Energy

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1. INTRODUCTION
Energy is vital for all activities performed by human beings. Energy makes the production process more efficient and productive.   It reduces the time of our work. If we look around us we see the extent to which we are dependent on energy in our daily life. It is energy which lights our homes, runs our machines like computers, give us heat, used in cooking etc. Growth and development largely depends upon the greater per capita availability of energy in an economy. Energy comes in different forms like heat, light as solar, Motion, electrical, chemical, and gravitational.   Energy comes to us from many sources like sun, water, oil, wind, coal, gas, nuclear and others. The sources of energy can be divided into two categories. The first are those which are subject to depletion with use for example oil, natural gas, nuclear energy etc. On the other hand there are sources of energy which are renewable which do not deplete with consumption. Examples of those are solar energy, hydro powers, wind energy, bio fuel, geothermal etc. The share of renewable energy in the total energy consumption is around 18 % for the world in 2006 (Global Renewable Status Report 2007). Overtime the use of renewable energy sources is increasing.
1.2 ENERGY AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
    Energy is an important intermediate input in the production process. It is an engine for the economic growth of a country.   It makes production easier and efficient. Overtime the use of energy has increased manifold. One of the main reasons of the development of the industrialized world is the availability of greater amount of energy. The industrial revolution which caused rapid development in the west was possible when more energy was available through sources like coal.   Thus higher economic activity means higher demand for energy. That is why we see that the countries which are developed are the major consumer of energy. The per capita consumption of energy of...