BW Communities

Far From A Clean Sweep

BW Online Bureau Nov 08, 2014

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[NO LOCAL SHOW: Suzlon makes most of its profits abroad Millions of rural Indians have never experienced how electricity can change their lives. So, their life grinds to a halt as soon as the sun sets. But providing power to the villages would mean more coal-burning by power plants that already emit more than 50 per cent of India’s climate change-causing carbon emissions. The dilemma: how do you bring power to India’s villages without causing long-term environmen-tal damage? The solution could lie in decentralised generation of renewable energy. Says Atul Asthana, an independent green technology consultant in Delhi. “If we can put a 5 to 20 watt CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) bulb that is charged by a solar panel in every rural home, then rural Indians can have three or four more hours of light to add value to our GDP.” In addition, says Anurag Mathur, a fellow green consultant, “You are developing the renewable energy industry and lighting industry and providing employment to lakhs of people.” And the good economics does not end at job creation. Take for example, a solar powered lantern that costs roughly Rs 3,000. The Energy and Resources Institute which plans to distribute approximately 200 million such solar lamps through its Light a billion lives campaign estimates that one solar lantern can displace the use of roughly 550 litres of kerosene that is used in most traditional lanterns in India. With kerosene prices at around Rs 10 per litre, poor Indian families can save as much as Rs 5,500. This is almost double the cost of the solar lamp. And, in the long run, it is cheaper than coal too. When compared to incandescent bulbs drawing power from the grid, Teri says a solar lantern saves roughly 180–200 kwh of electricity each year. With one unit of electricity costing Rs 2.5, a user can recover the cost within six years — and continue saving money for the remainder of the solar lantern’s 10-year life-cycle So far, India’s ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) has ‘electrified’ some 4,000 villages using renewable energy systems such as solar lanterns, wind or biomass. Yet, renewable energy in all its forms accounts for less than 9 per cent of India’s energy supply, despite India having an official government body studying renewable energy since 1981. “In Germany, the share of renewable energy in 1998 was 4.2 per cent. It grew to 14.2 per cent by 2007,” says K. Subramanya the CEO of Tata BP Solar. This is why companies like Tata BP Solar or Suzlon make most of their profits abroad. Subramanya says there are several reasons for this. “In the absence of an enabling policy framework until recently, solar plants in India have not yet reached the 100 or 200 MW capacity as they have in Germany and Spain. The other issue is the lack of demand. Since there is a perception of high initial cost, renewables are still considered to be an option of last resort.” Most wind turbines in India, for example, are run by companies for back-up power supply. This is economically viable as the government allows 80 per cent depreciation of wind turbines after the first year. However, this alone does not justify large investments in wind turbines for companies that want to sell power to the national grid. They say they can never be profitable without an assured long-term contract with state electricity boards to buy the energy they produce. {mospagebreak} For now, investments in renewable energy systems is far below what they should be, according to Mahesh Kolli, president of Greenko group, a green energy investment company in Hyderabad. Kolli, whose company has installed roughly a fifth of India’s present biomass capacity, believes the potential for biomass is as high as 20GW — 40 times what is currently installed. The government on its part is trying to woo potential producers. Recently, the MNRE proposed a programme where the incentives for installing renewable energy systems can be linked to the “actual generation of power and sale to grid” and not to asset depreciation. This will be part of the Renewable Energy law which is still in the draft stage. Another policy proposal being considered is a nationwide feed-in tariff. This works well in Germany where anyone generating their own renewable energy can sell the unused power back to the national grid. India is still testing small-scale demonstration projects for feed-in tariffs. Also, most government estimates for renewable energy potential (see ‘Miles To Go’) fall below industry estimates as many of these studies were conducted years ago with out-dated techniques. Of course, laws are not the only problem. Renewable energy companies must also sort out technological problems quickly. Present-day wind turbines for instance, lose energy while it gets transferred from the blades through various moving parts to the actual generator. Smaller and more efficient turbines using axial flow technology — that eliminates some moving parts — have been designed, but more research needs to be conducted to check their feasibility for large-scale use. Scientists in laboratories around the world are now working to improve the efficiency of solar cells that use materials cheaper than silicon — such as copper-indium-gallium diselenide and cadmium telluride. This will lower solar power costs and solve the problem of silicon shortfall. Perhaps the biggest drawback of wind and solar energy is that they depend on nature to generate peak output. Biomass digesters could reduce this dependence. Digesters turn organic waste into a gas that can then fire up a turbine. Digesters up to 40MW are in operation abroad, but no Indian company has the demand guarantee yet for making such a significant investment. Research is also being done on solar concentrators that can focus sunlight on cloudy days by up to 1,000 times using curved mirrors or lenses. Lack of supportive policy, efficient technology and low demand in the country seem to have driven a triple-edged spike into plans of commercial generation of renewable energy for now, but some are still hopeful. “We’re in a position to show the world how clean energy can be taken to mass populations,” says Akanksha Chaurey, director of decentralised energy solutions at Teri. “But we need to start positioning ourselves in a leadership position. We need that aggression.” pierre.fitter@abp.in (Businessworld Issue 18-24 Nov 2008)