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Events & Issues
New Delhi, 22 September 2008
Power for Villages
SOLAR ENERGY IS AN
ANSWER
By Dhurjati Mukherjee
The debate over global warming has firmed up in recent times
all over the world and even the recent G-8 summit focused on this vital issue.
While it has been the professed stand of the Third World that the Western
countries have to change their lifestyles and adopt appropriate technologies so
as to reduce per capita emissions, one cannot deny that with population
explosion in India (and also in China) their total emissions is catching up
with those countries. Realizing this, the Government has very aptly come up
with the National Action Plan on Climate Change and emphasized the need to use
cleaner technologies to curb emissions and reduce pollution in the country. The
Plan makes it clear that steps are part of an overall strategy to “promote
development objectives while also yielding co-benefits of addressing climate
change effectively”.
The Action Plan aims to boost solar power generation in the
country besides launching seven other programmes in mission mode towards
greenhouse gas reduction and adaptation to inevitable climate change. A
national solar energy mission would promote expansion of solar-powered
electricity and fund research projects specifically aimed at developing
“disruptive innovations” that would help solar energy compete with fossil
fuels. The mission is also expected to increase local photo-voltaic productions
to a level of 1000 MW per annum as early as possible though this may take some
time to actually become a reality.
This has been a welcome step as in the power sector there
are 76 million rural households that are yet to switch on their first light
bulb though by 2020 the Planning Commission has estimated India will need
to generate 700,000 MW of additional power to meet the demands of a growing
economy. It may be mentioned here that the 2006 Expert Committee on Energy
estimated India’s
power needs at 960,000 MW based on a 9 per cent GDP growth. Coal, hydel and
non-conventional (or renewable) energy were expected to meet at best 75 per
cent of the needs. While the thrust would have to be on renewable energy,
nuclear power would also have to be developed.
The Union Power Minister has stressed on rural
electrification and making access to power across villages by the year 2012.
Though this may take a few more years, determination and right policies may
make this task possible. About Rs 5,000 crores had been released for rural
electrification in the 10th Plan and in the present Plan the amount
has witnessed a quantum jump at Rs 38,000 crores.
The solar mission is obviously expected to increase the
share of clean power in the total energy mix of the country. According to
estimates, India
receives 5000 trillion KW equivalent of
energy per year through solar radiation. Just one per cent of the country’s
land area can meet its entire electricity requirement till 2030. In 2007, solar
energy production in the country was a mere 80 megawatt peak (MWp) power – a
mere 1.7 per cent of the world total of 4700 MWp.
However, it has to be admitted that India’s solar
energy movement has yet to gather momentum. With increasing costs of oil and
the threat of global warming aggravating in the coming years, there is need to
give a thrust to solar energy. Its biggest advantage is that power generation
can be decentralized while transmission and distribution losses are low. The ‘Lighting a Billion Lives Programme’ of
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), for instance, provides solar
lanterns to users at Rs 2-3 per day in villages.
The costs of solar photo voltaic cells have been reduced by
10 to 15 times in the last two decades or so. A further reduction of solar
costs is necessary for solar power to become competitive. Experts are of the
opinion that new technology, specially replacing silicon into photo voltaic
cells with polymers will be needed to make solar cost effective and this might
take some more time. But with the new emphasis on solar energy, a research
thrust ought to be initiated, given adequate government funding and tax
incentives.
The Ministry of Renewable Energy has recently announced that
it would give sensitise producers up to
Rs 12 per KW-hour to incentives in the case of electricity-generated through
solar photovoltaic and up to Rs 10 per KW in case of solar thermal power for
the next decade. There is a feeling, and not without reason, that solar energy
should be able to rival nuclear energy in contributing to India’s needs
by 2020.
The Social Work and Research Centre in Tilonia, Rajasthan
has done commendable work and helped train barefoot solar energy trainers. They
have helped to install and maintain solar power in the remote villages of many States,
including Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh
Germany and Spain are two countries that are
able to meet five per cent of their energy requirement from wind power. The
former has 33 per cent of the global capacity in wind energy and has set an
ambitious target of obtaining 25 per cent of electricity from wind by the year
2025.
According to estimates available in World Report 2003, prepared by Worldwatch Institute, sufficient
wind power is being generated to supply 14 million households in 45 countries.
Solar photovoltaics are providing a million families in developing countries
with electricity for the first time. All over the world, specially in the last
decade, electricity generation by wind power has grown ten-fold and has the
potential to grow further by leaps and bounds, more so because of the emphasis
on renewable energy. Similarly the UNEP report Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investments has found that the
country saw a sharp increase in deployment of renewable energy in 2007.
India’s harnessing wind power has been
negligible and whatever little has been accomplished is in the southern States.
At present the total wind power capacity stands at 7200 MW, most of which is in
the private sector. It is important to note that small wind farms of around 5
to 20 MW projects can be developed and would be most suitable in the rural
areas. Recently corporates have entered wind energy projects primarily for
depreciation benefits, while seeing for themselves the wind power. However, as
in solar power, the costs have to be brought down and further research
necessary to make solar and wind power with developed technologies to reach the
rural areas in a big way.
The most popular renewable source is, of course,
hydroelectric power which has been widespread in the country. In 2004, the International
Energy Agency estimated the energy capacity required worldwide because of
rising economic growth in the year 2020 to be 1400 GW from burning coal (half
of it in India and China), 470GW
from burning oil, 430 GW from hydro and 400 GW from renewable sources like
solar and wind power.
In India,
hydroelectric projects are mainly concentrated in the North and North-East
regions which account for more than 70 per cent. Of the total installed power
capacity in the country, over 18 per cent come from hydroelectric projects but
this may witness a steady rise in the coming years. As is well known, such
projects may be a little costly but have very low maintenance expenditure.
The government has set itself an ambitious target in the 11th
Plan of 15 billion MW to be generated via renewable energy. This has become a
necessity because of the world-wide concern for increasing carbon emissions and
the need to develop clean energy projects. India’s varied geophysical layout
levels makes it possible to cater to a variety of projects. For example, wind
farms in the South, geothermal and small hydroelectric projects in the North
and North-East and solar power in central and south could be further developed.
Despite the challenges, experts feel that India, among
the top carbon emitters, is on its way to become a renewable energy powerhouse.
The challenge is now to slowly let green projects gain exposure to market
conditions and stand on their own. Mapping of resources, more investment in
R&D and adoption and commercialization of clean technologies is obviously
the next step forward for India
for which foreign help and assistance may be gainfully used. ___INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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