Akshay Urja Day is observed annually on August 20 to raise awareness regarding the importance of renewable energy. The day also coincides with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s birth anniversary. The main goal of celebrating the day is to create awareness about the energy generated by using the natural resources like hydroelectric power, solar energy, wind energy and biogas.

History

The Akshay Urja Day was initially established by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in 2004. The first observation was organised in Delhi when a commemorative stamp was released by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. To promote the goal of the day, a human chain having nearly 12,000 students from different schools was formed in Delhi.

Significance

Akshay Urja Diwas is aimed to raise awareness and also to educate the masses about the usage and benefits of renewable energy. This measure significantly aims at schools and colleges to be aware that educating the young generation of the country would result in fruitful solutions. Different types of events like quiz competitions, drawing competitions, debates, cultural programmes, and rallies with posters and banners on renewable energy are organised by educational institutions all across the country.

Renewable energy is also often referred to as "green energy" and "clean energy" as the process of generating the energy from renewable sources like solar power, wind and water does not emit any greenhouse gases, unlike fossil fuels like coal and oil.

In order to create a clean and green environment, we all need to know how to use renewable energy more efficiently in our day-to-day life. Here are a few ways to efficiently use green energy:

Rooftop solar panels can be used at homes to produce solar power. This will not only cut on carbon emission but also save money on electricity bills.

Installing wind turbines are not just for the big wind farms that you see in wide open spaces. There are smaller wind turbines available for homes. They can generate electricity by the wind turning the blades, which helps the internal turbine to run and generates power.

Additionally, biomass heating systems burn organic materials, such as wood pellets, chips or logs to provide heating and hot water. This can be a lower carbon way of heating compared to fossil fuels like coal and oil as the wood burned in these systems only emits as much carbon as the tree absorbs.