Clean Energy Scenario in India: An Overview

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The Indian economy is growing at an amazing rate. Yet, progress brings problems and challenges, including environmental concerns that affect all sectors of the country and its \ people. According to the 2007 World Energy Outlook report, India accounted for 4% of the world's overall carbon emissions in 2005. India's growing economy has huge potential to shift to a low-carbon future, given that about 500 million Indians, or about half the population, do not have access to electricity, relying on fossil fuels such as coal to expand the power grid. ~ealizing the environmental challenges the world faces today, India has taken a number of steps to develop innovative "green" solutions to its environmental and energy challenges. There are tremendous opportunities for India to make significant advances in clean technology, which will improve the environment. The Indian government has implemented policies designed to incentivize solar technology production and investment in the Indian solar industryl, which is f(xpected to grow by more than $10 billion over the next ten years. The same can be said for biofuels, where India's farmers stand to profit from second generation fuels that concentrate on non-food crops, such as jatropha and karanj. Usage of nuclear and wind energy is also on the rise: India has the capacity to produce over 10,500 MW of electricity--or about 3% of all energy production in India- through wind power. Realizing the potential of hydrogen as a carbon free fuel of the future, the Indian government is fostering public-private partnerships in this area. In the area of thermal power, which constitutes 63% of the total generating capacity in India and accounts for 81 % of the total power produced, several I Kumar Amit, Chaurey Akanksha, Vipradas Mahesh, Kishore N V V, "Solar Energy Development in India", Advances in Solar Energy. Vol 14, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 200l

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Clean Energy Scenario in India: An Overview

private sector groups have pulled together significant new funding for the development of innovative technologies.2 Hydroelectric is another promising form of alternative energy that has seen its share of technological advancement, and private investment is needed to take advantage of this real energy potential. India has taken a progressive stand on Clean Energy Technology and in the coming decades it will become imperative that it becomes completely a clean energy country. The growing energy demands and its inability to sustain the economy on its fossils has to mean that clean energy mechanisms become the way forward . .. Clean energy technologies include renewable energy, hybrid and co-generation, and energy efficiency technologies for power generation; alternative fuels; and advanced technologies for transportation. They produce power for a wide range of applications using no fuel or less fuel than fossil-fuel-based technologies, produce no or fewer pollutants than conventional technologies and can use renewable energy sources, which, unlike fossil fuels, are not depleted over time. The renewable energy technologies are biomass and biofue1s, waste-to-energy, solar power, wind power, geothermal, hydropower, and ocean power. Advantages of renewable energy are that it is: • perennial • available locally and does not need elaborate arrangements for transport • usually modular in nature, i.e. small-scale units and systems can be almost as economical as large-scale ones

1. 2 Pandian.K.Joel, Indian Oil and Gas Sector, UK Trade and Investment Reporter

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Clean Energy Scenario in India: An Overview

• environment-friendly • well suited for decentralized applications and use in remote areas. Biomass consists of plant and plant-derived material. Sources include agricultural residues such as rice hulls, straw, bagasse from sugarcane production, wood chips, and coconut shells and energy crops such as sugarcane or switch grass. Biomass can be used directly for energy production or processed into fuels. Waste-to-energy technology converts energy from a wast~ source, such as a city's municipal waste system, farms, and

other agricultural operations, or waste from commercial and industrial operations. Large- scale waste-to-energy systems can supply heat or electricity in utility-based electric

power plants or district heating systems. Small-scale systems can provide heating or cooking fuel and electricity to individual farms, homes, and businesses. Solar technologies convert light and heat from the sun into useful energy. Photovoltaic (PV) systems convert sunlight into electricity, and thermal systems collect and store solar heat for air and water heating applications. Wind power technology converts energy in the wind into useful power; the primary market for wind power technology is for wind turbines, which convert wind energy into electricity. Geothermal power is generated using thermal energy from underground sources, including steam, hot water, and heat stored in rock formations; various technologies are used to generate electricity. Hydropower is the conversion of energy embodied in moving water into useful power. Today, hydropower supplies about 19 percent of the world's electricity. Finally, ocean power technology makes use of energy in the ocean by converting it into electricity. This technology is still in the development phase, Hybrid and co-generation power systems take advantage of the benefits of

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Clean Energy Scenario in India: An Overview

multiple technologies in a single, integrated system for power generation. Renewable- based hybrid power systems use combinations of wind turbines, PV panels, and small

hydropower generators to generate electricity. Hybrid power systems typically include a diesel or other fuel-based' generator (including biofuels) and may include batteries or other storage technology. Co-generation systems, also called combined heat and power (CHP) systems, generate both electricity and useful heat. Conventional fossil-fuel-based electric power plants generate heat as a byproduct that is emitted into the environment; co-generation power plants collect this heat for· use in thennal applications, thereby converting a higher percentage of the energy in the fuel into useful power. The most efficient conventional power plants have a typical fuelto- electricity conversion factor of about 50 percent, while cogeneration plants can achieve efficiencies of over 75 percent. Examples of thermal loads that can be served by a co-generation plant are: district heating systems that provide heat for towns and neighborhoods; industrial processes that require heat, such as paper mills; institutions such as prisons and hospitals; and wastewater treatment plants. Energy efficiency (EE) involves replacing existing technologies and processes with new ones that provide equivalent or better service using less energy. EE result in energy savings at the time that the energy service is provided. Energy service providers can also use load management to change the time that an energy service is delivered in order to reduce peak loads on an energy distribution system. Demand-side management uses both load management and EE to save the amount of primary energy required to deliver the energy service. Almost half a billion vehicles on the world's roads contribute to half of the global oil consumption and

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Clean Energy Scenario in India: An Overview

generate about 20 percent of the world'~ greenhouse gases, including carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides, and particulates. Transportation technologies can help address these issues through the use of alternative fuels and advanced technologies. Alternative fuels for transportation include I!>iodiesel. ethanol, natural gas, and propane. Advanced vehicle technologies include electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles, which offer air pollution improvements over average fossil fuel vehicles. Finally, mobile idle reduction systems and diesel engine retrofits can reduce the emissions of heavy-duty vehicles . .. India: Energy Overview Clean energy technologies have received unprecedented attention in the last few years in India as its energy demand grows every year. This is largely a res!1lt of India's economy, which has steadily advanced over the last 30 years, averaging a 7 percent per year growth since 2000. During 2004 and 2005, only China's economy grew faster. With 1.1 billion people, India is the world's second most populous country behind China and is expected to have the world's largest population by 2030. Further population increases and the country's continued economic growth are expected to increase India's energy demand from 537 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 2005 to 770 Mtoe in 2015 and to 1,299 Mtoe by 2030. Coal is the dominant fuel in India's energy mix, a condition that is expected to persist for at least the next 25 years. India has vast coal resources, but most are of low quality. Indigenous oil and gas reserves are in short supply while demand for oil almost quadrupled from 1980 to 2005. Oil imports are projected to increase even more going forward, leaving the country more vulnerable to international price spikes and potentially unreliable supplies. In 2005 India ranked fourth in energy consumption, after

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Clean Energy Scenario in India: An Overview

the United States, China, and Russia. By 2030, India is expected to surpass Russia and be the third-largest energy consumer.3 Energy demand grew by 3.5 percent per ~ear during the period 1990-2005. Supply has not kept up, and a deficit of 11,463 megawatt (MW), equivalent to 12.3 percent of peak demand, was recorded in peak hours in India during 2006. The states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh recorded more than a 20 percent deficit in the availability of power during peak hours - a deficit that is expected to increase in the future. India has an installed base of about 124,287 MW of electricity as of the year 2006, which includes about 66 percent thennal energy (85 percent of which is coal based) followed by hydro with 26 percent, nuclear with 3 percent, and reqewable energy with 5 percent. Of the current total installed renewable energy base, wind constitutes 69 percent, followed by small hydro (19 percent), biomass (co-generation, 11.5 percent), waste-toenergy (0.42 percent), and solar (0.03 percent). Market assessments indicate that India could eventually be the largest renewable market in the world, given its abundance of renewable energy resources. The

country has already developed electricity from small hydro, wind, and biomass (co- generation), but the contribution of waste-to-energy and solar energy is very small, while

electricity generation from solar thennal, geothennal, and ocean power is non-existent. This is an indicator of the opportunity that is available in harnessing the full potential of these sectors.4

3 Clean Energy: An Exporter's Guide to India, U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, July 2008 4 Clean Energy: An Exporter's Guide to India, U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, July 2008 121 P age

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Table 1.t: Indian Primary Energy Demand in the Reference Scenario (mToe)

Coal Oil Gas 10 21 29 48 93 Nuclear 2 4 5 16 33 Hydro 6 6 19 13 22 Biomass 133 149 171 194

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Table 11: Key Energy Indicators for India

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5 Source: International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook 2007: China and India Insights (paris, France: OCEDIIEA, 2007). 6 Source: International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook 2007: China and India Insights (paris, France: OCEDIIEA, 2007, p. 444).