Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Energy comes in different forms and one form of energy can be converted to another and energy, in the usable form, is dissipated to the surroundings in less usable forms. In this virtual tour, we will learn about all the Conventional sources of energy are Fossil fuels, thermal power plants, Hydropower plants, and Biomass and wind energy as well as the non-conventional sources of energy are Tidal energy, wave energy and ocean thermal energy, geothermal energy, and nuclear energy.

The energy sources are mainly classified into two types. One is Conventional Sources and the other one is non-Conventional Sources. Conventional sources of energy are Fossil fuels, thermal power plants, Hydropower plants, and Biomass and wind energy. The non-conventional sources of energy are Tidal energy, wave energy and ocean thermal energy, geothermal energy, and nuclear energy.

Fossil fuels are formed by natural processes of decomposition of dead and buried plants, animals, and other organisms. Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources, as they have taken millions of years to form. Once these resources are used, they will not be replenished. In this virtual tour, we will learn about the refining of petroleum which is a fossil fuel.

In this virtual tour, we will have a thermal power plant. In that plant fossil fuel like coal is used to generate electricity. Coal is used to heat, this heat creates high-pressure steam. This steam is used to rotate the turbine.

The hydropower plant uses a dam to store river water in a reservoir. Water is released from the reservoirs and flows through a turbine. A turbine converts the kinetic energy of falling water into mechanical energy. Then a generator converts the mechanical energy into electrical energy.

Biogas is a type of biofuel that is naturally produced from the decomposition of organic waste. Biogas is an excellent fuel as it contains up to 75% of methane gas. Biomass energy is the use of organic material to generate energy.  The dead remains of plants and animals are known as Biomass. 

In this virtual tour, we will visit a wind farm and will understand wind energy. Wind energy is used to rotate the blades and generator shaft. The kinetic energy of wind is converted into mechanical energy and a generator converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.

The energy that we get from the sun is called solar energy. There are many ways to convert this energy to our needs. A solar power system is made up of multiple photovoltaic panels, which convert sunlight into electricity. The manufacturing of solar cells is very expensive and the sunlight is not available all the time in all regions.

In this virtual tour, we will learn about solar cookers and how the food gets cooked by using solar energy. The solar cooker works on this principle, “Sunlight is converted to heat energy that is used for cooking.” The solar cooker uses solar energy. They are also eco-friendly.

Tidal energy is a form of hydropower that converts the energy obtained from tides into useful forms of power, mainly electricity. Tides are more predictable than the wind and the sun. Tidal is a renewable source of energy, having no direct greenhouse gas emissions and a low environmental impact. 

Wave energy is the transport and capture of energy by ocean surface waves. The energy captured is then used for electricity generation. This inexhaustible energy is converted into electric power without the emission of harmful greenhouse gases. We will learn about its operating principle in this virtual tour.

Ocean Thermal Energy plant is a process that can produce electricity by using the temperature difference between deep cold ocean water and warm tropical surface waters. This plant pumps large quantities of deep cold seawater and surface seawater to run a power cycle and produce electricity.

Geothermal power plants use steam to produce electricity. The steam comes from reservoirs of hot water found a few miles or more below the earth’s surface. The steam rotates a turbine that activates a generator, which produces electricity.

This Nuclear Energy is discharged by nuclear reactions either by fission or fusion. Nuclear power plants produce energy using nuclear fission. Nuclear energy originated from the splitting of uranium atoms – a process called fission. This generates heat to produce steam, which is used by a turbine generator to generate electricity.