energy woes—in search of lasting power

7/29/2019 Energy WoesIn Search of Lasting Power

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ENERGY WOESIN SEARCH OF LASTING POWER

Most of us are likely to miss out on the fact that there are almost 70,000 products that

require petroleum as the basic constituent. This includes plastics, acrylics, cosmetics,

paints, varnishes, asphalt, fertilizers, medications, etc. To boot, we are sharing these

essentials with six billion other individuals who dwell here!

The accomplishments of civilisation have largely been achieved through increasingly

efficient and extensive harnessing of various forms of energy. Energy is indispensable

for human development and economic growth. Global primary energy use has been

expanding by about 2 per cent a year.

Energy use by the developing countries has increased 3-4 times vis-a-vis the OECD

countries; this being largely because of the increased incomes and an increasing

population growth. The share of the developing countries in global commercial energy

use has increased from 13 per cent in 1970 to 30 per cent now. However, the per

capita consumption of energy shows only an inequitable distribution between

developed and developing countries.

Energy transformation is the fastest growing sector in all countries, except transition

economies, generally followed by transportation. Electricity generation dominates

energy transformation, reflecting the continuing importance of electricity for economic

development. Oil refining, coal transformation, gasworks centralised heat production,

transmission and distribution losses account for rest of the energy. The four major

energy uses, or so-called energy-related services are power generation, electricity

consumption, fossil fuels used for mobility (transportation) and fossil fuels used for

stationary purposes, such as water heating.

Global energy trade remains dominated by crude oil and oil products. Crude oil,

remains the world's chief fuel and the middle eastern countries remain the primary

suppliers. United States is the largest consumer of oil, its requirement making up for

25 per cent share in the total consumption. Saudi Arabia has the greatest share in the

oil reserves.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that gas consumption would rise to

approach that of coal. Hydroelectric power and renewables would rise steadily, but

levels on the whole will remain low. As for nuclear power, consumption is expected to

stabilise by 2020.

Amidst the "billion barrel" prattle, there are experts like Kenneth Deffeyes, who

contend that the oil supply would peak soon, followed by chronic shortages. They

reason that most of the world's oil has already been discovered. This, coupled with

global warming, is forcing the world to turn to renewable energy sources (or

renewables).

The production and use of fossil fuels for power generation, industrial production and

transportation has been associated with adverse local environmental impacts, such as

deforestation, land degradation, and water and air pollution. In addition, there are

concerns about the release of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions from the energy

sector, particularly power generation using fossil fuels. One strategy to address these

environmental issues, and diversify sources of energy supply at the same time, is the

development and promotion of technologies using renewable natural resources such as

biomass, water, wind and solar energy.


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Energy production and utilization involves a disturbance to the state of the

environment. Coal exploration and mining causes land degradation through subsidence

and mine fires. The impact of mining on forest areas is of particular concern in India,

as there is considerable overlap between forests and coal reserves. Similarly, oil and

gas exploration and production poses a threat to the existing physical, chemical and

biological status of the environment. The major concerns associated with onshore oiland gas production are the processes, which can contaminate surrounding water

bodies.

The utilization of fuels in the power, transport and industrial sectors is wrecking havoc

on the environment. In India, with over 60% of power generation being coal-based

and the inherently high ash content of indigenous coal (more than 40% in some

cases), 80-100 million tonnes of fly ash is produced every year. Currently, nearly 90%

of fly ash generated is dumped as slurry in ash ponds, which requires huge amounts of

water, resulting in creation of wasteland, and could also lead to leaching of heavy

metals and soluble salts.

The use of gasoline and diesel in the transport sector generates a number of pollutants

like lead, carbon monoxide, toxic compounds such as benzene, and particulate matter

which are discharged to the atmosphere along with vehicular exhaust gas. The

transport sector is the largest consumer of commercial energy, after industry. A

combination of factors, including increased travel demand, dominance of road based

and personalized modes of transport and fuel combustion in inefficient vehicular

technologies has resulted in air pollution in urban areas reaching critical levels.

Renewables can meet many times the present world energy demand. So their potential

is enormous. They can enhance diversity in energy supply markets, source long term

energy supply and reduce local and global atmospheric emissions. Scenarios looking

into the potential of renewables reveal that they could contribute 20-50 per cent of the

energy supply in the second half of the 21st century. However, the transition would

rely on the successful development and diffusion of the renewables technology and the

political will to internalise the costs.

Renewables

Many experts believe that hydrogen, wind and solar power will provide most of the

world's energy in 50 years, with fossil fuels playing a smaller role. And, conservation is

important for this transition.

Solar energy can be used to meet our electricity requirements. Through Solar

Photovoltaic (SPV) cells, solar radiation gets converted into DC electricity directly. This

electricity can either be used as it is or can be stored in the battery. This stored

electrical energy then can be used at night. SPV can be used for a number of

applications such as domestic lighting, street lighting, village electrification, water

pumping, desalination of salty water, powering of remote telecommunication repeaterstations and railway signals.

Efficient use of solar energy could reduce our dependence on non-renewable sources

of energy and make our environment cleaner. India receives solar energy equivalent to

over 5000 trillion kWh/year, which is far more than the total energy consumption of

the country

Biomass is a renewable energy resource derived from carbonaceous waste of various


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14,000 MW. India ranks 5th in the world with a total wind power capacity of more than

1080 MW. In India, States of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat lead in the field of wind energy.

Tidal Energy: A large amount of solar energy is stored in the oceans and seas. On an

average, the 60 million square kilometre of the tropical seas absorb solar radiation

equivalent to the heat content of 245 billion barrels of oil. Scientists feel that if this

energy can be tapped a large source of energy will be available to the tropicalcountries and to other countries as well. The process of harnessing this energy is

called OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion). It uses the temperature differences

between the surface of the ocean and the depths of about 1000m to operate a heat

engine, which produces electric power

Energy is also obtained from waves and tides. The first wave energy project with a

capacity of 150 MW, has been set up near Trivandrum. A major tidal wave power

project costing of Rs 5000 crore is proposed to be set up in the Hanthal Creek in the

Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat.

Electric power plants driven by geothermal energy provide over 44 billion kilowatt

hours of electricity worldwide per year, and world capacity is growing at approximately

9% per year. To produce electric power from geothermal resources, underground

reservoirs of steam or hot water are tapped by wells and the steam rotates turbines

that generate electricity. Typically, water is then returned to the ground to recharge

the reservoir and complete the renewable energy cycle.

Underground reservoirs are also tapped for "direct-use" applications. In these

instances, hot water is channelled to greenhouses, spas, fish farms, and homes to fill

space heating and hot water needs.

Geothermal energy use extends beyond underground reservoirs. The soil and near-

surface rocks, from 5 to 50 feet deep, have a nearly constant temperature from

geothermal heating.

The Indian Scenario

India accounted for 12.5% of total primary energy consumption in the Asia-Pacific

region and 3% of world's primary energy consumption. However, per capita energy

consumption remains low at 486 KGOE (Kilograms of Oil Equivalent), compared with a

world average of 1659 KGOE. Increasing oil and coal imports in recent years is an area

of concern for the Indian energy sector.

India has implemented policy changes to encourage foreign investment. Tariffs on

imported capital goods have been lowered, and in some cases eliminated (such as

equipment for large-scale power generation projects). Restrictions on foreign

ownership have also been relaxed. Notably, majority foreign ownership is now

permitted. Reforms, though, have been a slow moving process. Petroleum products

and electricity consumption are still supported with subsidies. Annual Foreign Direct

Investment (FDI) in India has hovered in the range of $ 3-4 billion over the lastseveral years, though, compared to roughly $ 40 billion per year of FDI in China.

Oil accounts for about 30% of India's total energy consumption. The majority of India's

roughly 4.8 billion barrels in oil reserves are located in the Bombay High, Upper

Assam, Cambay, Krisha-Godavari, and Cauvery basins.

Oil consumption in India has soared from 1.9 million bbl/d in 2001, to more than 3.4

million bbl/d by 2010. In its attempt to limit its dependence on oil imports, India is


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trying to expand domestic exploration and production. It is also pursuing the New

Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP), announced in 1997, which permits foreign

involvement in exploration, an activity long restricted to Indian State-owned firms.

Indian consumption of natural gas has risen faster than any other fuel in recent years.

Natural gas use was nearly 0.8 Tcf in 1999 and has reached more than 1.8 Tcf in

2010. Increased use of natural gas in power generation is to account for most of theincrease, as the Indian government has been encouraging the construction of gas-fired

electric power plants in coastal areas where they can be easily supplied with Liquefied

Natural Gas (LNG) by sea.

It is most likely that the natural gas demand will out pace the supply leading to

imports either via pipeline or LNG tanker.

Coal dominates the energy mix in India, contributing 70% of the total primary energy

production. Power generation accounts for about 70% of India's coal consumption,

followed by heavy industry. Coal consumption has increased to 427 million short tons

(Mmst) in 2010, up from 348 million in 1999. India is the world's third largest coal

producer (after the China and the United States), and domestic supplies satisfy most

of the country's coal demand. The snag lies in the fact that Indian coal generally has a

high ash content and low calorific value, so most coking coal is imported. Major fields

are found in Bihar, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh.

Nearly all of India's 390 mines are under Coal India Ltd. (CIL), which accounts for

about 90% of the country's coal production. Current policy allows private mines only if

they are "captive" operations, which feed a power plant or factory. The current

government has called off plans for further coal-sector liberalization in the face of

strong opposition from labour unions.

Despite 80% of the population having access to electricity, the unreliability of the

supplies is so severe that it impinges on the overall productivity and development of

the country.

The drive to increase the country's generating capacity, along with the general trend

toward economic liberalization in India in the 1990s, led to much interest among

foreign inves-tors in setting up Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in India.

Notwithstanding approval, the largest projects have been stalled mainly due to

procedural delays and inadequate financing. The State Electricity Boards (SEBs), which

run the power distribution infrastructure and own most current generating capacity,

are marred by poor financial health. The sale of power to the agricultural sector is one

major reason for this plight. Power theft, which is rampant, adds to the losses.

Resolving the financial problems of the SEBs is a prerequisite to attracting the capital

necessary.

The government encourages the construction of mega-projects, defined as plants withcapacity of more than 1,000 MW for thermal plants and more than 500 MW for

hydroelectric plants, but approvals have not usually led to construction. Out of the

many projects approved, several have been cancelled and a couple of them have been

hanging fire.

energy woes—in search of lasting power

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