First they came for the Nuclear power plants,
and I didn't speak out because I didn’t run a Nuclear power plant.
Then they came for the Coal power plants,
and I didn't speak out because I didn’t run a Coal power plant.
Then they came for the Hydro power plants,
and I didn't speak out because I didn’t run a Hydro power plant.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me
and there were no lights that were glowing in the land.
(Adaptation of ‘First They came...’ by Pastor Martin Niemoller)
We are now living in a world where ‘Renewable’ has become the ‘in’ thing, a widely accepted one indeed. From well-known and acclaimed researchers and professors to the self-proclaimed crusaders for environment, all agree on the need of switching to renewable sources of energy for our sustenance. They will ask, “Why is the Govt. still going on building Ultra Mega Power Projects and Nuclear plants? Why do we mine the bellies of earth for coal when we can meet our future energy requirements with wind and solar power plants?”
In Germany, they said, “Believe in Nazism. Ask no questions.”
In Soviet Union, they said, “Question communism and you get an accommodation in Siberia or a bullet.”
And then there are some religious leaders who profess, “Believe only in our God. Worship any other one and you will rot in hell.”
Seeing the one sided discussions in various media, hearing the passionate speeches of some NGO activists I fear that ‘renewable’ is slowly becoming a political propaganda or a strict religion. And the proponents of the new religion shun those who question and mock at the non-believers. I don’t know if I am a believer of this new religion or not. I don’t know the same about the person who is reading this article. All I can do is to share some perspectives and concerns in my mind regarding the renewable energy sector.
Who needs a bulb that can glow only in daytime?
Technically there are two types of renewables – Firm and Non-firm. Firm renewables are those which can continuously deliver power irrespective of natural phenomenon. Non-firm renewables are those which are at the mercy of the decisions of nature. For example, biomass based power plants are firm renewable. As long as you deliver the fuel, you will get the power. The same goes with a hydro power plant, assuming your reservoir has enough water. But do we hear cries for building hydro power plants or biomass power plants or geothermal power plants? Surprisingly, NO. The clarion calls are for solar and wind power plants. Needless to say, solar power plants deliver power only at day time. Wind farms deliver power only when the wind is blowing, and that too stops when the wind speed increases beyond a point.
If only we had a way of efficiently storing such large amounts of energy, most of our problems would have ceased to exist. But out energy storage technology hasn’t found a way to economically save such huge amounts of electricity. So whatever that is generated needs to be fed to the grid instantaneously for consumption. Our prediction technologies are also not matured enough to predict exactly what time and with what speed the wind will blow, or exactly what time the clouds will block the sun during rainy season. This prevents you from scheduling the power from non-firm renewable energy. In other words, they are ‘non-trustworthy’ and you need to have stable alternatives to deliver reliable power. You may ditch your coal, nuclear, gas and large hydro power plants if you can suffer the minor discomfort of waiting for wind to blow or sun to rise so that you can switch on the bulbs in your home.
In the name of a dead Prime Minister
When you have a project that lacks credibility or has some suspicious purpose, the best way to protect it is by naming it on behalf of a great personality. Thus, when it became evident that a significant portion of NREGA allocations is flowing to the pockets of unworthy people due to corruption, father of the Nation’s name was dragged along and docked with the project. In the case of National Solar Mission, they decided not to take a chance, and named it in memory of the first Prime Minister in the initial stage itself – Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. (Let us forget the fact that he ditched Tibet, lost Kashmir etc…)
The World Bank report ‘Unleashing the Potential of Renewable Energy in India’ finds that there is no possibility of solar power being economical in the next ten years [1]. The report maintains that Small hydro plants and biomass power plants will be able to operate economically, delivering power at reliable rate if there is a carbon emission penalty on thermal plants, or carbon credits given for these renewable plants. It cannot be perceived that the people who planned JNNSM where oblivious of this fact. They still decided to invest in a technology that will cost more than Rs. 15/unit of electricity produced! [2] And then there is the fact that solar plants require about 6 acre/MW of electricity produced [3] while even a thermal power plant will need only less than half of it[4]. The capital cost is also high for solar power plants [5]. So if someone suspects ulterior motives for the Government in JNNSM and argues that the mission was envisaged to favour solar power equipment manufacturers and solar power producers rather than the environment, can that be ignored as an entirely unfounded argument?
What to do with a leaky bucket?
No, I am not talking about the losses in distribution. That is being well taken care of by GoI’s R-APDRP program. I am talking about another villain in the Indian power sector story – We, the consumers. The Government is forced to go for power capacity addition due to the rise in demand. The rise in demand from industries has to be accommodated to facilitate the growth of the Nation. But what about the rise in demand from consumers? Can’t we find ways to reduce our consumption? We can’t reduce the rise in demand. But can’t we reduce the rate of rise in demand?
A middle class person buying a vehicle will go on talking and researching about its efficiency and mileage. But the same person will look at you like an alien if you ask him if he knows the monthly consumption of electricity in his home. For the growth and development of Nation, you can either generate one unit of electricity or save one unit. As an individual, it is difficult to do the first part, but we can always do the latter. A knowledgeable friend of mine even coined a slogan – ‘Save 1 Unit Electricity Equivalent a Day (UEED), Nation will become electricity surplus in a year’. Generating power is always costly. Land availability is also decreasing day by day. And there is huge potential for energy savings and energy conservations. It is a sad thing that Govt. has mainly left it to utilities and consumers to implement Demand Side Management and Energy Conservation practices. We can only hope that the ‘Energy Saving Certificates’ and ‘Perform Achieve Trade’ mechanisms receive the kind of Governmental support that the power generation sector receives.
Last few words…
In ‘overload’ written in 1979 by Arthur Hailey (a work of fiction on the US energy sector), one of the main characters – a top manager of a US power utility says that the opposition to generation companies by environmentalists is also a necessary ingredient for the healthy performance of energy sector and that in the absence of such an opposition, the generation companies may indulge in ruthless exploitation of environment. That is, the environmentalists act as a counterweight against the selfish motives of generation companies [6]. The bridge should allow traffic on both ways. Let the apostles of solar and wind power also open up their mind to suggestions and criticisms.
Our great Nation is not Fascist, Communist or Theocratic but Democratic. Let us hear the arguments from both sides and then judge them. Let Govt. and private players go on building a healthy mix of renewable and non-renewable power plants. We need not stop debating nuclear v/s thermal v/s renewable power generation. We need not stop debating Kyoto protocol and carbon emissions. But let us also dedicate some personal time and effort on energy conservation too. Let us switch off those unnecessary lights so that the future generation can live in bright light.
References
- The World Bank (2010), Unleashing the Potential of Renewable Energy in India, Retrieved on March 2011 from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INDIAEXTN/Resources/Reports-Publications/Unleashing_potential_of_Renewable_Energy_in_India.pdf
- Energy Alternatives India, India Solar PV Advisor, Retrieved on April 2011 from http://www.eai.in/ref/reports/solar.html
- CERC (2010), Order on Benchmark Capital Cost Norm for Solar Power Projects , Retrieved on April 2011 from http://www.cercind.gov.in/2010/ORDER/February2010/Order_Solar_Capital_Cost_Norm_13-2010%28Suo_muto%29.pdf
- CEA (2007), Report on Land Requirement of Thermal Power Stations, Retrieved on April 2011 from http://www.cea.nic.in/reports/articles/thermal/land_requirement.pdf
- CERC (2009), CERC (Terms and Conditions for Tariff determination from Renewable Energy Sources) Regulations, 2009., Retrieved on February 2011 from http://www.cercind.gov.in/Regulations/CERC_RE-Tariff-Regualtions_17_sept_09.pdf
- Arthur Hailey (1979), ‘Overload’, Rupa & Co.
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