Energy Resources — Part 1: Coal, oil, natural gas and hydel power: visual lesson, ICSE Class 10 Geography (H.C.G. Paper 2)

Lesson

Power for a growing country

Part 1 — Homes, farms, railways and factories all run on energy. India gets most of its commercial energy from conventional sources (coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydel), and is adding non-conventional sources (sun, wind, tides, the Earth’s heat, atoms and biogas) — Part 2.

In this lesson you will

Name the types of coal and the main coalfields of India, and weigh the advantages and disadvantages of coal
Name the main onshore and offshore oil fields and explain why natural gas is a cleaner fuel than coal
State the river, state and benefits of the Bhakra Nangal and Hirakud projects and the advantages of hydel power

Table listing conventional and non-conventional sources of energy studied in this chapter
Conventional sources	Non-conventional sources
Coal	Solar
Petroleum	Wind
Natural gas	Tidal
Hydel (large dams)	Geothermal, nuclear, biogas

Concept

Types of coal

Coal formed from plants buried in swamps millions of years ago and slowly compressed. The longer and deeper the burial, the higher the carbon content and heat value. Anthracite — hardest, highest carbon, little smoke; small deposits in Jammu and Kashmir. Bituminous — the most widely used; its coking variety is used in iron and steel. Lignite — brown coal, high moisture, low carbon (Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan). Peat — the first stage, low carbon, smoky.

Table of the four types of coal with carbon content, use and examples
Type	Carbon content	Main use or note	Indian example
Anthracite	Highest (about 80–95%)	Best quality, little smoke	Jammu and Kashmir (small)
Bituminous	High (about 60–80%)	Power; coking coal for steel	Jharia, Raniganj, Korba
Lignite	Low (about 40–55%)	Pit-head power stations	Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan
Peat	Lowest (under 40%)	Smoky domestic fuel	Marshy areas

Concept

Where India’s coal is found

Gondwana coal (over 200 million years old) gives most of India’s coal, from river valleys of the peninsula: Damodar valley (Jharia, Bokaro, Giridih in Jharkhand; Raniganj in West Bengal), Mahanadi valley (Talcher in Odisha; Korba in Chhattisgarh), Son valley (Singrauli), Godavari valley (Singareni in Telangana). Tertiary coal (younger, more sulphur) occurs in Assam (Makum), Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. Lignite: Neyveli (Tamil Nadu), Panandhro (Gujarat), Palana (Rajasthan).

Table of coal groups, the valleys or regions where they occur, and named coalfields
Group	River valley or region	Coalfields
Gondwana	Damodar	Jharia, Bokaro, Raniganj, Giridih
Gondwana	Mahanadi	Talcher, Korba
Gondwana	Son and Godavari	Singrauli; Singareni
Tertiary	North-east	Makum (Assam), Meghalaya
Lignite	Coastal and western India	Neyveli, Panandhro, Palana

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