Energy infrastructure
Topic: Infrastructure: Transport, Communications and Energy · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 7 "Physical Infrastructure"
Meaning
Energy infrastructure is the set of structures that produce and supply energy. NCERT's Class 7 examples are windmills, solar parks, and oil and gas pipelines. It also covers power plants, transmission lines and fuel storage. Reliable energy infrastructure powers farms, factories and homes. It also supports energy security, meaning a steady supply of energy at affordable prices.
Example
India keeps strategic petroleum reserves of 5.33 million metric tonnes of crude oil in underground storage at Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru and Padur, as a cushion against supply shocks. In mid-2025, non-fossil sources passed 50% of India's installed power capacity.
Don't confuse with
- Utilities: In NCERT's grouping, utilities are the electricity lines and water pipelines that deliver services to homes. Energy infrastructure is the structures that produce and move energy itself, such as solar parks and pipelines.
Related concepts
- Energy security
- Plant load factor
- Aggregate technical and commercial losses
- Power purchase agreement
- Cross-subsidy
- Open access (electricity)
- Time-of-day tariff
- Feed-in tariff
- Levelised cost of electricity
- Grid parity