(IGP) GS Paper 1 – India & World Geography – “Non-Conventional Energy”

Subject – India & World Geography
Chapter :Non-Conventional Energy

Hydro Power in India

• India has a unique culture and is one of the oldest and greatest
  civilizations of the world. It stretches from the snow-capped Himalayas in
  the North to sun drenched coastal villages of the South, the humid tropical
  forests on the south–west coast, the fertile Brahamputra valley on its East
  to the Thar desert in the West .It covers an area of 32,87,263 sq .km. it
  has achieved all–round socio–economic progress during the last 63 years of
  its Independence. India is the seventh largest country in the world and
  ranks second in population. The country stands apart from the rest of Asia,
  marked off as it is by mountains and the sea, which give her a distinct
  geographical entity. Bounded by the Great Himalayas in the north, it
  stretches southwards and at the Tropic of Cancer, tapers off into the Indian
  Ocean between the Bay of Bengal on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west.
• Lying entirely in the northern hemisphere, the mainland extends between
  latitudes 8°4’ and 37°6’ north longitudes 68°7’ and 97°25’ east and measures
  about 3,214 km from north to south .

Overview

• India has one of the world’s largest potential for hydro
  electric power. The hydro power potential in India is around 84,000 MW at
  60% load factor (installed capacity 148,000 MW). However, less than 20% of
  this has been harnessed so far.

• Currently, hydro power contributes about 24% of total
  installed generation capacity in the country.

• The oldest hydro electric power plant in Asia is the
  Sidrapong Hydel Power Station in Darjeeling. Its installed capacity was 130
  kW and was commissioned in 1897.

• The largest hydro electric power project in India is the
  2000 MW Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project (Assam- Arunachal Pradesh
  border). Located across the Subansiri river, the project is currently under
  construction and is expected to be commissioned in 2012.

• The advantages of Hydro Power include
  (i) Non polluting
  (iii) Long life of projects
  (iii) Low cost of operation and maintenance
  (iv) Ability to start and stop quickly ot meet load demand
  (v) Much higher efficiency than thermal power

National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC)

• Established 1975, headquarters Faridabad.
• The NHPC functions under the Ministry of Power.
• Primary objective of the NHPC is to plan and promote efficient
  development of hydroelectric power inthe country

Renewable Energy In India

• Renewable energy in India currently contributes around
  7.7% of total electricity generation in the country. The installed capacity
  is around 13,000 MW

• India was one of the first countries in the world to
  establish a separate ministry for non-conventional energy resources (1980s)
  however, progress has been slow

• Renewable energy in India comes under the purview of the
  Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

• The largest contributor to renewable energy in India is
  Tamil Nadu (about 33%), largely from wind power

• India ranks first in the world (along with USA) in annual
  solar power generation. It also ranks fifth in wind power generation.

Solar Power In India

• India (along with USA) ranks number one in solar power
  generation in world. However, it still only contributes about 0.4% of total
  electricity generation in the country.

• India’s high population density and high solar insolation
  provide an ideal combination for solar power india.

• Solar insolation is a measure of the solar energy
  received on a given surface area in a given time. It is usually experssed in
  W/Sq. m.

• In 2009, the Government unveiled a plan to generated
  20,000 MW of solar power by 2020. Under the plan solar powered equipment and
  applications would be mandatory in all government buildings

• Presently solar power is primarily advocated in villages
  for water pumps, replacing the millions of diesel powered water pumps. Since
  the villages are not integrated into the power grids, stand-along solar
  units are especially helpful.

• About 35,000 sq km of the Thar Desert has been set aside
  for solar power projects.

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Wind Power In India

• India has the fifth largest installed wind power
  generation capacity in the world.

• Wind power accounts for about 6% of total electricity
  generation in the country (about 11,000 MW). It is expected that a further
  6000 MW of installed capacity will be added by 2012.

• Tamil Nadu contributes the maximum wind power
  generation (about 4000 MW).

• Suzlon Energy, based in Pune, is the largest wind turbine
  manufacturer in Asia and the fifth largest worldwide.

• Among the advantages of wind power include the short
  gestation periods and increasing reliability and performance of wind
  turbines.

Biofuels In India

• Biofuel development in India is primarily focused on
  Jatropa plant seeds

• The Jatropa curcas is a flowering plant whose seeds
  contain about 35%oil. This oil can be processed to obtain high quality
  biodiesel for use in regular diesel engines

• The use of Jatropa for biodiesel generation has multiple
  benefits
  (a) Jatropa is easily grown in dry and non-agricultural lands, thereby
  allowing villagers to use non-farmland forincome generation
  (b) It reduces the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels. This is especially
  important because India needs to import a vast majority of fossil fuels from
  abroad
  (c) Since Jatropa is carbon-netural is helps the country achieve better
  carbon emissions targest
  (d) Since no producing farmland is needed for Jatropa (unlide corn or
  sugarcane ethanol or palm oil diesel), it is considered the best option for
  biodiesel generation
  (e) Jatropa has no known negative impact on the production of food crops.
  Other biodiesel crops (like corn ethanol) have caused serious price
  increases in basic food crops since they take up valuable agricultural land.

Government Bodies In Renewable Energy

Solar Energy Centre (SEC)

• Established 1982; located Delhi
• The SEC serves as an interface between the Government and institutions
  and industries for the development of solar energy
• Functions of the SEC include
• Research and development
• Technology evaluation, testing and standardisation
• Advisory and consultancy services Agriculture

Centre for Wind Energy Technology (C-WET)

• Established 1998, location Chennai
• The C-WET serves as the technical focal point for wind power development
• Functions of the C-WET include
• Offer services and solutions for wind power harnessing
• Research and development
• Testing and evaluation

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA)

• Established 1987, located New Delhi
• The main objective of the IREDA is to provide financial support to
  projects and schemes for electricity generation using reneration using
  renewable sources

National Policies on Biofuels

Approved in Dec 2009, Implemented by the Ministry of New and Renewable
EnergySalient features of the policy include:-

• By 2017, 20% of diesel consumption to be met by biofuel
  blends (includes bioethanol and biodiesel)

• Biodiesel production to be taken up in
  waste/non-agricultural lands

• Biodiesel plantations on community/government waste lands
  to be encouraged. Plantations on agriculutal lands to not be encouraged

• Minimum Support Price (MSP) to be announced for biodiesel
  oil seeds

• No taxes or duties to be levied on biodiesel

• National Biofuel Coordination Committee chaired by the
  Prime Minister to be created. Biofuel Steering Committee to be chaired by
  Cabinet Secretary to also be created

Remove Village Electrification Programme (RVEP)

• The RVEP is a programme that times to provide electricity
  for remote villages through renewable sources

• The programme covers those remote villages and hamlets
  which are not covered under the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY). These
  are usually remote areas where grid b connectivity is either not feasible or
  not cost effective

• The RVEP is a component of the Rural Electrification
  Policy, which seeks to provide electricity to all households by 2009.

• The scheme covers multiple technology for electrification
  of these remote areas:
  (a) Small hydro power plants
  (b) Biomass power generation
  (c) Vegetable oil based engines
  (d) Biogas based engines
  (e) Solar energy

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