Search the Internet           Tips

Govt to unveil renewable energy policy soon

Shobha Warrier in Madras

Shortage of power, power cuts, loss-making state electricity boards, unheard of subsidies, theft of power: it is in this bleak and depressing background that the Energy Summit 2000 began in Madras.

But the voice that one heard at the summit was that of hope and optimism.

Speaker after speaker admitted that the Indian energy scenario was at the crossroads. In fact, the Union Minister of State for non-Conventional Energy Sources, M Kannappan, also admitted that the energy supply scenario is India is dim.

The reason for such a gloomy scenario, according to many, was that different ministries and departments governed the fuels used in the energy sector. All of them agreed that unless the government loosened its grip, the energy scene would not improve.

The Union minister after inaugurating the Conference on Renewable Energy Resources organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry confessed that there was a direct relationship between the level of economic development and the consumption of energy.

"Energy is the basic input for economic growth. It is evident from the fact that the developed countries have far higher consumption levels than the under-developed countries."

The per capita level consumption of commercial energy in the US is around 17 times more than that in India. Seventy-five per cent of the world's total energy is consumed by the developed world, which constitutes only 25 per cent of the world's population.

Disturbing as it may sound, the practices of the developed world are unfair and discriminatory. More than this, the growth of the developed world using excessive fossil fuel has led to fears of global warming and its adverse effects on human life. This alarming situation has made the whole world thinking differently; that the energy and economic development equation has to now consider the sustainability of environment also.

Thus, popularising energy from renewable or non-conventional sources gained momentum.

However, one dimension that needs to be considered in dealing with the energy deficiency status of the developing countries like India is their widespread dependence on primary energy sources like fuel wood, agricultural and animal wastes, etc, opined the minister.

These are used by most of the rural households to cook their food and other heat requirements. This has also affected the environment adversely.

The problem that the Indian villages face is that they are far away from power evacuation facilities. Grid electricity transmission is not economical. So, the only option possible in these distant villages is non-conventional or renewable sources of energy like the solar energy, biomass gasification, and small wind power.

The minister admitted that although India has made some progress as far as the usage of renewable energy sources are concerned (Only 1.3 per cent of India's energy is from renewable energy sources), market mechanism has not yet got in place. Many delegates who were involved in this sector complained that the rural India is unaware of what was happening in the field of renewable energy resources and they are not yet ready to adopt these methods.

The minister said that the economics of these sectors would further improve with the adoption of more modern technologies. But he did not see "much of technology development in India." So, the best option for India is to borrow technology from the developed world so that India can supply more power at a reduced price!

"I would request the industry and their associations to think seriously on these lines and assess their technology and market status. They need to identify hi-tech partners in the developed world for technology transfer through joint ventures or any other more mode."

He reminded the gathering that 100 per cent foreign direct investment was also allowed in the renewable energy sector. He also hoped that along with the reform process in the power sector, investments in the non-conventional energy sectors also would increase considerably.

The ministry of non-conventional energy sources is also in the process of finalising a renewable energy policy statement for the country. At present, different states follow different policies making it difficult for those involved in the sector.

The objective of the policy statement, according to the minister, "is to enhance the contribution of renewable sources like solar, wind, biomass and small hydro for meeting minimum rural energy needs; providing decentralised off-grid supply for agriculture, industry, commercial and household sectors in the rural and urban areas; and grid quality power generation and supply."

But the difference between the developed and developing world lies elsewhere: subsidies.

Today when the advanced countries are thinking in terms of a multimillion-dollar market in solar technologies, Indian markets are still talking about subsidies.

What India is aiming for now is production of 10 per cent of its energy from non-conventional energy resources by 2012!

SEE ALSO:

Hydrocarbon Vision-2025 aims to propel India into the big league

Money

Business News

Tell us what you think of this report