INDIAN DREAMS Vs REALITY: ENERGY SECURITY OPTIONS: A TALE OF NUCLEAR AND SOL...: Ever since the reality of finite quantum of all fuels fossil as well as non fossil ones has dawned on mankind, energy security has acquire...

INDIAN DREAMS Vs REALITY: BENEFITS OF ENERGY SECURITY THROUGH CLEAN RENEWABL...: It is not for nothing that a large number of philosophers and analysts are raising their voice for achieving energy security on our globe ...

Nuclear power: no answer to energy policy in a changing climate

Martin Stott

It is eighteen months since the meltdown of the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power complex after the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. Globally, reaction to this series of events has been mixed, with a number of countries including Germany reaffirming their intentions to get out of civil nuclear power generation, others like China and Indonesia taking a second look at the implications for them and some like France and the UK where the view has been taken that it couldn’t happen here, so there are few if any, lessons to be learned. Our newly minted energy policy hammered out within the Coalition over the past few months and presented to an expectant nation last week, reflects this complacency.

Very striking though has been the reaction of some leading commentators in the environmental movement to the nuclear versus renewable debate in this context. The response can be summarised by the headline to George Monbiot’s article ‘Why Fukushima made me stop worrying and love nuclear power’ in The Guardian on 22 March 2011, just 13 days after the tsunami which triggered the multiple meltdowns there. Monbiot is not alone. Stuart ‘Whole Earth Catalog’ Brand, James Lovelock and Mark Lynas have all piled in. The riffs are slightly different, but the tune is essentially the same, that nuclear power in the context of a rapidly warming planet is a far better way to generate electricity than coal, gas or oil. This, they assert is because it is low carbon, unlike fossil fuels, is more reliable than renewables and some argue, cheaper. Monbiot in particular has become more vehement in the past year and has become a forceful advocate of Integrated Fast Reactors (IFR’s) as the holy grail of both the nuclear industry and sustainable energy production.

Civil nuclear power has a track record and as long as you don’t look too closely at the costs, it is not all bad. It provides most of the electrical generation capacity in France for example. But it is not low carbon, let alone zero carbon. The whole nuclear fuel cycle from mining, refining and transportation onwards produces substantial quantities of carbon emissions. The power stations themselves are hardly models of low carbon infrastructure. This is important because their ‘environmental’ argument for nuclear power is that it is a major weapon in the fight against climate change.

There are a number of other arguments against nuclear power – the costs (the taxpayer subsidies over the past few decades are quite mind boggling and the decommissioning and waste storage costs in the future are even more so), the risks of terrorism, (Flight 93 that was brought down by its passengers in a field in Pennsylvania on September 11 2001 was aimed at Three Mile Island, a point that is frequently forgotten) the threat of proliferation, (if civil nuclear power generation doesn’t lead to proliferation, why is the US taking such an interest in Iran’s nuclear programme? They know it does, but only make a fuss when it suits them. Israel was treated much more gently.) the inability to store or safely manage in the long term the high level nuclear wastes produced, the threats to human health, and its sheer unreliability (the surprise 3.1% increase in UK green house gas (GHG) emissions in 2010 reported in February by DECC, was in large part due to the newest and most ‘reliable’ British nuclear reactor, Sizewell ‘B’ being out of commission for six months). All of these arguments can be rehearsed in some detail, but my focus is on the debate from the perspective nuclear power’s possible contribution to tackling climate change and what that means for the society of the future.

Will India Surge Ahead Of The West In Renewable Energy?

By Climate Guest Blogger on Nov 30, 2012 at 9:21 am

by Hannah Green

This August, power shortages in India that left 300 million in the dark made it very clear that one of the world’s fastest growing economies was facing an energy crisis. Less clear is how realistically to solve it. Many firms are looking for new sources of oil to fulfill India’s growing energy demands, but this could prove to be painfully expensive.  On the brighter side, solar energy and other renewable resources are already being rapidly harnessed in the non-Western world, and they are becoming cheaper and cheaper.

As of June 2012, 31 percent of India’s energy came from renewable resources, including hydroelectric power, while only 9 percent of the United States’ did as of the end of 2011. In a 2009 McKinsey & Company survey, India was rated the top producer of solar energy in the world, just above the United States, with an annual yield of 1,700 to 1,900 kilowatt hours per kilowatt peak (kWh/KWp). However, demand for energy in India will only continue to grow, and the question is whether energy will continue to come mainly from fossil fuels or from renewable energy sources

Many hope so. Current local and imported supplies of gas and coal in India are insufficient to fulfill energy demands, and both investing in sufficient imported fossil fuels to keep India electrified or extracting new natural gas sources will hurt the Indian economy, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group. Hunting for shale gas is a risky and expensive venture, and creating Liquid Natural Gas facilities to ease the transport of imported oil would also require an investment of $12 – $25 billion. However, hydroelectric, wind, and solar power sectors are all growing. Hydroelectric power already accounts for 19 percent of India’s electricity, but at the moment less than half of available hydroelectric resources are being exploited.  Several solar power initiatives by state governments and the department of renewable resources are currently at work in India, the largest of which is the Jawarhal Nehru National Solar Mission, launched in 2010. The goal of the $19 billion plan is to harness 20,000 MW of grid power solar energy and 2000 MW of off-the-grid solar energy by 2020.

Part of the reason that solar power is becoming so affordable for India is that the demand for it is decreasing in the West. China’s solar power industry has recently faced an excess manufacturing capacity because of EU cutbacks on solar subsidies. That’s bad news for China, but good news for the Indian solar industry.

by Hannah Green

This August, power short

Solar Power, Amul Style: Existing Model Can Be Extended to Rural Solar Generation

By Mahesh Bhave, Indian Institute of Management
November 6, 2012   |  

 

Could the Amul milk cooperative success serve as a model for solar-based electricity in rural India? The "white" revolution can extend to the "light" revolution for 400 million Indians without electricity and burn kerosene for cooking and illumination. Just as farmers contribute milk daily to the cooperative, they could lease their rooftops or land for solar panels, as well.

Some electricity generated will be for personal use, and the excess may be sold or stored in community micro-grids for use at night or when clouds block sunlight. Just as a cow is a local, standalone source for milk, solar panels are local, standalone sources of electricity.

Verghese Kurien, chairman of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), wrote, “Cooperative dairy development on the Amul Pattern has been instrumental in securing rural livelihoods in many parts of India through income generation, agricultural diversification, risk distribution, female empowerment and assured employment.” Cooperatives could augment these benefits by getting into the solar business.

Spark It Off

India experimented with rural electricity cooperatives in the 1960s. Five pilot cooperatives were established in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh, but the movement did not take off. One reason: absence of autonomy.

Focused on distribution, electricity cooperatives relied on the State Electricity Boards (SEB) for generation and transmission. SEBs are plagued by mis-governance and burdened by “free power for farmers” type political schemes. In 2005, India launched the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY). The programme also has made a limited dent in rural electrification.

The Solar Cities Plan in India

WRITTEN BY VARUN MITTAL | 05 NOVEMBER 2012

With massive urban transformation happening in India, 41% of the population is expected to live in urban areas by 2030 as compared to current figure of 31%, the challenge will be to sustain the growth by ensuring the long-term sustainability of cities. Currently, cities are facing electricity shortages in their respective states due to burgeoning demand day by day.

Striding toward the goal of becoming the topmost player in the renewables industry to sustain economic development, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy in India formulated the scheme for development of “solar cities” last year.

The solar city program is deemed to be the most powerful and effective way of implementing energy sustainability in culturally diverse communities across India.

The solar city program is deemed to be the most powerful and effective way of implementing energy sustainability in culturally diverse communities across India because of the involvement of each and every stakeholder in a community. 60 cities in India have been proposed for solar cities program out of which 48 cities have been approved. 31 cities have received in-principle approval for planning and master plans for 11 cities have been drafted and solar cells are being set up.

Chandigarh

Chandigarh, Nagpur and Gandhinagar are being developed as model solar cities. Chandigarh is already the first in India to implement exemplary urban planning initiatives. Located at the foothills of Shivalik Hills, the Union Territory Chandigarh has the highest rate of growth across India and has comparatively higher per capita consumption of electricity. Also, the consumption of other sources of energy (petrol, diesel, liquid petroleum, kerosene, etc.) is increasing. As a result, there is an increasing need for renewable energy promotion and energy efficiency before the Chandigarh Administration.

Ending India’s Massive Power Grid Outages

 By 3p Guest Author | September 20th, 2012  

World’s Biggest Blackout – Image courtesy National Post, Canada

By Darshan Goswami, M.S., P.E.

On July 30th and 31st, the world’s largest blackout – The Great Indian Outage, stretching from New Delhi to Kolkata – occurred.  This blackout caused by northern power grid failure left nearly 700 million people – twice the population of the U.S. – without electricity.  A grid failure of this magnitude has thrown light on the massive demand for power in a country and its struggle to generate a much-needed power supply.

India aims to expand its power-generation capacity by 44 percent over the next five years. In June, the country’s power generation fell short by 5.8 percent against a peak-hour demand for 128 gigawatts, according to government data. India is divided into five regional grids, which are all interconnected, except for the southern grid. All the grids are being run by Power Grid, which operates more than 100,000 kilometers of electricity transmission lines.

Serious concerns have been once again raised about the country’s growing infrastructure and inability to meet its energy needs.  Government officials have concluded, “The grid failed because of the overloading of power,” and contend that “many states” try to take more power than they are allotted from the grid.

The country’s lack of energy security is a major constraint to its capacity to generate power.  The slow pace of tariff reforms is hindering infrastructure investment at the state level in most parts of the country.  The centralized model of power generation, transmission and distribution is growing more and more costly to maintain at current levels to meet increasing energy needs.  The blackout and shortage of power are hampering India’s economic growth and its capacity for growth.

So what can the world’s biggest democracy do to help eliminate such wide-sweeping outages in the future? Government should assess how best to address the power needs to meet the future growth and prevent such massive power failures. India’s power blackout is an opportunity for developing sustainable energy.  India urgently needs to develop and deploy large-scale renewable energy to end its power grid outages. I have addressed these concerns in my presentation, Renewable Energy Solutions For India – A Strategic Development Plan, and in the following published papers:  How Concentrated Solar Power Can Meet India’s Future Power Needs, Solar Farming Potential in India, How To Empower India With Big Solar Energy Plans, and Full version: India’s Solar Sunrise – Renewable Energy Focus.

For economic as well as environmental reasons, India needs to shift to non-polluting renewable sources of energy. Renewable energy is the most attractive investment because it will provide long-term economic growth for India. Decentralized off-grid renewable distributed generation sources like solar, wind, hydro, biomass, biogas, geothermal, hydrogen energy and fuel cells are the answers. These sources have the advantage of empowering people at the grassroots level and utilize distribution and transmission methods with little to no emissions. India should consider developing targets for electrification that include renewable off-grid options and/or renewable powered mini-grids. This will take a substantial electrical load off the existing power grid and also reduce the need for installing additional transmission and distribution systems.

Deployment of large-scale solar and wind projects are needed to begin a smooth transition from fossil fuels and nuclear power that is harming both communities and the environment.  India can use renewable energy for meeting all future energy needs because it is sustainable, locally available free of charge, eco-friendly and eliminates global warming.

Envisioning A Non-Nuclear Energy Future For India by DiaNuke.org

A Seminar was organized today at the Indian Social Institute (Lodhi Road, New Delhi) on the theme India’s Power Crisis and Nuclear Energy: Avoiding Power Black-outs, Avoiding False Solutions.

Chaired by Gen V K Singh (Retd.), the seminar was addressed by prominent experts on energy policy and climate change – Shankar Sharma, Soumya Dutta, Praful Bidwai, M G Devasahayam, Manish Ram and Neeraj Jain.

The nuclear lobby has cynically exploited the energy crisis in India, as was witnessed during the recent power black-outs, to push its case for yet more atomic power, regardless of appropriateness, safety, environmental soundness, and costs. The panelists in the seminar today critically examined these arguments in the light of experience, and discussed an alternative energy perspective for the country based on the principles of efficiency, sustainability, equitable energy, and decentralised energy system.

Sunlight Goes To Waste: India's Grid Failure

By Mahesh Bhave, Indian Institute of Management
02 August 2012  

 

India's recent electric grid failure on July 30 and 31 has been determined the world's largest blackout. This event will no doubt spur some movement toward efficiency and discipline. India requires new and innovative thinking and effectiveness through structural change. This is also the time to focus on renewable energy, particularly solar photovoltaics.

“India is the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy sources and, if properly utilized, India can realize its place in the world as a great power,” said Jeremy Rifkin, an economist and activist, in New Delhi in January, “but political will is required for the eventual shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy.”

Even if 10% of India’s energy needs can be met by solar, it would be a huge contribution in taking the edge off peak load on the existing grid.

Solar panel prices have dropped by over 50% during the past year, and those of the supporting hardware — including cables, connectors, inverters — will continue to drop at a slower rate. Overall, system prices now are practically at “grid parity” — the price per unit of electricity is comparable to the price of coal-based power. This is especially the case when the costs of greenhouse gas emissions from burning coal, an “externality” until now, are taken into account. And we are even closer to grid parity when the average price includes the unsubsidized cost of diesel-based generation, frequently used when power fails. 

Asia Report: World Takes Hard Look at India Grid, Promises of Solar

By Renewable Energy World Editors
06 August 2012 

 

Suddenly, the world is intrigued by India's unstable grid and the role solar can play in providing solutions for a country desperately in need of a new energy strategy.

India has in recent months been laying the groundwork to eventually become a major solar market, but the process has gone slower than expected. Sometimes markets develop methodically over many years, and other times they are jolted into urgency. Japan needed a major nuclear crisis to realign its priorities. And now it looks like India received its wake-up call in the form of a massive power outage that affected more than 600 million of its residents.

That in turn has drawn intense media coverage as major new organizations bring focus to India’s structural problems. Many of the stories have focused on the roots and challenges of India’s piecemeal energy system. Others point to the need for a massive overhaul of a grid that has become increasingly incapable of serving the 24/7 need of its growing urban population.

Regardless of where you look in India, solar power has taken a prominent seat at the table for a country eager to continue its economic momentum. And while it’s true that most of the conversation has been about how solar and better infrastructure could provide more stability, much of the new reporting is taking readers to those remote villages where off-grid solar is quietly increasingly quality of life and productivity.

This past week, Mahesh Bhave of the Indian Institute of Management wrote about the need to refocus some of the attention on the role distributed generation plays in creating economic stability.

There are several solar energy solutions. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is mostly focused on using solar energy, like any other fuel source, to feed the grid. Typically, this is through concentrated solar solutions, and recently through photovoltaic panels due to price drops. Solutions that feed power to the grid are important, but they only augment an over-stressed grid — they do not help the millions without any grid power. The Ministry mostly ignores distributed generation, the solar self-sufficiency solutions like rooftop panels or community grids.

INDIAN DREAMS Vs REALITY: Indian Energy security - the next gen growth engin...

INDIAN DREAMS Vs REALITY: Indian Energy security - the next gen growth engin...: With an enormous requirement of about 6-7 lakh MW of additional power in the next about 2 decades to cater for the country's energy securi...

Is India the fossil fuel nirvana imagined by Rinehart and Co?

By Giles Parkinson on 18 July 2012

Plans to spend billions and billions of dollars in Queensland developing coal mines and associated infrastructure such as ports and railways are built on the apparently unshakeable belief that coal can provide the only solution to the rampant energy needs of India – one the one of the world’s two fastest growing energy markets.

Indian coal companies themselves have invested billions of dollars snapping up coal assets in Australia in recent years, and one company, GVK, is the major partner of Gina Rinehart in developing her massive coal project in the Galilee Basin in central Queensland.

But this enthusiasm for investing in Australian coal infrastructure is masking huge problems in the Indian energy market. While coal is often painted as pretty much the only option to fuel India’s rapid economic growth – nuclear is clouded by the fallout of Fukushima, and will not reach the scale some anticipated, while wind and solar are seen as marginal – there are signs that an increasing number of companies are reassessing their plans.  Fossil fuel generation is turning out to be uncertain, unreliable and unprofitable, and many are turning away from coal and gas generation and focusing instead on solar and wind.

India currently relies on coal, oil and gas for 70 per cent of its energy supply, and even that only reaches barely half of the population. However, poor supply and pipeline infrastructure, and the high cost of coal imports mean that coal- and gas-fired generation is becoming unviable, even in a country with huge economic growth, an energy deficit and massive energy needs.

It is estimated that 30,000 megawatts  of newly constructed coal plant in India is sitting idle, unable to source coal from the state-run body charged with doing so. It says the best it can do is 50 per cent – not good enough for a coal plant. Imports are not the answer either, because of the rising cost. Plans for around 8000MW of new coal-fired capacity are now on hold because of that, and those that have been built are losing money. The energy ministry has told builders of gas plants not to bother with developments until at least 2015 because there is not enough gas.

 “Low carbon options ensuring energy security for India” - A Round Table Dialogue between CEOs of Renewable Energy Industry and Civil Society
Concept – Renewable energy is growing rapidly in India. With an installed capacity of 13.2 GW, renewable  energy sources (excluding large hydro) currently account for 9% of India’s overall power generation capacity. By 2012, the Indian government is planning to add an extra 14 GW of renewable sources and by 2020, it would be in the region of around 40 GW which includes 20 GW of Solar based systems.
In terms of industry capabilities, India has a solid domestic manufacturing base.  In the wind industry, Global leaders such as Suzlon, account for over half of the market along with Vestas Wind Tech and RRB. In addition, international companies have set up production facilities in India, including Enercon, Repower, Siemens and LM Glasfiber and the new entrants like ReGen Power Tech, WinWinD, Kenersys and Global Wind Power. Overall, a dozen companies now manufacture wind turbines in India, through either joint ventures,  or under licensed production, as subsidiaries of foreign companies or as Indian companies with their own technology.
In the solar segment, the key players currently are Moser Baer, TATA BP Solar, along with a host of ..............

Energy Security and India

It is clear that India cannot rely on one source of electricity: be it coal; gas; hydro or nuclear. The bouquet will have all these components. This requires rational and pragmatic planning and not dogmas, says Shivanand Kanavi.

(This article appeared in Rediff.com at http://www.rediff.com/business/slide-show/slide-show-1-column-an-energy-sufficient-india-a-long-road-ahead/20120320.htm )

Indian energy consumption profile is varied. We use bio mass like agricultural waste and animal waste like cow dung and wood, char coal for heating and cooking purposes as well as refinery products like kerosene and LPG. While a small amount of electrified transportation has been adopted by the railways most other transportation by road and water is dependent on diesel and to a lesser extent petrol both of which are refinery products. Industry depends on electricity as well as coal and fuel oil or diesel for its energy needs.

INDIA’S STRATEGY TOWARD ENERGY DEVELOPMENT
AND ENERGY SECURITY
* R.V. Shahi, Secretary to the Government of India
   Ministry of Power
Energy is the prime mover of economic growth.  Availability of energy with required quality of supply is not only key to sustainable development, but also the commercial energy has a direct impact and influence on the quality of service in the fields of education, health and, in fact,  even  food security.   Inadequacy of energy supply would  obviously affect very adversely these vital and essential requirements of any society.   There is,  therefore, an urgent need to  enhance substantially the energy availability at a rapid pace so that aspirations of those who have remained insulated  from such important inputs and  services are fulfilled and they are enabled to have a reasonable access.
2. There is a big divide between the developed and the developing countries in per capita availability of energy.  The developed countries not only have a ...............................................................

Integral to energy security matrix

 With climate change emerging as a critical factor in contemporary policy making, priorities in energy security infrastructure planning and development have also changed accordingly. Despite being a relatively new area, renewable energy is becoming increasingly important in India’s energy security matrix. Luckily for the country, it is rich in renewable energy resources and the government has unveiled right policies to tap the potential. Now it is high time the transmission and distribution network was also strengthened to remove bottlenecks in supply of renewable energy, which is infirm in nature. Besides, the government should also encourage development of innovative business models in this segment.

India is the fourth largest country in installed power generation capacity in renewable energy. This means that the country has tremendous potential and it needs to harness energy from such sources. The chief sources of renewable energy in India are wind, solar, hydro, biomass and bio-fuel. But there is huge potential in ocean and tidal energy, too.

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