SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 18 September 2025, Shift 1 · English Comprehension · Question 21 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 : What is the author’s caution about the rapid adoption of renewable energy?

(a)It is economically unsustainable
(b)It may repeat existing patterns of injustice
(c)It leads to fossil fuel scarcity
(d)It diminishes employment

Answer

Why

Correct — B. The caution is one sentence: "A hasty transition without resilient infrastructure or community consent could replicate the very injustices renewables seek to redress."

Match it piece by piece: rapid adoption = hasty transition, may repeat = could replicate, existing patterns of injustice = the very injustices. Option (b) is that sentence reworded.

Why the others are wrong

(a)
It is economically unsustainable — The passage lists upfront costs as one barrier, "not insignificant", but never calls renewables economically unsustainable. Its warning about haste is about injustice, not money.
(c)
It leads to fossil fuel scarcity — This reverses cause and effect. Fossil fuel depletion is what "propelled renewable energy" in the first sentence, and the passage never says adopting renewables causes scarcity.
(d)
It diminishes employment — The passage says the opposite: wind energy creates "decentralized, sustainable employment ecosystems". It never links renewables to job losses.

Concept

This is a caution question. Words like caution, concern or warning in the stem send you to the sentences that qualify the author's enthusiasm.

Here the signal is Nevertheless: "Nevertheless, integration challenges persist." The barriers follow, then the specific warning about a hasty transition. The stem's "rapid adoption" points to that word, so the answer comes from that sentence, not from the list of barriers before it.

The option's may matches the passage's could: both state a possibility, not a prediction. An option saying renewables will repeat injustice would overstate the author.

Key facts

The caution: a hasty transition "could replicate the very injustices renewables seek to redress".
The two safeguards it names: resilient infrastructure and community consent.
The barriers listed: intermittency, storage limitations, land use conflicts and upfront costs.
The passage credits wind energy with creating employment, not destroying it.

Study next

Questions on the author's caution, concern or reservationContrast signals in a passage: however, nevertheless, yetHedged claims (could, may, if properly managed) and options that overstate them

Common traps

Picking "It is economically unsustainable" because upfront costs sit in the sentence just before the caution
Answering from general knowledge about renewables instead of the author's stated warning

English Q.20 of 18 Sep 2025, 09:00, on the same passage, asks how renewables challenge global power structures (keyed By enabling energy independence in diverse regions). Both answers paraphrase single sentences in the closing part of the passage.

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.