Energy is a primary input for almost all activities and is, therefore, vital for improvement in quality of life. Its use in sector such as industry, commerce, transport, telecommunications, wide range of agriculture and household services has compelled us to focus our attention to ensure its continuous supply to meet our ever increasing demands.
Energy related problems are not new. The energy related problems are as old as 2500 years ago. The early Romans and Greeks faced fuel shortage as wood was their primary source of energy. They had to import wood from very faraway places. Fossil fuel is still the main source of energy. Today we are facing the peak of oil and gas utilization. Fossil fuel resources took millions of years to form and are infinite.
These resources may be exhausted in a few hundred years. Historical evidence shows that world energy demand has increased at almost the same rate as gross world product (GWP). People living in industrialized or developed countries are a relatively small percentage of the world’s total population, but they consume a huge share of the total energy produced in the world.