Which of the following is a renewable resource commonly used for generating…
2026
Which of the following is a renewable resource commonly used for generating electricity in rural areas of India?
Answer: D. Solar energy is harnessed through panels for rural electrification. — Concept. A natural resource is classified by how quickly nature refills the stock it is drawn from. A resource is renewable when a continuing natural flow…
- A.
Natural gas is extracted from underground reserves for fuel.
- B.
Coal is burned in power plants for electricity production.
- C.
Nuclear energy is generated from uranium in reactors.
- D.
Solar energy is harnessed through panels for rural electrification.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept. A natural resource is classified by how quickly nature refills the stock it is drawn from. A resource is renewable when a continuing natural flow regenerates it on a human timescale, so the supply lasts as long as the rate of use stays within that rate of replenishment; a renewable stock such as a forest or an aquifer can still be drawn down if use outruns replenishment. A resource is non-renewable when it exists as a fixed stock laid down over geological time and is not replenished at all on a human timescale, so every unit burned or fissioned permanently reduces what remains.
Application. The stem names four ways of producing electricity. Test each one by asking what refills its stock and how long that refilling takes.
Resource | Where the stock comes from | Time nature needs to refill it | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
Natural gas | Hydrocarbons trapped in porous rock after buried organic matter was heated | Tens of millions of years | Non-renewable |
Coal | Swamp plant matter buried, compacted and heated into sedimentary rock | Tens of millions of years | Non-renewable |
Uranium for nuclear fission | Mineral ore bodies that are mined, milled and enriched into fuel | Not rebuilt by any earth process on a human timescale | Non-renewable |
Sunlight | Radiation arriving continuously at the Earth from the Sun | Delivered afresh every day | Renewable |
Cross-check. The stem sets a second condition as well: the resource must be commonly used to generate electricity in rural India. Sunlight satisfies that condition through installations such as:
rooftop and standalone photovoltaic panels on homes, schools and primary health centres;
solar mini-grids and micro-grids that electrify hamlets far from the transmission network;
solar home-lighting systems and solar street lights supplied under the off-grid programme of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy;
solar irrigation pumpsets installed under PM-KUSUM in place of diesel pumpsets.
Result. Coal, natural gas and uranium ore all draw on stocks that took millions of years to form and are not replaced within a human lifetime, so they are non-renewable however they are used. Sunlight is regenerated daily and panels convert it directly at the point of use where the grid does not reach. Solar energy harnessed through panels for rural electrification is therefore the renewable resource the question asks for.