Biomass and solar: Emerging energy resources for india

The role of energy has been central in day to day life. Non-renewables sources such as fossil fuels have been exploited to an extent that unless we find new reserves, it will be difficult to sustain the energy demand for future. Conversely, renewable forms of energy, such as biomass and solar, have shown to provide alternatives. India houses around 17% of the world’s population and is bound to play a deterministic role in driving the global energy demands in near future. Responsible usage of fossil fuels while compounding the role of renewable energy sources would pave the pathway to sustainable growth without burdening the environment. In this direction, the present chapter has deliberated the potential of two important renewable energy sources, i.e., biomass and solar. The authors have discussed the current state of technology development for converting the energy from these renewable sources to usable forms such as electricity, fuels, etc. Further, a detailed account of different policy initiatives taken up by the Government of India towards the promotion of their usage has been provided. In addition, the life cycle assessment (LCA) following a systems approach have been highlighted in the chapter as a mean to ensure the sustainable energy systems meeting the requirements of future. Lastly, the chapter has given insights on likely paths to optimize the usage of renewable energy sources.