Energy is the basic need of mankind today, a vast need that growing every passing day. New inventions, newer gadgets that give comfort and luxury also need energy to run them. Conventional energy sources like fossil fuels and nuclear power, etc., are very limited and with the growing need of energy, going to shrink further. There are also the attended shortcoming and risks, pollution in the case of the former, and horrors of radiation in case of the nuclear power. The Chernobyl nuclear disaster comes to mind easily, as also the terrible consequences of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Global warming is a major issue of this day and one that calls for immediate remedial measures.

The burning issues outlined in the para above are not going to vanish into thin air just buy wishful thinking. Now is the time to undertake some major steps to overcome problems. And the only way to overcome the energy crunch seems to be the a safe, green and clean alternative through the non conventional energy sources which are abundant in nature and easier to exploit with advances in technology. Solar energy, wind power, tidal energy, and even biomass powered energy alternatives including the humble gobar gas plant. The sun is been around for millions of years and still has many more to go. The sun emits millions of kW of energy on the globe every second out of which most goes waste due to ignorance or lack of knowledge to trap the energy for constructive purposes. This energy is present in large quantity, is safe, free of cost and largely maintenance free. There is vast scope to use solar energy for steam and hot water generation, and also for generating electricity, which is the need of every individual, home and industry. Once I had visited a large scale manufacturing unit in our town where I met the GM of the plant who simply asked me what is the use of solar energy in his plant. It was a surprise to me to know the ignorance about the use of non-conventional energy.

I simply asked him whether there are street lights and common lights on the premises, which run @ 12 hours a day, requirement of steam and hot water, source of fuel for the canteen to provide food for the work force, and the answer was yes to all. These requirements are all achievable easily by solar energy today, which will certainly provide monetary gains, safety, comfort, and above all, maintenance free energy production. Even solar air conditioners and refrigerators are gradually coming into commercial production, competing with conventional products.

Wind energy is again a very vast source of energy and as per the best of my knowledge nobody can control or trap the wind flows as per desire, and that's a good thing. Or else knowing the vagaries of human nature it is quite possible to wreak havoc by unleashing storms and tornados at will. But wind energy ca certainly be harnessed through wind mills to generate electricity. It was certainly used by the previous generation to mill flour. So this is another major energy source, which can be utilised to generate large amount of energy. Tidal energy is again a vast and unending source of energy, because the seas and oceans are not going to dry. On the contrary there would be a marginal increase due to global warming, and enough tides that can yield a good quantum of energy, though this is yet to be commercially exploited at present.

Non-Conventional Energy is thus a vast topic, which cannot be defined in few hours or explained by writing a few lines on it. Today there is time to adapt these kind of opportunities, and any delay on this front may be enough to cause immense harm to the earth, which may be non repairable in future. So we have to chant one slogan: Go Green, Go Clean, and incorporate it in our life, and the rest will take care of itself! (Vijay Solar Energy Pvt Ltd is a Pune based company is dealing in non-conventional energy (solar water heaters, solar lights and other non conventional energy equipments) for last 9 years. During this period the company has executed many prestigious projects for builders, hotels, hostels, central and state governments, corporations as well as many industrial applications.)