Q1.
Most of the electricity we use comes from burning fuels like coal. However, burning coal creates a lot of smoke and harmful gases that pollute the air… Nevertheless, there are other sources we can use to produce electricity that do not cause pollution. Can you find out what these sources are?
Answer
Yes — the Sun, the wind and flowing or falling water. Electricity made from these three does not fill the air with smoke, so it is called clean energy.
| Source | The machine that catches it | How it works | Where you see it in India |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Sun | Solar panel | The flat black panel takes in sunlight and turns it into electricity | Bhadla Solar Park, Rajasthan — one of the largest in the world |
| Wind | Windmill (wind turbine) | The wind pushes the long blades round, and the turning makes electricity | Wind farms in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka |
| Flowing or falling water | Turbine in a dam or on a river | Fast-moving water spins a wheel called a turbine, and that makes electricity | Dams like Bhakra Nangal; hill gharaats that grind grain |
Coal → electricity + smoke and harmful gases
Sun, wind, water → electricity + nothing harmful
Sun, wind, water → electricity + nothing harmful
Why these three do not pollute: Nothing is burnt. A solar panel just sits in the light. A windmill just turns. A turbine just gets pushed by water. Where there is no burning, there is no smoke. And there is one more good thing — sunshine, wind and river water come back day after day, while coal, once dug up and burnt, is gone for ever.
Did you know? Cochin International Airport in Kerala was the first airport in the world to be run entirely on solar energy. A whole airport, with all its lights and machines, running on sunshine.