1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background of Study
Energy is the focal point of all human activities; it is the basis of industrial civilization. Without energy, modern life would cease to exist. in the past, the demand for energy sources was minimal because it was primarily used for cooking and local production. But as time went on, population increase and technological advancement led to more demand for energy. The major sources of energy are the conventional sources, which include: fossil fuels, and nuclear fuels. Fossil fuels, which include petroleum, coal, and natural gas, provide most of the energy need of modern industrial society. Other uses are found in the transportation, residential heating, and electric-power generation. Nuclear fuels are used to generate electricity, but it is utilised mainly in the developed countries due to high level of supervision and maintenance required.
The non-conventional (renewable) sources of energy include: hydroelectric power, solar energy, wind energy, biomass, ocean thermal energy, tidal energy, and geothermal energy, but the potential of these sources is still underutilised because they are much more expensive to harness than energy derived from fossil fuels. Hydroelectric power requires a large capital investment, so it is often uneconomical for a region where coal or oil is cheap. As such, they contribute a little percentage to the massive energy requirement of the world population. However, the fear of depletion of fossil fuels due to the fast rate of consumption has provoked further development of these alternative energy sources, such as solar energy.
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