farming the energy , harvesting electiricty

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✼ R A J E N D R A S H E N D E

JAMES WATT’S statue outside the main entrance to the Edinburghcampus of Heriot-Watt University in Scotland reminds us of hishistorical contribution to the industrial revolution, 250 years ago, thatchanged the way we produce and live. Watt did not invent the steamengine as such but he ingenuously contributed in improving itsefficiency to a significant degree that enabled its commercial use andlater sparked the game-changing Industrial Revolution of 18th

century. We owe a lot to him for what we are today. That statue, however, is very subtle in its sitting posture and the expression.

James Watt, with his head down, staring into the space, looks to be in a meditativemood. His face is sad enough to reflect a melancholic message, ‘Yes, I gave the steamengine to humanity, and humanity used it to stem and uproot nature’s engines’.Indeed, today's modernity simply means exploitation of natural resources to powerhuman development. The story of energy generation and its environmental cost,which began unfolding in Watt's time and continues today, promises to haunthumanity for generations to come.

ENERGY & DEVELOPMENT

The single biggest driver of development in the post-Industrial Revolution periodhas been the near linear equation between energy consumption and humandevelopment. Analysis reveals that the twin-relation between Gross DomesticProduct (GDP) and energy consumption of the world has been in near unison.The link between energy and development has become a widely accepted axiomstarting with the 19th century. Without energy no development is possible; whetherin terms of meeting basic needs like production of food, access to water, buildinghomes and clothing humans or in terms of the modern comforts that are consideredbasic to life today, such as air conditioning, refrigeration, transportation and

FARMING THE ENERGY AND HARVESTINGELECTRICITY

INDIA FACES FORMIDABLE CHALLENGES WHEN IT COMES TO THE QUESTION OFENERGY BUT THERE ARE ALSO OUT OF THE BOX OPPORTUNITIES. DEVELOPMENTTHROUGH SUSTAINING AND NURTURING ECOSYSTEMS IS POSSIBLE. OUT OF THE BOXPILOT PROJECTS LIKE ‘FARMING THE ENERGY’ I.E., GROWING BIO-FUELS IN ARIDLAND, USE OF HUGE AMOUNT OF UNUSED BIOMASS ANNUALLY FOR POWERGENERATION, ETC., ARE ALREADY BEING TRIED

> True to India’s fundamental characteristics of social and economic diversity, India’s energychallenges as well as opportunities are also diverse.

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communication. Ironically, even the production of energy needs energy. However,the use of energy for development is not, per se, the root cause of the depletion ofnatural resources; the problem is the way we deploy the technology to produce anduse energy. Indeed, coal or any other of nature's fossil products are not the culprit.For e.g., the methods and technologies practiced to utilise coal for the humandevelopmental process is among the root causes for the degradation of theecosystems, which form our lifelines. As per the United Nations EnvironmentProgramme (UNEP), 60 per cent of the ecosystems today have been degradedirreversibly. There is a little opportunity to regenerate these ecosystems as humanshave mined them beyond their natural capacity to regenerate.

In the 1970s, after more than a century of use of fossil fuels, the worldcommunity started worrying about its overuse and also the fact that in the nearfuture these fuels would be exhausted. After half a century of predictions aboutwhen fossil fuels will be exhausted, the world is still replete with these fuels. This ismainly due to new technologies developed to extract the hitherto inaccessiblefossilized carbon. Oddly, the cost of these fossil fuels, the sources of energy, is alsofalling down at an unprecedented rate, with no seeming shortages in sight. TheUSA, known as the most energy-intensive nation in the world, has conceded,through its President in 2006, that “America is addicted to oil”.

In the early years of the 21st century, when oil prices were high enough to hurteven rich countries like the USA, attempts were focused mainly on how to reduceenergy imports and become energy independent rather than search for alternativenon-carbon or low-carbon fuels. It is clear now that it is not only the USA, but thewhole world that is addicted to fossil fuel. The history of humanity shows that thelast such addiction of humanity was to stones during Stone Age! We came out of theStone Age not because of a shortage of stones or because of the high prices of stonesbut because humans wanted to make their activities more efficient, safer and moreeffective. Such thoughts in the case of fossil fuels are slow in surfacing.

ENERGY CONUNDRUM: IT’S NOT ONLY ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING

Since the early 1990s, the use of fossil fuels has been at the centre of the globalwarming conversation. The troika that constitutes the fossil fuels is coal, oil and gas.When burnt, all three produce the much needed heat-energy that produces steam,electricity and also drives transport. All the fuels essentially power development.The by product of burning fossil fuels, however, is carbon dioxide gas that is emittedinto the atmosphere. It is, in simple terms, the process of extracting carbon fromdeep within the earth and belching it out to the atmosphere. Nature has its ownmechanisms to absorb carbon dioxide into the flora and fauna, oceans and land; butnot in infinite quantities. The capacity of the planetary ecosystems to absorb carbondioxide has already reached its limit. The excess is accumulating in the Earth'satmosphere. Human induced unabsorbed carbon dioxide in the atmosphere forms acover around the earth that prevents the extra heat from earth's surface fromrebounding back to the atmosphere and this creates a heat imbalance that begins to

add heat to the earth's surface. This is global warming. Carbon dioxide and otherGreenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere do not dissipate quickly. As per thelatest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) the Earthhas already warmed up by 0.8 degree centigrade as compared to the pre-industrialera. It is now on a dangerous trajectory that can take the rise upto 4 to 6 degreecentigrade. This will have catastrophic consequences and threatens the veryexistence of life on the earth.

Energy production and consumption plays a critical role in global warming dueto the emission of GHGs during power generation; industrial operations;transportation; and residential and commercial building construction. Theseconstitute nearly two-thirds of the total GHG emissions.

What is missed by the policy makers in the governments, and even by many ofthe experts, is that energy generation through the use of fossil fuels results inirreparable air pollution. The poor populations suffer the most. Further, as most ofthe countries (barring about 20), import the coal, oil or gas, it is a huge drain ontheir foreign exchange reserves and adversely affects the balance of payments.Fewer resources are therefore available for health and education. It is the singlemost unfortunate conundrum of our times that the fossil fuels that continue to helpmove us towards modernity and contribute to development also threatenhumanity's very existence. The enigma does not end here; because despite thewarning signs there seems to be no end or alternative to a fossil fuel energygeneration based model of development.

INDIA’S ENERGY CANVASS

The third largest economy in the world (based on purchasing power parity-PPP),India, is now the fastest growing economy, having surpassed China in late 2014. Itnow occupies fourth place, in terms of energy consumption, following China, theUSA and Russia. As per the latest statistical review published by BP, India is now theworld's third largest producer of electricity, surpassing Japan and Russia. A closerlook at the macro image however, reveals the stratified microcosms that pose veryreal and formidable energy challenge. True to India's fundamental characteristicsof social and economic diversity, India's energy challenges as well as opportunitiesare also diverse.

Starting with just over one Gigawatts (GW) of power generation capacity in1947, when India had its “Tryst with destiny”, India’s electricity production hasbeen transformed. Hydropower and biomass were the only easily available sourcesof energy that met most of the energy needs of about 250 million (0.25 billion)Indians at that time. Today, the population has increased by six times, to about 1.25billion, and the nation’s power generation capacity has increased by nearly 200times to about 270 GW. While the transformation is impressive, about 400 millionIndians, i.e., 30 per cent of the population, still have no access to electricity andmany more lack a reliable supply. Per capita electricity consumption is less thanone-quarter of the global average and 17 times less than that of the USA. Clearly

The capacity of the planetary ecosystems to absorbcarbon dioxide has already reached its limit. Theexcess is accumulating in the Earth’s atmosphere.


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magnified if India decides to continue on a business-as-usual path.Drain on Financial Resources: India’s energy shortages are notmet by importing energy in its final form (electricity for example).Instead, energy is imported in the form of its raw materials; coal andgas; to produce electricity and oil for feeding the nation’s ever-crowded and growing transport sector, which includes privatecars. With an import burden for 80 per cent of its oil needs, and 30per cent of its coal needs, India faces considerable fiscal deficits and ahuge gap in the balance of payments. The vital financial resourcesneeded in the health, farming and education sectors are prioritisedlower than the energy needs. GHG Emissions: India is already the world’s fourth largest emitterof GHGs according to emissions in 2011 at 2.5 GtCO2eq; although itsper capita emission is only 1.5 tCO2eq, as compared to 20 tCO2eq inthe USA and 7.5 tCO2eq in China. There will be global pressure onIndia, which may be second largest or even the largest economy in theworld by 2035-2050, to restrict its emissions in absolute terms even ifper capita emissions are very low. Air Pollution: The rising dependence on coal as fuel for power plantsand oil for the transport sector will aggravate the air pollution levelsfurther in nearly all the urban centres and mega cities of India. Citieslike New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata are already choking with microparticulate matters from the exhausts emissions of an ever increasingnumber of cars and power plants. As per a WHO study nearly 1.4

AS PER THE UNITEDNATIONSENVIRONMENTPROGRAMME(UNEP), 60 PERCENT OF THEECOSYSTEMSTODAY HAVE BEENDEGRADEDIRREVERSIBLY.THERE IS A LITTLEOPPORTUNITY TOREGENERATE THESEECOSYSTEMS ASHUMANS HAVEMINED THEMBEYOND THEIRNATURAL CAPACITYTO REGENERATE.

there is ‘energy poverty’ in India as supply lags well behind demand.One can still see energy use in the form of human muscles to pullcarts of goods and animal driven transport. The first priority,therefore, for India to fulfill the aspirations of its billions is to expandits power generation and make electricity available to all, particularlythe deprived one-quarter of its population, in an affordable andreliable manner to ensure inclusive growth. Raising the per capitaconsumption of electricity is certainly essential to India’sdevelopment and growth plans. As per the estimates, between 2035and 2050 India’s electricity need will be two to four times the presentgeneration capacity, depending on which realistic growth rates areassumed.

Is it possible to meet the energy demand with the existingmodels? Can India continue to use same mix of the energy sourcesdominated by fossil fuels over next 20-35 years? Is such an approachcompatible with the global need to reduce the GHG emissions by 40to 70 per cent to ensure that global warming is limited to a two degreecentigrade rise?

THE NEED FOR ALTERNATE MODELS

The need to expand the generation capacity of the energy sector inIndia is beyond doubt but the hurdles and challenges in achieving theneeded expansion are enormous. These challenges get further

> The alternate paths that include renewable technologies like solar, wind and nuclear may take time and investment to make them operational.


million Indians; mainly children, women and poorpeople; die due to respiratory diseases caused by airpollution. The health burden of air pollution is risingsharply and will continue to do so if we continue to usethe same fuels. Time and Investment: The alternate paths thatinclude renewable technologies like solar, wind andnuclear may take time and investment to make themoperational. But the time available for reducing theemissions of GHGs to contain the rise in globaltemperature and to meet the needs of the people at thebottom of the pyramid is short.

TECHNOLOGY BASED ENTREPRENEURSHIP

India’s capital in addressing these seeminglyinsurmountable energy challenges can only be itsmanpower; a young population comprising trainedyouth; technologies; innovative financial engineering;and ambitious entrepreneurship backed by aggressivegovernment policies. The 12th Five-Year Plan that willend in 2017 should deal with it as a priority. It shouldfocus on a number of things. ■ More efficient and cleaner coal power plants with a

clear time table for their phase out are needed.India’s new plants are still relatively inefficient andaccount for more than 60 per cent of subcritical unitsunder construction around the world. However,policies in place to phase out the construction ofsubcritical units by April 2017 and to encourageconstruction of more efficient technology will helpbring the average efficiency of the coal-fired fleetmore in line with international standards. India’scoal-fired power plants are quite inefficientcompared to the global average and even those inChina. Poor quality of coal, average higher ambienttemperatures and inefficient transport of coal fromplace of origin to power plants adds to theinefficiency. Washing the coal, to remove ash andother impurities, and using world class technologiesfor combustion and turbines will help in improvingefficiency and reduce emissions as well as pollution.Transporting with intensive route planning and lessenergy dense coal will also reduce costs.

■ Transmission losses in India are among the highestin the world. Decentralised energy production(dispersed and smaller plants producing renewableenergy, micro grids and small grids) and the use ofmore efficient transmission technologies can saveenergy, thereby reducing the needs for extra powerplants.

■ Energy efficiency and demand side management

> The author is an expert on international technologytransfer and technology cooperation to deploy

environment friendly technologies. He is the formerhead of the Ozone Action Programme, UNEP. He is

the author of numerous published policy papers andhas given presentations for the public as well as for

universities around the world.

However, to sustain this pace of growth a stable andaggressive policy environment; the creation ofcomparable grid capacity expansion andinterconnection; and progressive financialengineering are all needed. Solar programmes will bethe key to inclusive growth and de-carbonisation ofthe power sector in long term. India’s ambitioustarget, generating 100 GW of solar energy by 2022, isachievable if the design combination of rooftops,grid-connections, net metering and smart energynetworks are operationalised. Concentrated SolarPower (CSP) is a potentially appropriate technology.In one daring scenario it is envisaged that each of theresidential and commercial building in Indiabecomes an electricity generation plant that feedsinto micro and smart grids to connect to nationalgrids. Such an ‘energy-internet’ can be the start of anew national energy era.

■ Additional nuclear power plants are essential forIndia to achieve the two degree centigrade targets.Nuclear power generation has to rise to five per centof the total by 2025 and 15 per cent by 2050 from thethree per cent in 2011.

■ Rationalisation of subsidies is the way to kick-startthe investment in clean energy. India has alreadymade a beginning on this front in October 2014 whenit scrapped the subsidies for diesel. But the loopholesthrough which the subsidies find their way to richersections of society need to be plugged.

OUT OF THE BOX APPROACHES

Development by sustaining and nurturing ecosystemsis possible. Out of the box pilot projects like ‘farmingthe energy’ i.e., growing bio-fuels in arid land, use ofhuge amount of unused biomass annually for powergeneration, etc., are already being tried. Harvestingsolar energy through space transmission, road and airtransport are also slowly but steadily being developed.The prices of renewable sources are falling down. Inorder to truly foster a clean form of development andmeet its growing energy needs, India needs to focus onthese renewable energy sources.

> The by-product of burning fossil fuels,however, is carbon dioxide gas.

should include behaviour change andthe wide spread use of efficientelectrical appliances. A recent study byLawrence Berkeley Laboratory inCalifornia, USA, has estimated that theproduction of super efficient ACs lowGWP refrigerants can provide hugereductions in the emissions of GHGand also vitiate the building of 200power power-plants of 500 MW each.

■ Renewable sources of energy canprovide key response strategies in thelong term. Wind power has exceededIndia's latest Five-Year Plan targets.
