Explanation :

• Coal Bed Methane (CBM), also known as Coal Seam Gas, is an unconventional form of natural gas found in coal deposits or coal seams.
• It is formed during the process of coalification, the transformation of plant material into coal.

Composition

• The composition of CBM in a sample of coal varies widely across several locations in the country.
• Generally, it consists predominantly of methane gas (CH4) although it can contain trace amounts of ethane (C2H6), carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O).

Extraction

• CBM can be recovered from underground coal before, during, or after mining operations.
• It can also be extracted from “unminable” coal seams that are relatively deep, thin or of poor or inconsistent quality.
• Vertical and horizontal wells are used to develop CBM resources.
• Extraction requires drilling wells into the coal seams and removing water contained in the seam to reduce hydrostatic pressure and release absorbed (and free) gas out of the coal.

Applications

• Power Generation: CBM has become increasingly used as a source of energy .It can be used in place of natural gas in gas turbines for power generation.
• Manufacturing: CBM can also be used as a feedstock for manufacturing fertilizers and plastics.

Transportation: It can be converted into other types of hydrocarbons like diesel and gasoline commonly used as fuel for automobiles.

Explanation :

• Gujarat ranks first in the country with total 97 megawatts (MW) of installed rooftop solar capacity (as of July 2019).
• Maharashtra (198.52 MW)and Tamil Nadu (151.62 MW) ranks second and third respectively in terms of installed rooftop solar capacity.
• On 25^th July, 2019, the government set ambitious target for the installation of Rooftop Solar projects (RTS) of 40,000 MW by 2022 in the country including installation of RTS on rooftop of houses.
• As of July, 2019, over 1700 MW of grid-connected rooftop systems has been installed in the country.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

India is now the lowest-cost producer of solar power globally, according to a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The IRENA report titled ‘Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2018’, revealed that the total installed costs of utility-scale solar PV in India is as low as $793 per kilowatt (kW) in 2018 which is 27 per cent lower than for projects commissioned in 2017.

Explanation :

• As of June 2018, the composition of wind and solar energy in India was:
• oWind energy: 34 GW
• oSolar energy: 23 GW

Hence, it is very evident that statement 1 is incorrect.

• International Solar Alliance (ISA) is an alliance of more than 121 countries initiated by India, most of them being sunshine countries, which lie either completely or partly between Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. ISA was founded at Paris, France and is headquartered at Gwal Pahari in Gurugram, Haryana. Hence, statement 2 is also incorrect.

Explanation :

70% of the wind power sites are located in the states of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.

Explanation :

SECI not only incorporates solar energy developments but it also looks after wind, geothermal etc. Keeping this in mind, it was renamed as Renewable Energy Corporation of India. It is a not for profit organisation and works under the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy.