming rate of their depletion. The non-conventional resources on the other hand hold the potential to reduce the dependency on conventional resources. So, we can conclude that the two types of energy supplement each other and the use of energy from both these sources in the right and planned ratio can add to the economic growth and development of the country to a large extent.