Non-conventional energy sources are those energy sources, that are -
- (a)Produced from electricity
- (b)Renewable
- (c)Produced from heat
- (d)Non-renewable
Correct — B, Renewable. Non-conventional (or 'new and renewable') energy sources are those that replenish naturally on a human timescale and are not exhausted with use — solar, wind, small hydro, biomass, geothermal, tidal and ocean energy. They are the counterpart of conventional fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, natural gas), which are finite. India administers them through a dedicated Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). Hence the defining feature of non-conventional sources is that they are renewable.
- (a)Produced from electricity — This reverses the relationship — non-conventional sources such as solar and wind are used to GENERATE electricity; they are not 'produced from' electricity.
- (c)Produced from heat — Being produced from heat is not the defining feature — geothermal uses Earth's heat, but solar PV, wind and tidal energy do not; the common thread across all of them is that they are renewable, not heat-derived.
- (d)Non-renewable — This is the exact opposite — non-renewable (finite) sources such as coal, petroleum and natural gas are the CONVENTIONAL sources, not the non-conventional ones.
Energy sources are classified as conventional versus non-conventional. Conventional sources — coal, petroleum, natural gas and firewood — are largely finite and non-renewable. Non-conventional (new and renewable) sources — solar, wind, small hydro, biomass, geothermal, tidal and ocean energy — replenish naturally and are inexhaustible on a human timescale. India promotes them through the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
The question hinges on the single defining property. 'Non-conventional' is used almost interchangeably with 'renewable'. The distractors bait you with side-features (heat, electricity) or with the exact opposite (non-renewable) — but the essence is that these sources renew themselves.
- Non-conventional energy = new and renewable sources: solar, wind, small hydro, biomass, geothermal, tidal, ocean.
- Conventional sources (coal, petroleum, natural gas) are finite and non-renewable.
- India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is the nodal ministry for these sources.
- Renewable sources replenish naturally and are not exhausted with use.
- Assuming 'non-conventional' must be heat- or electricity-based — the defining property is renewability.
- Treating non-conventional fossil sources (shale gas, coalbed methane) as renewables — they are non-conventional but still non-renewable.
UPSC/UPPSC ask for the defining feature of non-conventional energy, or to classify given sources as renewable vs non-renewable / conventional vs non-conventional.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which ministry is the nodal agency for renewable (non-conventional) energy in India?
- (a)Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
- (b)Ministry of Power
- (c)Ministry of Coal
- (d)Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Answer(a) Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) — the nodal ministry for solar, wind and other renewables.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following is a non-conventional (renewable) source of energy?
- (a)Coal
- (b)Natural gas
- (c)Tidal energy
- (d)Petroleum
Answer(c) Tidal energy — a renewable, non-conventional source; the others are conventional fossil fuels.