OR0551 - RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

UNIT - 1
PRINCIPLES OF SOLARRADIATION
1. What is meant by Solar Energy?
The energy recei ved in the form of radiation, can be converted directly or indirectly into
other forms of energy, such as heat and electricity, which can be utilized by man.

2. List the drawbacks of Solar Energy.

 The intermittent and variable manner in which it arrives at the earth’s surface and
 The large area required to collect the energy at a useful rate.
3. Define solar constant.
Solar constant is defined
a s t h e a m o u n t o f e n e r g y r e c e i v e d i n u n i t t i m e o n a u n i t a r e a perpendicular
to the sun’s direction at the mean distance of the earth from the sun.
4. Mention the ways of solar energy can be utilized.

Solar energy can be utilized directly in two ways:

By collecting the radiant heat and using it in a thermal system

By collecting and converting it directly to electrical energy using a photovoltaic system
5. What are the indirect forms of solar Energy?
 Wind energy
 Biomass energy
 Tidal energy
 Ocean wave energy
 Ocean thermal energy
 Fossil fuels and other organic chemicals
 Hydro energy
6. Name the energy sources available.
The energy sources available can be divided into three categories. They are
•Primary energy sources
•Secondary fuels
•Supplementary sources
7. What is meant by primary and secondary Energy source? Give example.
Primary energy source: Primary energy source can be defined as source which provides a net supply of
energy. The energy that are either found or stored in nature .E.g. coal, oil, natural gas and biomass.
Secondary energy source: The form of energy which is finally supplied to, a consumer for utilization is
known as secondary or usable energy. E.g. Electrical energy, thermal energy (in the form of steam or hot
water),chemical energy (in the form of hydrogen or fossil fuels),etc.,

8. What is meant by renewable energy source?

Resource which are renewed by nature again and again and their supply is not affected by the arte of their
consumption are called renewable. E.g., solar, wind, biomass, ocean, geothermal, hydro, etc.

9. What are the advantages of Renewable Energy source?

 Non conventional sources are available in nature free of cost.
 They produce no or little pollution. Thus by and large, they are environment friendly.
 They are inexhaustible.
 They have a low gestation period.
10. What are the limitations of Renewable Energy source?
The energy available in dilute form from these sources.
Though available freely in nature, the cost of harnessing energy from a non conventional source is generally high.
Availability is uncertain; the energy flow depends on various natural phenomena beyond human control.
Difficulty in transporting such forms of energy.
11. What is meant by commercial energy?

The energy sources that are available in the market for a definite price are known as commercial energy. The
secondary usable energy forms such as electricity, petrol, diesel, gas etc., are essential for commercial activities and
are categorized as commercial energy resources. The economy of the country depends on its ability to convert
natural raw energy into commercial energy.

12. What is meant by non –commercial energy?

The energy derived from nature and used directly without passing through a commercial outlet is called anon-
commercial sources. E.g., wood, animal dung cake, crop residue, etc.,

13. What is meant by non-renewable energy source?

Non-Renewable energy resource which are finite and do not get replenished after their consumption are called non-
renewable.E.g., fossil fuels, uranium, etc.

14. What is meant by supplementary sources?

Supplementary sources are defined as those whose net energy yield is zero and those requiring highest investment in
terms of energy insulation(thermal) is an example for this source.

15. Differences between Renewable and Non-renewable Resources

Renewable Resources Non-renewable Resources

Renewable resources cannot be depleted over time Non-renewable resources deplete over time

Renewable resources include sunlight, water, wind and also geothermal sources such as hot Non-renewable energy includes fossil fuels such as coal
springs and fumaroles and petroleum.

Non-renewable energy has a comparatively higher carbon

Most renewable resources have low carbon emissions and low carbon footprint
footprint and carbon emissions.

The upfront cost of renewable energy is high. – For instance, Generating electricity using Non-renewable energy has a comparatively lower upfront
technologies running on renewable energy is costlier than generating it with fossil fuels cost.

Infrastructure for harvesting renewable energy is prohibitively expensive and not easily Cost-effective and accessible infrastructure is available for
accessible in most countries. non-renewable energy across most countries

Requires a large land/ offshore area, especially for wind farms and solar farms Comparatively lower area requirements

16. What is beam, diffuse and global radiation?

 Beam radiation is the solar radiation received from the Sun without having been scattered by the
atmosphere.
 Diffuse radiation is that received from the Sun after its direction has been changed by scattering
by the atmosphere.
 The sum of the diffuse and direct solar radiation is called global solar radiation.
17. Name the energy sources available.
The energy sources available can be divided into three categories. They are
  Primary energy sources
 Secondary fuels
 Supplementary sources

18. Give the classification of methods for solar energy utilization?

19. Define azimuth and zenith angle.

The solar azimuth and solar zenith express the position of the sun.
The solar azimuth is the angle of the direction of the sun measured clockwise north from the horizon.
The solar zenith is the angle measured from the local zenith and the line of sight of the sun.
20. Mention the instruments used for solar radiation and type of solar radiation measured using each
instrument.
pyrheliometers and pyranometers that measure direct solar radiation and global solar radiation.
Pyranometer is a dome like structure that measures diffused sun energy while Pyrheliometer is an
instrument that
measures direct sun's energy
21. Explain What is Solar Constant.
Solar constant is defined as the amount of energy received in unit time on a unit area perpendicular to the sun’s direction at the
mean distance of the earth from the sun.

Part B

1. Discuss about the terrestrial and extraterrestrial solar radiation.Derive the equation for solar radiation
falling on a tilted surface.
2. Which instruments are used for the measurement of the beam, diffuse and global radiation? Explain
working of solar Pyranometer for measuring global radiation in detail.
3. What is the need for studying alternative sources of energy? What are the different types of New and
Renewable Sources of energy? What are the advantages and limitations of the use of Renewable
sources of Energy?
4. Describe the various nonconventional energy resources available in Indian and its potential to
supplement the conventional energy sources
5. Calculate Sunrise and sunset solar (LAT)s well as (IST) time, and Day length at Pune (18.53 0 N, 73.850E)
on 15 th October. Estimate monthly- mean hourly Direct, Diffuse and Global Radiation at 10, 12 and
14 (LAT) hours at Pune in the month of October on Horizontal surface taking the constants A=
1136W/m2, B= 0.155 and C=0.113 for these calculations.
6. With the help of neat sketch, explain and give equations for declination angle, hour angle, zenith
angle, solar azimuth angle and angle of incidence. Determine the monthly average value of daily
global radiation on a horizontal surface at Nagpur (latitude 21 006’ N, longitude 79003’ E) during the
month of March. If constants a and b are given equal to 0.27 and 0.50 respectively and average
sunshine hours per day is 9.2
 UNIT II SOLAR ENERGY COLLECTION
1. What is meant by solar collector? Mention its types.

A solar collect or is a device for collecting solar radiation and transfers the energy to a
fluid passing in contact with it. There are two types of collectors:
Non- concentrating or flat plate type solar collector.
Concentrating (focusing) type solar collector.

2. What are the performance indices of a solar collector?

The performance indices of a solar collector are

Collector Efficiency

is defined as the ratio of the energy actually absorbed and transferred to theheat transport fluid by the collector
(useful energy) to the energy incident on the collector

Concentration Ratio

is defined as the ratio of the area of aperture of the system to the area of the receiver. The aperture of
the system is the projected area of the collector facing (normal) the beam.

Temperature Range

is the range of temperature to which the heat transport fluid is heated up bythe collector.

3. Name the basic design of solar cookers

The four basic designs of the solar cookers are:Box type solar cooker Dish type solar cooker Community solar
cooker Advanced solar cooker

4. List out the advantages and disadvantages of air flat plate collector

Advantages of flat plate air heating collector are

It is compact, simple in construction and requires little maintenance.

The need to transfer thermal energy from the working fluid to another

Fluid is eliminated as air is used directly as the working fluid.

Corrosion is completely eliminated.

Leakage of air from the duct is less severe.

Possibility of freezing of working fluid is also eliminated.

Disadvantages of air collector are

A large amount of fluid is to be handled due to low density. As a result, the electrical power
required to blow the air through the system can be significant if the pressure dropis not kept within prescribed limits.

Heat transfer between the absorber plate and air is poor.

There is less storage of thermal energy due to low heat capacity.

5. List any four disadvantages of solar energy

It is available only by day and not when the sky is cloudy, thereby reducing the chancesof it being totally reliable
and requiring storage facilities

It needs back up power plant to be kept hot and not to replace solar power stations theystop
producing energy

Keeping back up plants hot includes an energy cost which includes coal burning

Places located at high altitudes or those that are oft en cloudy are not targets for solar power use

6. List the five advantages of solar energy

It is free from pollution

The plant requires little maintenance or help after set up

It is economical

They collect solar energy opticall y and transfer it to a single recei ver thus minimizingthermal
energy transport requirement

Concentration ration is 300 to 1500 and are highly efficient both in collecting energy andin converting energy

7. Name the types of concentrating collectors.

The main types of concentrating collectors are:

Parabolic trough collector

Mirror strip reflector

Fresnel lens collector

Flat plate collector with adjustable mirrors compound

parabolic concentrator(CPC)

8. What are the zones in solar pond?

Surface convective zone or upper convective zone (0.3-0.5m)

Non-convective zone (1-1.5m) salinity increases with depth.

Storage zone or lower convective zone (1.5-2m) salinity =20%

9. What are the reasons for solar pumping usage?

Need for pumping occurs during the summer when solar radiation is greatest.During periods of low radiation when
pumping reduce evaporation losses from crops also low.

10. What is the need for solar crop drying?

High moisture crops are prone to fungus infection, attack by insects and rests. Solar dryers remove moisture with no
ingress at just and the product can be preserved for a longer period at time.

11. State the use of solar kilns?

For large scale drying ie seasoning of timber, corn drying, tea processing, fish and fruit drying,solar kilns are in use.

12. List the different modes of solar cooling

Evaporative cooling

Absorption cooling and

Passive desiccant cooling

13. What are the 4 units of absorption type solar cooler?

Generator

Condenser

Evaporator

14. What are the two types of flat plate collectors?

Liquid heating collectors

Solar air heaters

15. What Essential subsystems in a solar energy plant:

Solar collector or concentrator: It receives solar rays and collects the energy. It may be offollowing types:a)
Flat plate type without focusing b) Parabolic trough type with line focusingc) Paraboloid dish with central
focusingd) Fresnel lens with centre focusinge) Heliostats with centre receiver focusing
16. What are the components of solar energy?

1. Collector 2. Storage

17. What is concentration ratio?

Concentration ratio is defined as the ratio between the aperture area and the receiver absorber area of the collector.

18. List the various types of solar energy collectors.

1.Stationary collectors (or) Non- concentrating Flate plate collectors

Compound parabolic collectors Evaculated tube collectors

2.Sun tracking concentrating collector Single axis tracking Two-axis tracking

19. List any four applications of solar collectors.

 Solar water heating
 Solar space heating systems
 Solar refrigeration
 Industrial process heat systems
20. List the four important solar systems.
 Low temperature cycles using flat plat collector or solar pond
 Power tower or central receiver system
 Distributed collector system
 Concentrating collectors for medium and high temperature cycle
21. List the advantages of solar Energy.

1. Solar energy is free from pollution

2. They collect solar energy optically and transfer it to a single receiver, thus minimizing

thermal-energy transport requirements 2/2

3. They typically achieve concentration ratios of 300 to 1500 and so are highly efficient

both in collecting energy and converting it to electricity.

4. The plant requires little maintenance or help after setup

5. It is economical

22. List any four disadvantages of solar energy.

1. Avilable in day time only

2. Need storage facilities

3. It needs a backup power plant

4. Keeping back up plants hot includes an energy cost which includes coal burning

PART B

1. Describe the characteristics and types of flat plate solar collectors.

2. Discuss about the features of different types of concentrating type solar collectors and its applications.
3. With the help of neat sketch explain the concentration and working of central receiver collector and its
advantages.
4. Explain the working of flat plate collector used in solar water heating system using thermosiphon method
with the help of neat sketch.
5. Explain the working of cylindrical parabolic concentrator with help of neat sketch. What are the terms
tracking and concentration ratio in this concentrator means?

UNIT III SOLAR ENERGY STORAGE AND APPLICATIONS

1. What are the advantages of solar cells?

They need little maintenance

They have longer life

They do not create pollution problem

Their enery source is unlimited

Easy to fabricate

They can be made from raw materials which are easily available in larger quantities

2. What are the disadvantages of solar cell

Compares with other sources of energy solar cells produce electric power at very highcost

Solar cell output is not constant and it varies with the time of day and weather

They can be used to generate small amount of electric power.

3. What are the components of basic solar pumping system?

The solar collector

The heat transfer system

Boiler or heat exchanger

Heat engine

Condenser

Pump

4. List the types of heat engines used in solar system

Rankine engine

Reciprocating engine

Vapor engine

Stirling hot gas engine

Brayton cycle gas turbine

Rotary piston engine

5. Write the equation for over all efficiency of solar pump?ηo=ηeηc

Over all efficiency= Efficiency of the engine* Efficiency of the collectors

6. List the working fluids used in solar pumps

Foluene

Monochloro benzene

Frifuluroethanol
Hexa flura benzene

7. Define Solar distillation.

Solar distillation is the use of solar energy to evaporate water and collect its condense it within the same
closed system. Unlike other forms of water purification it can turn salt or brackish water into fresh
drinking water.

8. Define Active Distillation.

Solar radiation is the input energy of the passive solar stills, but the efficiency of the system
is low. Attempts have been made to increase the efficiency and productivity by preheating the
saline water in solar stills. This method is called active solar distillation.

9. Define Latent heat storage.

Latent heat storage uses the phase transitions of a material. Upon melting heat is
transferred to the material, storing large amount of heat at constant temperature, the heat is
released when the material is solidifies.

10. Difference between sensible heat and latent heat

S.No Sensible heat Latent heat

1 When an object is heated its All pure substance in nature are able to change
temperature rises as heat is added, their state. Solid can become liquid and liquid
the Increasing heat is called sensible can become gases.The heat causes the changes
heat its called latent heat.
2 Change in temperature No change in temperature

11. Define Stratified storage

Layered or stratified charge storage is hot water storage tank, typically for solar thermal energy.
The warmest storage layer is the top storage cylinder and below this there are colder storage
layer through natural layer.

12. Define Solar Energy Storage.

Solar thermal storage refers to the accumulation `of energy collected by a given solar
field for its later use.

13. Define Thermo chemical storage

Thermal energy for the sun can be stored as chemical energy in a process is called solar thermo
chemical energy storage (TCES).
 14. Define Solar Dryers and its Types.

Solar dryer are device that use solar energy to dry substance especially food.

There are two general types of solar dryer

1. Direct 2. In direct

15. Define Photovoltaic Cell.

Photovoltaic cell is the basic unit of the system where the photovoltaic effect is utilised to produce
electricity from light energy.
16. Define Indirect Solar Dryer.

This method does not expose the crop directly to the sunlight. The solar radiation is
absorbed and converted into heat by another surface (like a black top) usually called the
collector. Air that will be used for drying is passed over this surface and gets heated, which is
then used to dry the food item inside the dryer.

17. Give any five the application of Solar Energy.

A) Solar Heater

B) Solar Distillation

C) Solar Dryer

D) Solar Cooler

E) Solar Power Plant

18. Give different types of passive solar water distillers.

A) Single-effect Stills

B) Multi-effect Stills

C) Basin-type Stills

D) Wick Stills

E) Multi-wick Stills

F) Diffusion Stills

19. Give the Advantages of Solar Distillation.

 It is a relatively cheap and low-maintenance system.
  It can be used at the household level and scaled up through programmatic approaches.
 There are climate change adaptation and mitigation benefits.
 There are no energy costs.
 There are no moving parts.
20. Give the advantages of indirect Solar dryers.

The temperatures can be controlled. The sizes can vary from kilograms to metric tons, but
it is expensive and more complex to construct when compared to direct solar dryers.

21. Give the application of power plants.

 Solar power plant is powering cities in most efficient manner.
 Solar panels could be used to generate electricity individually for each house especially in
remote areas.

PART -B

1. Explain Solar ponds in detail.

2. Explain Solar dryers in detail.

3. Explain Solar distillation in detail.

4. Explain the types of solar energy storage in brief.

5. Explain the working principles of Solar power plant or solar cell.

UNIT – 4

WIND ENERGY

MCQ IMPORTANT QUESTION

1. Wind energy is harnessed as ______ energy with the help of windmill or turbine.
(A) Mechanical

(B) Solar

(C) Electrical

(D) Heat ANS: A

2. Winds having following speed are suitable to operate wind turbines.

(A) 5 – 25m/s

(B) 10 – 35m/s

(C) 20 – 45m/s
(D) 30 – 55m/s ANS: A

3. The following factor(s) affects the distribution of wind energy

(A) Mountain chains

(B) The hills, trees and buildings

(C) Frictional effect of the surface

(D) All of the above ANS: D

4. How many blades does a modern wind turbine have?

(A) 3

(B) 2

(C) 4

(D) There is no standard number of blades ANS: A

5. Which of these is NOT a part of a modern wind turbine?

(A) Gearbox

(B) Yaw Drive

(C) Compressor

(D) Nacelle ANS: C

6. What is the diameter of wind turbine blades?

(A) 320 feet

(B) 220 feet

(C) 80 feet

(D) 500 feet ANS: B

7. What are used to turn wind energy into electrical energy?

(A) Turbine

(B) Generators

(C) Yaw motor

(D) Blades ANS: A

8. The following is(are) the classification of winds

(A) Global wind

(B) Local Wind

(C) Both (A) and (B)

(D) None of the above ANS: C

9. What is not applicable for wind power?

(A) It releases no greenhouse gases or acid-forming emissions.

(B) It provides a constant, uninterruptible source of energy

(C) It has been used for hundreds of years

(D) It can be used to produce electricity ANS: B

10. Yaw control is the part of

(A) solar concentration collector

(B) OTEC devices

(C) biomass energy generator

(D) wind energy conversion system ANS: D

MCQ QUESTIONS

1. The aerobic digestion of sewage is utilized in the production of

(a) metal articles
(b) biofuels
(c) biomass
(d) synthetic fuels ANS: B
2. Biomass is used in the production of
(a) fibers
(b) chemicals
(c) transportation fuels
(d) biochemicals ANS: C
3. This forestry material is used as biomass
(a) fish oil
(b) logging residues
(c) manure
(d) tallow ANS: B
4. Dead organisms also come under the biomass.
a) True
b) False ANS: A
5. The _______ is used as the agricultural fertilizer.
a) Bio ethanol
b) Bio ethane
c) Bio methanol
d) Digestrate ANS: D
6. The term biomass most often refers to ___________
a) Inorganic matter
b) Organic matter
c) Chemicals
d) Ammonium compounds ANS: B

7. Which of the following statements about traditional biomass cooking are true?
Please select all that apply.

A) Improved cooking stoves eliminate the damaging effects of air pollution

b) Charcoal production can be sustainably produced and cleanly burnt in stoves
c) Adding a chimney is a cheap, versatile and effective solution to air pollution from stoves
d) Reducing air pollution significantly requires insulating the combustion region and providing sufficient air.
ANS: B

8. Which of the following statements about biomass are true?

Please select all that apply.

a) Water supply is not a concern for large scale biomass production.

b) Food production can be in competition with biomass production.
c) Electricity from biomass does not require energy storage.
d) Biomass is a carbon-neutral fuel. ANS: C

9. ______ digestion is the decomposition of organic matter in the absence of air by bacteria.

A) Anerobic
B) Anearobic ANS: B

10. Which of the following biochemical conversion process is performed by microorganisms?

A) Anaerobic digestion
B) Fermentation
C) Composting
D) All of the above ANS: D
PART - A
2 MARKS

1. Define gusts.

Rapid fluctuations in the wind velocity over a wide range of frequencies and amplitudes, due to
turbulence caused by mechanical mixing of lower layers of atmosphere by surface roughness, are
commonly known as gusts.

2. Define wind turbines.

A Wind turbine which converts wind power into rotary mechanical power. A wind turbine has
aerofoil blades mounted on the rotor. The wind drives the rotor and produces rotary mechanical
energy.

3. Define power coefficient.

The fraction of the free flow wind power that can be extracted by a rotor is called the power –
coefficient.
 Power coefficient = power of wind turbine/ power available in the wind

4. Define Cut-in speed and Cut- out speed .

Cut- in speed: The lowest wind speed at which a wind turbine begins producing usable power is called
cut-in speed. It is about 3m/s.

Cut-out speed: The highest wind speed at which a wind turbine stops producing power is called cut-
out speed. It is about 30m/s.

5. Write the types of Wind Turbines.

A) Horizontal Axis Wind turbines
B) Vertical Axis Wind Turbines.

6. Write Betz Limit

No wind turbine could convert more than 59.3% of the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical energy turning
a rotor. This is known as the Betz Limit, and is the theoretical maximum coefficient of power for any wind turbine.

7. Define Aneorobic digestion.

Anaerobic digestion is the biological process by which organic matter is broken down to produce biogas in
the absence of Oxygen. Microorganisms such as Acidogenetic bacteria and acetogens convert the
biodegradable matter to biogas.
8. How winds are formed? State various applications of Wind Energy.
Wind energy, or wind power, is created using a wind turbine, a device that channels the power of the
wind to generate electricity. The wind blows the blades of the turbine, which are attached to a rotor. The
rotor then spins a generator to create electricity.
Applications:
Wind energy in India is generally utilized in wind pumps, wind battery charges, wind electricity
generators etc.
9. Explain the Pitch Angle?
The angle of inclination from the horizontal or vertical, or with respect to some reference plane; the angle
relating or corresponding to the pitch.
10. Define Betz Limit.
The Betz limit is a theoretical upper limit on the power production from a turbine whose blades
sweep a given area [1].
The limit is expressed as a maximum rotor power coefficient of C P = 16 / 27 . Wind turbines aspire to
achieve this power coefficient, but in practice fall short for several reasons [2]
11. List out the factor led to accelerated development of wind power.

 Availability of high strength fibre composites for constructing large low cost rotor blades
 Falling prices of power electronics
 Variable speed operation of electrical generators to capture maximum energy
 Improved plant operation, pushing the availability upto 95%.
 Economy of scale, as the turbines and plants are getting larger in size.
 Accumulated field experience improving the capacity factor
 Short energy payback period of about one year
12. What are the features prefer for the wind turbine site?
 No tall obstructions for some distance in the upwind direction and also a low a roughnessas possible in
the same direction
 A wide and open view i.e., opens plain, open shore line or offshore locations.
 Top of smooth well-rounded hill with gentle slopes on a flat plain
 An island in a lake or the sea
 A narrow mountain gap through which wind is channeled
 Site reasonably close to power grid
 Soil conditions must be such that building of foundations of
the turbines and transport of road- construction materials loaded in heavy trucks is feasible.
 Production results of existing wind turbines in the area to act as a guide to local wind conditions.
13. What are the merits and demerits of three blade rotor over two blade rotors?
 Compared to the two blade design, the three blade machine has smoother power output and balanced
gyroscopic force.
 There is no need to teeter the rotor, allowing the use of a simple rigid hub. The bladesmay be cross-
linked for greater rigidity.
 Adding a third blade increases the power output by about 5%
 only, while the weight and cost of a rotor increases by 50%,thus giving a diminished rateof return for
additional 50% weight and cost.

14. Draw the block diagram of WECS

15. What are the types of generator drive for the operation of WECS?
The types of generator are suitable for the wind generations are:
DC generator
Synchronous Generator
Induction generator
16. Whatare the features of VAWT?
The features of VAWT:
 It can accept wind from any direction, eliminating the need of yaw control.
 The gearbox, generator, etc., are located at the ground, thus eliminating the heavy nacelleat the top
of the tower, thus simplifying the design and installation of the whole structure,including the
tower. The inspection and maintenance also gets easier
 It also reduces the overall cost.
17. Define power coefficient
The fraction of the free flow wind power that can be extracted by a rotor is called the power-coefficient.Power
coefficient = Power of wind turbine/Power available in the wind
18. List out the merits of WECS
 It is a renewable source of energy
  Like all forms of solar energy, wind power systems are nonpolluting, so it has no adverse influence on the
environment.
 Wind energy systems avoid fuel provision and transport.
 On a small scale upto a few kilowatt system is less costly. On a large- scale costs can be competitive with
conventional electricity and lower coats can be competitive with conventional
 electricity and lower costs could be achieved by mass production.
19. List out the demerits of WECS

 Wind energy available in dilute and fluctuating in nature.

 Unlike water energy wind energy needs storage capacity because of its irregularity
 Wind energy systems are noisy in operation; a large unit can be heard many kilometers away.
 Large areas are needed, typically, propellers 1 to 3 m in diameter, deliver power in the 30to 300W range.
20. What are the components of wind turbine generator units?
 A wind turbine unit consists of the following major assemblies:
 A wind turbine with vertical axis or horizontal axis.
 Gear chain
 An electrical generator(synchronous or asynchronous (induction))
 Associated civil works, electrical and mechanical auxiliaries, control panels etc.,
21. Classify the schemes available for electric generation.
The schemes are available for electric generation is of three categories.
Constant-speed constant frequency systems(CSCF)
Variable speed constant frequency systems(VSCF)
Variable speed variable frequency systems(VSVF)
22. Define wind turbine.
A wind turbine which converts wind power into rotary mechanical power. A wind turbine has aerofoil blades
mounted on the rotor. The wind drives the rotor and produces rotary mechanical energy.
23. What are the factors consider for the electrical generators and control method?
The choice of an electrical generator and control method can be considered by following threemethods:
The basis of operation i.e., either constant tip speed or constant tip speed ratio
The wind power rating of the turbine
The type of load demand e.g. battery connection.
24. What are the main Environmental aspects due to wind turbines?
The main environmental aspects are:
Indirect energy use and emissions
Bird life
Noise
Visual impact
Telecommunication interference
Safety
Effects on ecosystem.
25. What are the types of rotors for HAWT?
The different types of rotor for HAWT are:
 Single blade rotor
 Two blade rotor
 Three blade rotor
 Sailing rotor
 Chalk multiblade rotor
 American multibladed rotor
 Dutch type rotor
26. What is meant by biomass energy and biomass energy resource?
Organic matters derived from biological organisms are called Biomass. The energy obtainedfrom biomass is called
biomass energy.The raw organic matter obtained from nature for extracting secondary energy is called biomass
energy resource.
27. Classify the biomass resources.
Biomass resources are broadly classified into two categories:
Biomass from cultivated fields, crop, forest and harvested periodically.
Biomass derived from waste e.g., municipal waste, animal excreta/dung, forest waste,agricultural waste, bioprocess
waste,butcharry waste, fishery waste/processing waste etc.,
28. What do you mean by fossil fuels?
Fossil fuels (coal, petroleum oil and natural gases) are produced from dead, buried biomassunder pressure and in
absence of air during several millions of years. However; they areconsidered separately as fossils and are not
included in the category of biomass.
29. What are the categories of scope of biomass energy?
The scope of biomass energy is of three categories. They are
Rural application of biomass energy
Urban and industrial applications of biomass energy
Biomass as a primary source for large scale electrical power generation.
30. List the secondary energy forms of biomass.
The biomass can be converted to useful secondary energy forms such as
Heat
Gaseous fuels
Solid fuels
Organic chemical
Liquid fuels
31. Point out the cultivated biomass.
The cultivated biomass (biomass from energy farms) includes:
Sugar cane crops, sweet sorghum crops, sugar beets.
Herbaceous crops which are non-woody plants which can be converted into biogas or biochemical fuels.
Cereals, potatoes and other carbohydrate fruit crops, etc.grown for producing in feeds tothe fermentation plants.
Forests crops of fast growing energy intensive trees specially grown as source of energy.
Aquatic crops grown in fresh water, sea water, muddy water etc., and these crops includesubmerged plants, surface
plants and include sea weeds, marine algae, water hyacinth, floating kelp etc.algae is considered to be a promising
aquatic biomass.
32. List out the biomass energy resources from waste.
The waste to energy processes convert organic wastes to intermediate or secondary energy formssuch as heat,
biogas, alcohol, fuels, chemicals, etc.The waste is classified as
Urban (municipal) waste
Industrial organic waste, process waste
Agricultural farm waste
Rural animal waste
Forest waste
Fishery,poultry,butcharry waste
Animal and human excreta
33. What is meant by biogas plant?
The plant which converts biomass to biogas (methane plus carbon dioxide) by the process of anaerobic digestion is
generally called a biogas plant.
34. Mention advantages of biomass energy
It is a renewable source.
The energy storage is an in-built feature of it.
It is an indigenous source requiring little or no foreign exchange.
The forestry and agricultural industries that supply feed stocks also provide substantial economic development
opportunities in rural areas.
The pollutant emissions from combustion of biomass are usually lower than those from fossil fuels.

35. What is meant by biomass gasification?

The word gasification (or thermal gasification) implies converting solid fuel into a gaseous fuel by thermo chemical
method without leaving any solid carbonaceous residue.
36. Classify the biogas plant.
The biogas plant are classified into
Continuous and batch types
The dome and drum types
37. List the factors affecting biodigestion or generation of gas.
The factors affecting biodigestion or generation of gas are:
pH or the hydrogen-ion concentration
Temperature
Total sold content of the feed material
Loading rate
Seeding
Uniform feeding
Nutrients
Type of feed stocks
Toxicity due end product
Pressure
Acid accumulation inside the digester
38. Why the biogases are mainly utilized?
Biogases are mainly utilized.
The biogas can be utilized effectively for
Household cooking,
Lighting,
Operating small engines,
Utilizing power for pumping water,
Chaffing fodder and
Grinding flour

PART B:

1. Describe Briefly about the HAWT and give the advantages and disadvantages.
2. Describe Briefly about the VAWT and give the advantages and disadvantages.
3. Compare horizontal and vertical wind turbine.
4. Explain the parts of wind turbines.
5. Illustrate the operation of IC Engine with neat sketch.
6. Express floating drum type biogas plants. Write and Explain the classification of biogas plants.

UNITV
GEOTHERMALENERGY
1. What is meant by tidal current energy
T i da l curr en t s a r e th e fl ow of wa t er dur in g ch an gin g t i da l l evel . T h e t i da l curr en t s
f l o w i n horizontal direction and have kinetic energy. This energy is called tidal current energy.
2. What is meant by tidal current.
The tidal rise and fall of water is accompanied by periodic horizontal to and fro motion of water called tidal currents.
3. Define tidal range
The tidal range is the difference between consecutive high and low tide water levels. It is denoted by R unit is
metre.R= (High tide level) – (low tide level) m
4. Define the following terms a) Spring tides b) Neap tides
a) Spring tides
The tidal range is maximum on full moon and new moon and such tides are called spring tides.
b) Neap tides
The tidal range is minimum on first quarter and third quarter moon and such tides are called the neap tides.
5. List out the Limitations of tidal energy
The main limitations of tidal energy are
  Economic recovery of energy from tides is feasible only at those sites where energy is concentrated in the
form of tidal range of about 5m or more and the geography provides a favorable site for economic
construction of a tidal plant. Thus it is site specific.
 Due to mismatch of lunar driven period of 12 hours 25 min and human (solar) period of24 hours, the
optimum tidal power generation is not in phase with demand.
 Changing tidal range in two-week periods produces changing power.
 The turbines are required to operate at variable head.
 Requirement of large water volume flow at low head necessitates parallel operation of many turbines.
 Tidal plant disrupts marine life at the location and can cause potential harm to ecology.
6. List out the advantages of small hydro schemes.
 Small hydro plants can be tailored to the needs of the end use market within the limits of water resources
available.
 It serves to enhance economic development and living standards, especially in remote areas with limited or
no electricity at all.
 It has a short gestation period.
 There is no need of long transmission lines because the output is consumed near the source.
 High performing electrical equipment can be easily found in the market.
7. List out the disadvantages of small hydro schemes.
 Hydro systems, unlike solar components for example, do require some maintenance.
 The quality of output of small power stations is not as good as that of bigger ones as these power plants are
generally designed on the basis of short term raw data. Thus, the ground conditions
of operation are much different from those considered for the design
 Spilling of water over spillways can result in super saturation of water with gases from the air. The gas
bubbles absorbed into fish tissues, may cause damage and ultimately kill the fish.
 In the absence of adequate hydrological and geological data, there are always uncertainties about their
potential as a resource.

8. Mention the Components of micro hydro scheme

The main components of micro hydro scheme are (i) diversion weir (ii) water conductor system with regulating
gates and spillways (iii) desilting tank with spillway, (iv) headrace channel, (v)forebay tank with desilting basin and
spillway, (vi) penstock (vii) powerhouse and (viii) tailrace channel.
9. Define the following terms a) Forebay b) Penstock c) Tailrace
a) Forebay
A Forebay is a temporary storage of water (pondage), to be finally utilized for energy generation. The storage size
ranges from 2 minutes to 6 hours depending on the economic justifiability.
b) Penstock
A penstock is water conduit joining a forebay and a turbine. Penstock can be made of steel pipes, hume pipes and
PVC pipes depending on the design pressure.
c)Tailrace
Tailrace is a simple water channel to transport discharge from the turbine back to the river with maximum flow of 1
m/s.
10. What are the kinds of geothermal resources?
There are five kinds of geothermal resources. They are:
Hydrothermal convective systems.
•Vapour dominated or dr y steam fields.
•Liquid domin ated s ystem or wet steam fi eld s an d
• H o t w a t e r f i e l d s
Geopressure resources
Petro-thermal or hot dry rocks (HDR)
Magma resources
Valcanoes.
11. What is meant by OTEC?
The temperature gradient can be utilized in a heat engine to generate power is called as ocean thermal energy
conversion(OTEC).This energy has form has very low efficiency and has very high capital cost, because
the temperature difference is small even in tropics.
12. How the fuel cells are classified?
The classifications of fuel cells are:
 Based on the type of electrolyte
 Based on the types of the fuel and oxidant
 Based on operating temperature
 Based on application
 Based on the chemical nature of electrolyte

13.Mention some advantages of fuel cells.

 It is quiet in operation
 Less pollutant
 Conversion efficiency is more due to direct single stage energy conversion
 Fuel cell plant can be installed near the point of use, thus transmission and distribution losses are avoided.
 Fuel cell plant are compact and require less space
 No charging is required
14. What is meant by Stirling Engine?
A stirling engine is a mechanical device which operates on a closed regenerative thermodynamic cycle, with cycle
compression and expansion of the working fluid at different temperature levels and where the flow is controlled by
volume changes, so that there is a net conversion of heat to work or vice versa.
Main components of stirling engine
There are five main components of Stirling engine. They are: (a) Heater (b) Regenerator (c) Coolers(d) Displacer (e)
Power piston
15. Mention some uses of Stirling engine.
Uses of Stirling engine are:
Automobile engine
•Low air pollution levels that are possible
•Low noise levels because there are no explosi ons as in internal combusti on engines and
•Abilit y to use a variety of fuels such as natural or synthetic gaseous or liquid hydrocarbons, stored
in solar energy, or even possibly powdered coal.
•Stationary engines.
16. What are the types of tidal power plants?
•Single basin single effect plant
•Single basin double effect plant
•Dou bl e basin with lin ked basin op er ation
•Dou bl e basin with pair ed basin op er ation

17. What are the advantages of tidal plant?

•Tidal power is predictable
•It is fr ee fr om pollution
•It i s i n exh a ust i bl e a n d i s a r en ewa bl e s our c e of en er g y
•D oes n ot r equir e valua ble lan d as th ey ar e located on sea s our ces
•T i da l power wi t h th er m al pl an t ca n m eet t he l oa d d em a n d
•A ft er th e capital power is paid off th e cost of p ower gen er ated is ver y l ow
•T i da l p ower i s fi r m n ot ch a n ges s ea s on a l l y.

18. List down the advantages of geothermal energy over other energy form.
A)Environmentally Friendly. Geothermal energy is more environmentally friendly than conventional fuel
sources
such as coal and other fossil fuels. B)Renewable. Huge Potential. ...C) Sustainable / Stable. ...D) Heating and
Cooling. ...E) Reliable. ...F) No Fuel Required. ... G)Rapid Evolution.
19. What is wave energy? How power available in waves is calculated?
The energy of a mechanical wave and the power are proportional to the amplitude squared and to the
angular frequency squared (and therefore the frequency squared). I = P 4 π r 2
20. What is OTEC Technology? Which Thermodynamic cycle is used in OTEC?
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a renewable energy technology that uses the natural
temperature difference in oceans to produce clean, reliable electricity, day and night, year-round. The heat
from the warm ocean surface and cold from the deep ocean drives a Rankine Cycle, which produces
electricity.
21. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Tidal Power?

Advantages of Tidal Energy Disadvantages of Tidal Energy

Clean and Renewable Environmental Impact

Predictable and Reliable High Construction Costs

Long-lasting Equipment Scarcity of Suitable Locations

Effective at Low Speeds Inconsistent

22. Mention the advantages of MHD generator.

A high conversion efficiency of around 50%. A large amount of power is generated. Better utilisation of
fuel. Since it has no moving parts, so it is more reliable.
23. Which of the disadvantages of the current power generator system can be overcome by DEC devices?
What are these DEC devices?
Disadvantages High energy losses in some cases due to waste heat. Chemical energy storage converts
low-energy substances into high-energy ones.
Digital Equipment Corporation, or DEC (pronounced "deck"), was a computer company headquartered
in Maynard, Massachusetts. It was best known for its minicomputers, especially its PDP and VAX lines.
24. Name the types of turbine used in tidal power station
Kinetic energy turbines, also called free-flow turbines, generate electricity from the kinetic energy present
in flowing water rather than the potential energy from the head. The systems can operate in rivers, man-
made channels, tidal waters, or ocean currents.

PART B:
1. Describe magneto hydro dynamic systems with neat diagram.
2. Explain the applications, and advantage and disadvantages of Geothermal Energy.
3. Explain the geopressed resource and describe about hybrid geothermal fossil fuel systems.
4. What is OTEC system? Explain with the help of neat sketches working principle of closed cycle and open
cycle OTEC system. Describe the advantages of closed system over open system. How the site for OTEC
plant is selected.
5. What is the basic principle of Tidal Energy? Explain the Principle of working of Simple Tidal Energy
Conversion plant with the help of a neat sketch. What is the status of Tidal power plants in the world and
in India?
6 . What is the Geothemal Energy? What are the various methods of harnessing this energy? What is the
potential of Geothermal Energy in India?
`