Energy crisis and alternatives

Sanjay Verma

The ongoing efforts on electric vehicles and solar energy can bring some relief results. But the hardest thing about this whole episode is the transfer of technology. When coal-fired electricity is replaced by solar panels, it will entail huge investment in getting the same amount of electricity and the risk of producing less than what is needed.

Science says that life is not possible without energy. Arthashastra says that the thing most needed for development is energy. Amidst the immediate crisis of coal shortage in our country and future apprehensions, there has been a discussion that if the pace of development is to be sustained against the increasing needs of the population, then we will need a huge amount of energy i.e. electricity. But looking at the options for generating electricity, it is found that this task is not easy. The way the coal crisis is being directly linked to the lack of electricity, it has become necessary to know how many and how many options do we have to generate electricity. The important question is whether such options will continue to provide the power we need in the near future.

If we look at the current scenario of power generation, it is known that for this we are dependent on indigenous and imported coal. But this dependency is causing many difficulties. The dwindling sources of coal (domestic mines and imports from abroad) may soon create situations in which we will have to depend on other sources of power generation. The second problem is that the challenges of air pollution and the climate crisis have forced the search for alternatives to coal-fired electricity. Work is also going on in the country on many such schemes, in which emphasis is being laid on the production of hydro or nuclear power or solar power, wind power etc.

All the alternatives to coal have their own charms, but they all have some difficulties in terms of practicality. This makes it unlikely that these alternatives will be able to replace coal anytime soon. How big a support coal is for power generation, it is confirmed by the fact that at present, India’s highest power i.e. sixty nine percent of the electricity is being generated from coal. This is called thermal electricity. After this, the second place is that of hydro electric i.e. hydroelectricity. Seventeen percent of the country’s electricity is generated from hydroelectric projects. The remaining nine per cent of electricity comes from fossil fuels or natural gas, three per cent in nuclear power plants and about twelve per cent from renewable energy sources, i.e. solar power and wind power.

It is not a matter of convenience of power generation alone. The cost of the electricity produced is also a big factor. The cheapest electricity comes from coal. But recently, as the coal crisis deepened and thermal power plants made electricity from expensive imported coal from abroad, the cost of the electricity generated from it also increased. Electricity distribution companies refused to buy expensive power. If they have to buy this power to maintain power supply going forward, then it is clear that the companies will pass the burden on the consumers. In such a situation, consumers may have to pay two or three times more price.

It is also said about the electricity received from nuclear power plants that it will be much cheaper in future than other sources, but at present its production yield in the country is only two to three percent. Apart from this, our country is dependent on the kindness of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for nuclear fuel. Another better option can be found in the form of solar energy.

India is also a member of a Global Solar Alliance Group (SAG) and several plans are underway to set up solar power plants in the country. But this source of renewable energy is yet to generate much confidence. In coastal areas where giant solar power plants have been installed, there have been frequent reports of damage to them due to the oncoming cyclonic storms. Not only this, the cost of solar electricity is still up to fourteen percent more expensive than electricity from coal. Although common people are being encouraged to install solar panels on the roofs of their homes, the initial cost of installing panels has not been able to motivate the common people much in this regard. Talking about fossil fuels and natural gas-powered power stations, the fact related to this is that fossil fuels are used to run these power plants, factories and vehicles and India imports eighty percent of its oil from abroad.

Until recently, our country was dependent on Iraq and Saudi Arabia for this. Now India is importing twelve percent of its oil requirement from Iran. In the year 2018, India imported $7 billion worth of oil from Iran. In fact, after the imposition of US sanctions on Iran, oil supply to India from there has come to a standstill from May 2019, which increased the dependence on Saudi Arabia and Iraq for oil. However, some avenues are also open to solve all these problems. For example, recently the National Hydrogen Mission has been flagged off in the country.

The objective of this scheme is to make the country an exporter of Green Hydrogen. Hydrogen is a fuel that is clean and once efficiency is achieved, it can provide unlimited energy for eternity. The problem is to store it under pressure, as it being extremely explosive can also cause an accident. It is expected that all the problems related to this will be solved in the National Hydrogen Mission. Apart from hydrogen fuel, other sources of clean energy that are being mentioned at the government level are electric cars, buses and trucks.

Apart from this, the plan to use gas as fuel and to drive vehicles from fuel prepared by mixing ethanol with petrol are also noteworthy. Ethanol, extracted from sugarcane molasses, is a clean fuel, so the electricity produced by burning it is considered superior to other alternatives in many ways. In India too, the trend of getting energy from ethanol has started. In some states, buses and trains are being run from Ethanal on an experimental basis. In the future, of course, motor vehicles can be equipped with ethanol blended fuel engines, which will reduce our dependence on oil.

The ongoing efforts on electric vehicles and solar energy can bring some relief results. But the hardest thing about this whole episode is the transfer of technology. When coal is replaced by solar panels, it will entail huge investment in getting the same amount of electricity and the risk of producing less than what is needed. This can reduce the pace of economic growth and slow down the speed of operation of factories and can also lead to employment crisis. But it has to be kept in mind that when the goals are big, there are objectives like keeping the earth safe for future generations, then the risk of dealing with these challenges will have to be taken in any case.