Climate Change And Renewable Energy

Shailesh Haribhakti
Chairman,
“Combating Global Warming—An IMC Perspective” Committee

India is a growing economic giant on the global firmament. Its economy is projected to grow by about double digit annually over the next decade and so is the demand for energy. The estimated energy need per 1% GDP growth is expected to be in the range of 1-1.2%.

Current State: Climate Change and Energy
India ranks among the top ten nations of the world in terms of energy demand. It is a major energy producer and also a consumer. As a producer of energy, it is endowed with significant reserves of coal but comparatively insufficient oil and gas resources. It is facing the critical challenge of meeting a rapidly increasing demand for energy.

The decreasing levels of fossil fuels aren’t the only reason for the need to switch over to renewable energy. Other prime reason is increasing levels of pollution, which not only leads to poor air quality in some areas but also increases the number of respiratory ailments. The main reason to switch to cleaner energy production methods is the global warming aspect. The more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, the greater is the warming effect. It is not possible to stop the use of fossil fuels on the plea that global warming will get depleted but we should slow down and dilute the effects of global warming through the wide spread increased use of renewable energy resources.

Concrete Solutions
Concrete solutions are primarily two—absolute reductionin greenhouse gas emissions and taking recourse to alternative renewable energy sources. Absolute reduction in Green House Gas emissions can be achieved by gradually deviating from conventional methods of energy generation and adoption of such alternative energy sources. Considering both the growing energy needs and increasing threat of Global Warming, India has inevitably to switch over to alternative energy sources. There are several options available which are clean, efficient, and which require lower gestation period for generation of power.

Some of the clean energy options are micro stations, hydrogen fuel cell, solar power, wind power etc. that need to be promoted widely in India.

Microgeneration is the production of heat and/or electricity from a non-polluting source at a small-scale level. Various available technologies have the potential to achieve simultaneously the objectives of tackling climate change as well as fuel scarcity and also ensuring reliable energy supply. Some microgeneration technologies are listed below.
• Electricity Generation Technologies - Solar Photo Voltaic, Wind Turbines, Small Hydro
• Heat Generation Technologies - Solar Thermal Hot Water, Ground Source Heat Pumps, Air Source Heat Pumps, Bio-energy
• Cogeneration Technologies - Combined Heat and Power (CHP), Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cells

Adoption of microgeneration technology should not be restricted to individuals but the Government should play a vital role in promotion of this technology. For instance, local bodies should make mandatory rules for all new infrastructure projects to have micro stations with convenient technology. This will not only create energy independence but will also generate carbon neutral society.

Hydrogen fuel cells have the potential to revolutionize the energy sector by offering cleaner and efficient alternatives to the combustion of fossil fuels. Fuel cells are power-generating devices having a wide range of applications including stationary power generation, portable power generation and transportation.

Fuel cells are an attractive technology option for India because of their economic, environmental, and energy-management advantages. To begin with, the telecommunication towers can be run on hydrogen fuel instead of conventional diesel generators. The required hydrogen can be supplied by means of closed cylinders. Hydrogen fuel cells are most suitable for powering vehicles (especially buses) to reduce urban pollution and diesel import.

Tata Motors is working with Isro on hydrogen technology to run buses. Isro will provide the expertise for handling liquid hydrogen, which it uses with liquid oxygen to power engines used to launch heavy rockets. M&M has completed the first phase of a pre-feasibility study on hydrogen-based transportation with Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

Early in 2006 the Indian government (Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources) unveiled a National Hydrogen Energy Roadmap with the goal of having one million hydrogen-fuelled vehicles on the road by 2020 and generating 1,000 MW from hydrogen through public-private initiatives.

Wind power has emerged as one of the most rapidly growing renewable energy technologies. Wind power programme in India was initiated towards the end of the Sixth Plan, in 1983-84.

Wind power has only one major drawback, the wind does not always blow and this may disrupt power supply from wind turbine. One solution to this problem is to store energy when the wind blows and release the energy as electricity when required.

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Govt. of India has planned a target of 10,500 MW wind power during the 11th five-year plan (i.e. 2007 to 2012).

Solar energy in India is a viable option as a means of generating electricity for a large proportion of the population. Harnessing the energy from the sun is the best alternative of clean energy as the sun is 00% eco-friendly. The solar energy is broadly classified in two categories on the basis of its use – Solar Active (Direct Use) & Solar Passive (Indirect Use). The only drawback to solar power is the initial investment that is at present not practical economically for the consumers. To facilitate widespread use of solar power, Indian government has now initiated a programme of providing financial assistance amounting to 12 rupees (30 cents) per kilowatt-hour in case of solar photovoltaic and 10 rupees per kilowatt-hour in case of solar thermal power fed to the electricity grid.

Thus, India has massive energy needs. The requirement has to be met if it has to sustain its high growth trajectory. This can be possible only through cutting Green House Gases and simultaneously shifting to alternative energy sources. Instead of becoming increasingly addicted to fossil fuels, the country has tremendous opportunity to divert from the trend and develop alternative energies- micogeneration, solar, wind – ie. renewable energy sources for which India has plenty of potential for.