📘 Q.7 IAS Prelims 2024 — Environment & Ecology (Distributed Energy Resources)🧷 Authentic Classroom Explanation by IAS Monk
📌 The Question:
Consider the following:
- Battery storage
- Biomass generators
- Fuel cells
- Rooftop solar photovoltaic units
How many of the above are considered “Distributed Energy Resources (DERs)”?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) Only three
(d) All four
✅ Correct Answer: (d) All four
🔍 Classroom Explanation (Concept Clarity):
Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) refer to small-scale power generation or storage units that are:
- Located close to the point of consumption
- Installed on the consumer side of the meter
- Capable of producing, storing, or managing electricity locally
Now, item-wise:
- Battery storage → ✔️ Stores electricity locally
- Biomass generators → ✔️ Small-scale, decentralized generation
- Fuel cells (including hydrogen fuel cells) → ✔️ Convert chemical energy directly into electricity
- Rooftop solar PV units → ✔️ Classic example of DER
📌 Hence, all four qualify as Distributed Energy Resources.
🧠 Curiosity Raiser:
Did you know?
👉 An electric vehicle (EV) battery can act as a DER through Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology.
📚 Enrich Notes (Prelims-Ready List of DERs):
- Rooftop solar PV
- Wind micro-generators
- Biomass & biogas plants
- Fuel cells (hydrogen-based)
- Battery storage systems
- Gas & diesel generators
- Combined Heat and Power (CHP)
- Waste heat recovery systems
- Micro-hydropower units
🕊️ IAS Monk Whisper:
“Energy democracy begins when power is generated where life actually lives.”