SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 18 September 2025, Shift 1 · English Comprehension · Question 20 of 100

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 13 September 2026.

The accelerating depletion of fossil fuels, coupled with mounting ecological degradation, has propelled renewable energy from a peripheral concern to a central component of global energy discourse. Yet, the conversation often fixates on production rather than application. A nuanced understanding of renewable energy must include not only its sources—solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass—but also the multifaceted domains in which it can transform economies, decentralize power structures, and promote environmental justice. In the domain of electricity generation, renewables have already begun to displace conventional energy systems. Solar photovoltaic installations now power not only urban rooftops but remote rural hamlets long excluded from centralized grids. Micro-hydel projects have enabled mountain communities to harness perennial streams for electricity without the ecological upheaval of large dams. Similarly, wind energy has emerged as a significant contributor in coastal and arid zones, transforming local economies by creating decentralized, sustainable employment ecosystems. Beyond electricity, renewable energy finds compelling applications in transportation, industrial heating, and agriculture. The rise of biofuels—especially second-generation variants derived from agricultural waste—offers a pathway to decarbonize aviation and freight transport, sectors that have traditionally been resistant to electrification. In agrarian contexts, solar-powered pumps have reduced farmers’ dependence on erratic grid supply and diesel generators, enhancing irrigation autonomy while mitigating carbon emissions. Industries, often vilified for their carbon intensity, are also experimenting with renewable alternatives. Concentrated solar thermal technologies, for instance, are being employed in textile processing, food dehydration, and even metallurgy, demonstrating that clean energy need not be confined to low-intensity applications. Furthermore, geothermal energy is increasingly being harnessed for space heating in colder regions and for cooling through absorption chillers—thereby offsetting conventional HVAC loads. However, the significance of renewable energy transcends utility. At a deeper level, it challenges existing geopolitical hierarchies shaped by fossil fuel dependency. While oil-rich nations have historically wielded disproportionate influence, renewable resources—abundant yet diffuse—enable energy sovereignty for resource-scarce regions. This democratization of energy, if properly managed, can catalyze more equitable development paradigms. Nevertheless, integration challenges persist. Intermittency, storage limitations, land use conflicts, and upfront costs are not insignificant barriers. A hasty transition without resilient infrastructure or community consent could replicate the very injustices renewables seek to redress. Therefore, the question is not merely how to produce renewable energy, but how to embed it meaningfully across sectors, geographies, and social hierarchies.

Read the following passage and answer the questions based on the passage : According to the author, how does renewable energy challenge global power structures?

(a)By reducing electricity usage
(b)By centralizing production
(c)By enabling energy independence in diverse regions
(d)By increasing oil exports

Answer

Why

Correct — C. The passage says renewable energy "challenges existing geopolitical hierarchies shaped by fossil fuel dependency", then says how: renewable resources "enable energy sovereignty for resource-scarce regions".

The contrast is with oil-rich nations, which "have historically wielded disproportionate influence". Energy sovereignty is energy independence, which is option (c).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
By reducing electricity usage — The passage never argues for using less electricity. It describes renewables displacing conventional generation and powering hamlets excluded from grids, which is about supply, not reduced use.
(b)
By centralizing production — This is the reverse of the passage, which says renewables decentralize power structures and reach hamlets "long excluded from centralized grids".
(d)
By increasing oil exports — Oil appears only as the old order: oil-rich nations that "wielded disproportionate influence". Renewables challenge that order, and the passage says nothing about raising oil exports.

Concept

This is a paraphrase question. The stem's words are not the passage's: "global power structures" stands for geopolitical hierarchies, and the keyed "energy independence" stands for energy sovereignty.

Match meaning, not vocabulary. Find the sentence that answers "how", here the one beginning "While oil-rich nations", and pick the option that says the same thing in other words.

The option says diverse regions where the passage says resource-scarce regions. The option is broader, but it is the one that matches the passage's mechanism.

The passage also hedges the benefit: this democratization of energy helps "if properly managed".

Key facts

The passage's phrase for power structures: "geopolitical hierarchies shaped by fossil fuel dependency".
Oil-rich nations "have historically wielded disproportionate influence".
Renewable resources, "abundant yet diffuse", "enable energy sovereignty for resource-scarce regions".
The passage calls this the "democratization of energy".

Study next

Synonym mapping in comprehension: sovereignty and independence, hierarchies and power structuresReversal distractors that flip the passage's direction, such as decentralize becoming centralize

Common traps

Choosing "By centralizing production" because the passage talks about power structures, without noticing it says decentralize
Rejecting (c) because the passage says resource-scarce, not diverse, regions

English Q.21 of 18 Sep 2025, 09:00, on the same passage, asks for the author's caution about rapid adoption (keyed It may repeat existing patterns of injustice), answered a few sentences later.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Reading comprehension — all 128 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.

The accelerating depletion of fossil fuels, coupled with mounting ecological degradation, has propelled renewable energy from a peripheral concern to a central component of global energy discourse. Yet, the conversation often fixates on production rather than application. A nuanced understanding of renewable energy must include not only its sources—solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass—but also the multifaceted domains in which it can transform economies, decentralize power structures, and promote environmental justice. In the domain of electricity generation, renewables have already begun to displace conventional energy systems. Solar photovoltaic installations now power not only urban rooftops but remote rural hamlets long excluded from centralized grids. Micro-hydel projects have enabled mountain communities to harness perennial streams for electricity without the ecological upheaval of large dams. Similarly, wind energy has emerged as a significant contributor in coastal and arid zones, transforming local economies by creating decentralized, sustainable employment ecosystems. Beyond electricity, renewable energy finds compelling applications in transportation, industrial heating, and agriculture. The rise of biofuels—especially second-generation variants derived from agricultural waste—offers a pathway to decarbonize aviation and freight transport, sectors that have traditionally been resistant to electrification. In agrarian contexts, solar-powered pumps have reduced farmers’ dependence on erratic grid supply and diesel generators, enhancing irrigation autonomy while mitigating carbon emissions. Industries, often vilified for their carbon intensity, are also experimenting with renewable alternatives. Concentrated solar thermal technologies, for instance, are being employed in textile processing, food dehydration, and even metallurgy, demonstrating that clean energy need not be confined to low-intensity applications. Furthermore, geothermal energy is increasingly being harnessed for space heating in colder regions and for cooling through absorption chillers—thereby offsetting conventional HVAC loads. However, the significance of renewable energy transcends utility. At a deeper level, it challenges existing geopolitical hierarchies shaped by fossil fuel dependency. While oil-rich nations have historically wielded disproportionate influence, renewable resources—abundant yet diffuse—enable energy sovereignty for resource-scarce regions. This democratization of energy, if properly managed, can catalyze more equitable development paradigms. Nevertheless, integration challenges persist. Intermittency, storage limitations, land use conflicts, and upfront costs are not insignificant barriers. A hasty transition without resilient infrastructure or community consent could replicate the very injustices renewables seek to redress. Therefore, the question is not merely how to produce renewable energy, but how to embed it meaningfully across sectors, geographies, and social hierarchies.