Techno Economic Socio Economic Scope for PhD students
Introduction
A human standard of living has changed over the course of history. Incessant innovation has long been a characteristic of the human species. One such technological discovery which has undoubtedly proved to be a blessing to Mankind is the discovery of Electromagnetic Induction. The discovery of electromagnetic induction revolutionised how we use Energy.
Revolution of Energy
Energy exists in nature.Early man made use of the most natural available energy such as sun, wood and the wind for his survival. Modern man however has reinvented this energy to suit his complex lifestyle. Energy is a very natural resource which can be turned into wealth if developed and utilised in the right way. Availability of reliable energy invariably enables higher standards of living which in turn leads the country towards progress. Generating electricity by harnessing energy has resulted in inventions that provide luxury and comfort in our day to day life.Affordable and reliable electricity has become a mandatory element of modern life and one cannot think of a world today without it. Electricity has not only established its necessity in our day today life in the form of lights, fans or any other household appliances but has also revolutionised the modern means of transport and communication. It quietly breeds life into the digital world we tap into with our smart phones and computers not leaving alone the field of medicine and surgery to save human life.
Supply and demand of Energy in India
Energy is intrinsically linked with environmental, social and economic dimensions of continuous development of any nation. Energy management is thus one of the most critical aspects any government has to deal with.
India has a population of approximately 1363 Crores. It is the 7th largest country in the world and is graded as second in row amongst the highest populated countries in the world. The yearly growth rate of India is 1.18% which represents almost 17.74% of the worlds population. The country is expected to have more than 1.383 billion people by the end of 2020 respectively.
Given that figure, the rural economy of India constitutes 46% of it’s national income. 70% of workforce in India still reside in the rural areas.
Any rural vicinity with basic infrastructure such as distribution transformers and distribution lines installed, is scrutinised as electrified as per the Rural Electrification policy declared by the Government of India. However, a detailed evaluation at the electrification data from the hinterland shows that majority of the households in villages across most states are still in the dark without access to electricity. The Indian government has declared that one of their core priorities is to provide electricity to every household in India.
Provision of increasing quanta of energy to enable accessibility of cleaner and more reliable electricity is not only essential to raise the standard of living but is also a vital prerequisite for the economic growth of a country
India has an installed effective capacity of 3,75,323 MW. The main sources of electricity generation in India is through mineral oil, natural gas, thermal power, firewood hydropower and nuclear power.
The electricity generation target of conventional sources for the year 2020 to 2021 was fixed at 1330 BU comprising of 1138.533 BU thermal, 140.357 BU hydro, 43.80 nuclear and 7.230 BU import from Bhutan.
Hence summarizing, that in order to fulfill the economic development plans that are being implemented, India faces an increasing energy demand.
Despite the fact that India has achieved a quick and incredible economic growth, energy is still insufficient for the country . Strong economic growth in India magnifies the demand for energy and hence more energy sources are required to satisfy this demand. Moreover, India is challenged of sustainable development due to the increasing population and environmental deterioration, which in turn widens the gap between demand and supply of power that is expected to rise subsequently. World energy council has predicted that global electricity demand will peak in 2030.
Role of RES and it’s Significance
Sources of energy such as coal, oil and natural gas contribute to 1/3 of global greenhouse gas emissions, of which India is responsible for nearly 6.65% of total global carbon emissions ranked 4th next to China 26.83% the USA 14.36% and the EU 9.66%.
Approximately 50 billion tons of greenhouse gases is being emitted around the world each year thereby causing severe damage to the atmosphere bringing about various climatic changes. Climatic changes in turn affect the ecological balance in the world.
India has made substantial investments in importing expensive fossil fuel and coal. Consequently, pressing the need to find alternate sources for generating electricity.
Renewable energy technologies is one such alternative for producing electricity which is researched to mitigate environmental pollution. Adopting to this alternative by making a rapid and global transition to renewable energy technologies will help India to accomplish continuous growth and avoid catastrophic climatic changes. Renewable energy sources predominantly generate clean and reliable energy. Hence it is believed to be able to balance the electricity demand and reduce emissions.
Renewable energy sources RES include small hydro project, biomass gasifier, biomass power urban and industrial waste power solar and wind energy.
Potential of RES in Emerging Markets
RES has exhibited an upsurge in global investment in the past few years. More than half of the speculation has occurred in the developing countries. Amongst the other emerging countries- China, India and Brazil have designed explicit investment strategies to support adequate investment in RES while Chile Mexico and South Africa appear to be strong players Argentina, Jordan, the Philippines, Turkey and Russia are recognised as equally attractive RES investment countries specially in solar.
India aims to achieve 175 GW of renewable energy which would consist of 100 GW from solar energy, 10 GW from biopower 60 GW from wind power and 5 GW from small hydro power plants by the year 2022.
The higher cost of electricity production using renewable technologies is expected to reduce with the increasing experience in the techniques involved.
An energy source is an essential element of socio economic development. Major economic activity of India comprises of agriculture, Hence the supply of power particularly to rural areas is tremendously important to promote other economic activities for growth and development of the country.
The impact of guaranteed supply of power generated using RES, on the economic and social life of the people of India is an interesting topic to be researched.
Many socio economic advantages derive from renewable power. The most important one being employment for the citizens of India. The prospects of employment seems to be higher with increasing investments in the renewable energy sector than any other fossil fuel industry. A lack of consistent data on the possible influence of employment in the renewables expansion industry gives a scope to assess the quantity of skilled semi skilled and unskilled personal that might be needed.
Barriers to effective utilisation of RES
India imports 90% of its solar cell and module requirements from Malaysia China and Taiwan. The country has around 36.9 GW installed solar capacity by end of 2020 and the government is making sincere efforts to encourage domestic market.
Policy and regulatory framework initiatives for the development of renewable energy sources in terms of tariff determination defining RPO promoting grid connectivity and promoting the expansion of the market, projects the need to be researched and assessed.
Financial barriers to investments in RES emerge in terms of lack of technological awareness that lead to unpredictable evaluation of resources. such uncertainties are perceived as high risk to developers contributing to invest in RES.
Conclusion
To conclude, based on the above mentioned facts and figures the potential for cost effective production and utilisation of solar energy appears to be an interrogative topic for research in terms of techno economic and socio economic impact of RES in the days to come.
References
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