Match list-I with list-II and choose the correct answer from the code given below- List–I (Site) (A) Pavagada (B) Tattapani (C) Muppandal (D) Kakrapar List–II (Energy) (i) Wind (ii) Solar (iii) Geo-thermal (iv) Atomic Code -
- (1)A-(iii), B-(ii), C-(i), D-(iv)
- (2)A-(i), B-(iii), C-(ii), D-(iv)
- (3)A-(i), B-(ii), C-(iii), D-(iv)
- (4)A-(ii), B-(iii), C-(i), D-(iv)
Answer
Why
Correct — option (4), A-(ii), B-(iii), C-(i), D-(iv).
A-(ii), Pavagada – Solar. On 2 April 2016 POWERGRID's board approved a transmission system for the Ultra Mega Solar Power Park at Tumkur (Pavagada), Karnataka. Wikipedia places Pavagada Solar Park in Pavagada taluk of Tumakuru district.
B-(iii), Tattapani – Geo-thermal. A Lok Sabha answer of 9 August 2001 says the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources sanctioned a project to develop the Tattapani geothermal fields in Sarguja District, Chhattisgarh, starting with a 300 kW pilot plant through NHPC.
C-(i), Muppandal – Wind. Wikipedia places the Muppandal Wind Farm in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, developed by the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency.
D-(iv), Kakrapar – Atomic. Kakrapar Atomic Power Station, a nuclear station of NPCIL, is in Gujarat.
Every code has D-(iv), and A-(ii) appears only in option (4), A-(ii), B-(iii), C-(i), D-(iv).
Why the others are wrong
- (1)A-(iii), B-(ii), C-(i), D-(iv) — Muppandal – Wind and Kakrapar – Atomic are right, but A and B are swapped: Pavagada is given geothermal energy and Tattapani solar.
Pavagada is the site of a solar park: in 2016 POWERGRID's board approved a transmission system for the Ultra Mega Solar Power Park at Tumkur (Pavagada). Tattapani's fields were taken up for geothermal development.
- (2)A-(i), B-(iii), C-(ii), D-(iv) — Tattapani – Geo-thermal and Kakrapar – Atomic are right, but A and C are swapped: Pavagada is given wind and Muppandal solar.
Both are renewable sites in south India, which makes the swap look possible. Pavagada, in Karnataka, has a solar park; Muppandal, in Tamil Nadu, a wind farm.
- (3)A-(i), B-(ii), C-(iii), D-(iv) — Only Kakrapar – Atomic is right. The code gives Pavagada wind, Tattapani solar and Muppandal geothermal energy.
The correct pairs are Pavagada – Solar, Tattapani – Geo-thermal and Muppandal – Wind. Each of the first three sites is moved to another site's energy source.
Concept
The four sites stand for four ways of making electricity. NCERT's Class XII book India: People and Economy (2019-20 print, chapter 7) describes solar energy tapped in photovoltaic cells, wind energy converted through turbines, and geothermal energy drawn from the earth's interior heat, including hot water from geyser wells.
Nuclear power uses uranium and thorium. The same NCERT print lists Udaipur, Alwar and Jhunjhunu districts of Rajasthan among the places where uranium is found.
Geothermal fields are not the same as working plants. A Lok Sabha answer of 28 April 2016 said no geothermal power plant was then under implementation in the country.
RPSC's 2021 Prelims syllabus lists "Power Resources- Conventional & Non-Conventional" under the Geography of India. Named plants and fields, with their energy source and State, fall under that head.
A Lok Sabha answer of 3 May 2013 put India's estimated geothermal power potential at about 10,000 MW, and said the potential exists mainly in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
Kakrapar's units date from different decades. Wikipedia records Units 1 and 2, of 220 MW each, in commercial operation from 1993 and 1995, and Unit 3, of 700 MW, connected to the grid on 10 January 2021.
Key facts
- POWERGRID's board approved, on 2 April 2016, a transmission system for the Ultra Mega Solar Power Park at Tumkur (Pavagada), Karnataka, Phase-I, at ₹810.48 crore.
- Lok Sabha answer, 9 August 2001: a project was sanctioned to develop the Tattapani geothermal fields, Sarguja District, Chhattisgarh, with a 300 kW pilot plant.
- Lok Sabha answer, 28 April 2016: no geothermal power plant was then under implementation in India.
- Wikipedia: Muppandal Wind Farm is in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, and was developed by the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency.
- Kakrapar Atomic Power Station, Gujarat: Unit 3, of 700 MW, was connected to the grid on 10 January 2021, per Wikipedia.
The code A-(ii), B-(iii), C-(i), D-(iv) is option (4). D-(iv) is in every code, so A, B and C decide.
Study next
Common traps
- Swapping solar and wind. Both are renewable sites in south India, but Pavagada is the site of a solar park and Muppandal of a wind farm.
- Relying on the pair every code shares. D-(iv), Kakrapar – Atomic, is in all four codes, so it cannot separate them.
- Reading a sanctioned pilot as a running plant. The 2001 answer describes a 300 kW pilot at Tattapani, and a 2016 answer says no geothermal plant was then under implementation.
A question can match sites to their energy sources through a code, as this one does.
A question can also name a power station and ask for its State, ask which site is a geothermal field, or ask which type of plant a place is known for.
Related PYQs
Which is not a correct match ? Nuclear Power Plant – State
- (1) Kalpakkam – Tamil Nadu
- (2) Kakrapar – Gujarat
- (3) Kaiga – Tamil Nadu
- (4) Narora – Uttar Pradesh
Answer(3)
Same Kakrapar station. That item asks which nuclear power plant–State pair is not a correct match (RPSC's key: option (3), Kaiga – Tamil Nadu), with Kakrapar – Gujarat as a correct pair; this one matches Kakrapar to atomic energy.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Muppandal, known for its wind farm, is located in which State?
- (a)Karnataka
- (b)Tamil Nadu
- (c)Gujarat
- (d)Rajasthan
Answer(2) — Wikipedia places the Muppandal Wind Farm in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu. Option (1), Karnataka, has the Pavagada solar park; option (3), Gujarat, has Kakrapar; option (4), Rajasthan, is not Muppandal's State. - practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following is correctly matched? Site – Energy
- (a)Kakrapar – Solar
- (b)Pavagada – Wind
- (c)Tattapani – Geo-thermal
- (d)Muppandal – Atomic
Answer(3) — Tattapani's fields in Chhattisgarh were taken up for geothermal development. Option (1), Kakrapar, is an atomic power station; option (2), Pavagada, the site of a solar park; option (4), Muppandal, of a wind farm.