Energy Resources

Tuesday, October 31, 2023 12:38 PM

Renewable Energy
- Total power generational capacity ~ 410 GW
- Renewable Energy ~ 170 GW
○ Solar ~ 65 GW
○ Wind ~ 42
○ Hydro ~ 50
○ Bio ~ 10 GW

- Future Target: 500 GW of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030
- India's NDC and Renewable Energy
○ 40 % of non-fossil achieved -> now 50 % from renewable energy

Why renewable energy

1. Energy Security: Increasing demand
2. Economic Growth:
a. by bringing down the cost of energy supply
b. Reduced import dependency on volatile international crude oil price
c. More employment generation and entrepreneurship opportunities
3. Inclusive Growth
a. Energy in inaccessible areas by small hydro, solar etc.
4. Environment Sustainibility:
○ No pollution, help in meeting NDCs target
5. Strengthening India's soft power

Steps by Government
1. FDI up to 100% under automatic route
2. Waiving of Inter-State Transmission charges for inter-state sale of solar and wind power for
projects to be commissioned by 30th June 2025
3. Green Energy Corridor scheme

Problems Faced
1. India is developing nation with limited resources. Renewable energy is capital intensive
2. Land Acquisition
3. Intermittent Nature => Integration to grid difficult
4. Storage Issue and hence Wastage (15-20%)
5. Import dependency
6. Financial Condition of distribution companies(Discoms): The additional solar and wind capacity
will come from private sector Following are issues still:
▪ RPO
▪ AT&C Loss
▪ Power Backup instruction loss
7. WTO manufacturer have hindered local manufacturer
8. Skilled manpower issue

What further need to be done?

1. Finance related
a. More Govt investment
b. Creating mandates for PF to invest in infrastructure and environmentally sustainable
projects

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 projects
c. Increase PSL limit for solar energy from meagre Rs 15 crore
d. Mobilize retail savings by way of tax exemptions
e. Promote Green Bonds

2. Standardizing the definition of green to be able to target govt efforts in direction

3. Promote Local dependency

4. Land Acquisition issue

○ Off shore wind, rooftop solar, solar on water bodies
○ Attention on agri-voltaic sector -> can be taken where crops, soil and conditions are suitable
and yield can be maintained or improved

5. Storage Issue- India can utilize full potential of renewable only when storage facility is well
developed, otherwise need to rely on coal sector to handle intermittent supply. Further, this
complex India's effort in decarbonize.

○ More research toward storage technology -> tax incentive, VGF

○ Promote net metering, smart grid and storage devices
○ New power markets need to redesign toward flexible demand & supply
○ Options for storage: Lithium-ion -> short term but expensive
◊ Hydrogen storage -> Long term
○ Power storage Plants -> According, CEA India has potential of 100 GW against current 5 GW.
Issues:
 High investment cost
 Long gestation period
 Lack of adequate sites having required topography
 Environment concern with this kind of storage
 India's expertness is suspected e.g. Tehri pump storage -> Yet to
commission whose construction began in 2011 and need to complete in
years
Initiative Regard Storage
i. National Storage Mission, 2020 -> Develop 100 GW of storage by 2030
ii. National Battery Manufacturing Policy -> Promote batteries in India
iii. Smart Metering, Smart grid -> To reduce need of storage at demand side

A perfect solution to storage problem can be, decentralized renewable energy.

Significance
a. Environmentally Sustainable
b. Inclusive growth -> Energy supply to difficult terrain
c. Scalability

Challenge
a. Repairing: Skill issues as well as access in remote areas
b. Affordability: PSL, subsidy required here

Solar Energy
- India missed ambitious target of 100 GW of solar generation by 2022.
- Create 280 GW of solar energy by 2030

Generation through
i. Concentrated Solar Power

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 i. Concentrated Solar Power
○ Parabolic tube
○ Water into steam
ii. Photovoltaic Cell -> Panel of silicon

Potential of solar energy in India

1. 300 days of direct sunlight
2. Dry region of Vidarbha, Deccan Plateau, Rajasthan -> Large insolation as minimal cloud
3. Degraded Land: Ladakh, Interior of Peninsula
4. Failing solar panel cost => despite developing can make huge contribution

How solar advantage over other renewable?

- Solar panel have high life. Further, it carrier no maintenance & operational cost
- As per study by WWF & IRENA, solar and wind are less damaging then other renewable

Issues
1. Feed in tariff replaced by reverse auctioning
2. States imposing condition of Make in India in return of cheap land. Issue here is economy of scale
in solar panel generation.
a. Lack of resource of Rare Earth Mineral in India => China dependency
3. Renewable Purchase Obligation: Yet, companies agreed, but now as cost of solar panel falls
down, states feel cheated here. Pre Purchase agreement hence is issue
4. Stable Grid Issue due to variability in solar insolation and

5. Migration, Environmental cost (no grazing), food security, E-Waste(80% in informal sector) etc.

Govt Efforts
1. PM Kusum
○ 60% subsidy on solar panel
○ PPA with Discom => Grid connection

○ 17.5 Lakh off grid solar pump -> 60% subsidy for max 7.5 HP

○ Solarization of 10 lakh existing pumps with excess solar power to DISCOM acc PPA

2. Tax free solar bonds. Further, roof top solar as part of housing loan by banks/NHB

3. Floating Solar Power Plant

○ No land, water conservation(less evaporation of water), less dust
○ Ambient temperature
○ Issue
▪ Expensive to install
▪ Specialized engineering in ensure stability & durability in water environment
▪ Environment & Biodiversity concern
4. Roof Top Solar
○ Issue of already subsidized electricity
○ Roof Top solar to industries is loss to Discom
○ 50k Surya Mitra -> skill develop

5. PLI for high efficiency Solar PV Modules

6. Others
○ Big building to have mandatory solar roof top
Infra status to Solar projects

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 ○ Infra status to Solar projects
○ GSDP reluctance to states by 0.5%

7. ISA -> But has issue of geopolitical risk & cyber attack. Further, it is capital intensive, not easy for
small nation in equatorial region. Difficult to predict energy demand in densely populated Asia

Way forward
i. Agri-Voltaic
ii. EIA, SIA before large scale project

Wind Energy
- Currently, India have 42 GW of Wind energy but it missed the target of 60GW by 2022. By 2030
has target of 140 GW
- As per research, India has potential of 600 GW onshore and 100 GW offshore.

Potential
1. Power production ᾰ (Wind speed)^3 --> Further, consistency of trade wind
2. Long coastline
3. Wester, Eastern Ghat + Hilly areas

Issues
1. Reverse auctioning
2. Re-negotiation of PPA by States
3. Highly variable => Unstable grid
4. Land acquisition issue
5. International support withdrawn due to incomplete solar and wind target. The reason of which
are:
i. Policy Instability-> Accelerated Depreciation benefit of 50% withdrawn post 2017 =>
Generator has to bear the cost
ii. Infrastructural problem
- Transmission problem
- Discom financial condition
iii. Reverse auctioning
iv. Land acquisition
v. Competition from cheaper solar

Way forward
i. Repowering i.e. upgrading capacity of wind turbine by big fan
ii. Off shore wind energy, Micro wind turbine
iii. Solve legacy problem of transmission loss, Discom losses, state policies in land acquisition

Offshore Wind Energy

- Two types fixed foundation or floating wind turbines.
○ Fixed foundation on shallow water, whereas floating in deep sea which is yet at infancy.
- Target of 30 GW by 2030 as per National Offshore Policy. Yet estimate of 130 GW by MNRE.

Advantage
i. No land issue
ii. Efficient due to high wind speed

Challenges
i. Technological and Engineering Challenges: High sea breeze, corrosive saltwater and challenging

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 i. Technological and Engineering Challenges: High sea breeze, corrosive saltwater and challenging
seabed conditions(stable offshore)
ii. Maintenance from cyclone off coast is costlier
iii. Grid integration and storage
iv. Environmental concern of noise

Way FWD
i. RPO -> MNRE should set for each state just like solar
ii. Feed in Tarrif

Biomass
- Produced using biological process such as agriculture or anaerobic digestion.
- Biogas: Anaerobic digestion of organic waste
- Bioethanol: Using fermentation, mostly from carbohydrates produced in sugar or starch
○ Cellulose biomass: derived from non-food sources, such as trees and grasses
○ Ethanol: Used as fuel in addition to gasoline
Benefits of Ethanol
i. Reduced vehicular emission especially CO
ii. Cheaper than petrol => reduced import dependency
iii. Higher octane number

- Generations of Bio Fuel

○ 1 G Biofuel: Directly from food crops such as sugar, vegetable oil and even animal fat
□ Simple tech, cost competitiveness with fossil fuels
□ Issue of food vs fuel
Biodiesel - Extraction over vegetable oils(both edible & non-edible), with or without
esterification, from seeds of plants like soyabean, rape(canola) &
sunflower
Bio - Fermentation of simple sugar from sugar crop(sugarcane) or starch
Ethanol crop(corn, wheat etc.)
Bio-Gas - Anaerobic fermentation of organic waste and crop residue

○ 2G Biofuel: Produced from non-food organic crops such as wood, organic waste, food crop
waste etc. It includes use of non-food crops technologies like jaltropha based fuels.
□ Use of wasteland, less impact on food security
□ Issues: High capital cost in advanced technologies e.g. Lignocellulosic process is
one of such which uses forest material

○ 3G Biofuel: Uses micro-organisms like algae

□ Low cost, high energy
□ Can be produced where there is sunlight & carbon is present
□ Sustainable & environmental friendly
□ Issues: Still developing tech, high technology cost, some poisonous algae etc.

National Biofuel Policy, 2018

- Currently, 10 GW biofuel

- The policy addresses the supply side issues that had discouraged the production of bio-fuels
within the country.

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 within the country.

- Targets: 20 % ethanol blending by 2025 & 5 % biodiesel by 2030

○ Categorization of biofuel with appropriate financial incentive in each category
○ More raw material available for ethanol production by allowing sugarcane, sorghum,
broken rice, rotten potatoes etc.
○ Allow use of surplus grain for ethanol production
○ VGF for 2G ethanol bio-refineries
○ Tax Incentives, higher purchase price compared to 1G biofuel

The spurt in ethanol production in India is almost entirely policy driven. Initiatives like Ethanol Blending
Program, National Biofuel Policy etc. have created conditions for the growth in sector.

Potential of Ethanol Production

1. North India -> Large agriculture waste + 2nd largest cultivable land => Huge biomass
2. Tropical Areas -> Waste can be dried in sun. Then in boiler producing steam it can be burn
3. Bark & Fiber (Bagasse) -> From sugarcane in sugar mill + Stubble
◊ Burning sugarcane can full fill energy requirement.

Advantage
1. Ethanol blended petrol reduce emission of pollutants like carbon monoxide
2. Sustainable agriculture by moving away from wheat & rice to Maize which is suitable for biofuel
production. Thus, it helps in increasing farmer income.
3. No intermittency like wind or solar
4. Sanitation: Biogas production can help in dealing open defecation etc.

Concern
i. Calorie value of Biomass < Calorie value of Coal
ii. Problem of stubble collection

Critics
1. Land Use change -> The constant increase in demand from sugarcane(water intensive) based
ethanol in Brazil has led extensive deforestation of rainforest resulting in GHG emission from
Brazilian Ethanol use that was 60% higher than petrol
2. Food security -> surplus food grain allowed in Biofuel policy

Govt Initiatives
1. Biofuel policy
2. Global Biofuel Alliance in G20
3. National Bio-Energy Program
○ Waste to Energy Programmed -> Energy from Urban, Industrial, Agri Waste to support
setting up large biogas, BioCNG, Power Plants (excluding MSW to Power projects) [excluding
MSW to Power projects]
○ Biomass Programmed -> Scheme to manufacturing of Briquettes & Pellets in industries to
be use in power generation projects
○ Biogas Programmed -> Family and medium Biogas in rural areas

Way Forward
1. Regard 1G fuel: Appropriate land according appropriate crop. Other factors like food security,
GHG emission(Brazil case) need to considered
2. Regard 2G fuel:
i. To solve collection issue -> Industries near feedstock availability
ii. More R&D to develop technology

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 ii. More R&D to develop technology

The expansion of biofuel sector needs to be multipronged(land law, food security, local pollution,
resource --> if water intensive crop) and rooted in sustainability.

Bio CNG (Compressed Biogas)

- It is upgraded version of Biogas

Process
a. Hydrolysis: Pre-digestor tank in aerobic conditions to attract microbes
b. Methanogenesis: Anaerobic digestor for 20-25 days. It produces 65% methane, while the rest is
H2S, CO2, water vapor
c. Purification: >95 % purified CH4

Advantage
a. No intermittency like solar and wind as CBG produced all hours
b. Decentralized energy closest to point of consumption

Critic
a. Maintenance cost of bio-cng vehicle is higher
b. Calorific value

Initiative
a. SATAT -> Bio-CNG in Automative
b. Sangrur largest BioCNG plant

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