Pravin Mehta explores energy-efficient technologies and avenues that could mitigate, and perhaps solve, India’s imminent energy crisis Energy is the most important driver of a nation’s economy, and energy resources are its greatest asset. This can be understood in terms of the role of forms of energy such as electricity in performing industrial operations and household activities. In the last few decades, the scope of energy has expanded to residential, commercial, industrial and scientific applications and energy consumption has increased. Kurian Joseph, Associate Professor, Center for Environmental Studies, Anna University, says, “Energy has always been the prime driving force for civilisations. With the advent of the industrial age, energy usage has grown in terms of application scope and consumption volume.” According to a report by the United States Department of Energy (DoE), agriculture as well as industrial operations like mining, manufacturing and infrastructure consume around 37 per cent of the total power generated worldwide. Another 20 per cent of the power generated globally is consumed by transportation vehicles. Residential applications consume around 11 per cent of the total energy, while commercial applications account for 5 per cent of the value. The report further reveals that, on a global scale, around 27 per cent of the total power is wasted in transmission and distribution (T&D) losses.  The Indian Scenario
In the last few decades, India has emerged as one of the fastestdeveloping countries across the globe with the demand for power growing exponentially. A 2010 report by the Planning Commission of India says that power consumption in India is expected to grow at a rate of 5.2 per cent. Commercial primary power consumption has grown by about 700 per cent in the last four decades, while the annual per capita power consumption in India has reached approximately 400 KWH. Due to the rate of population growth and improved lifestyles, the per capita power consumption in the country is estimated to reach 450 KWH by the end of 2010.
According to K Vijaya Lakshmi, Vice President, Development Alternatives, a non-profit organisation for large-scale sustainable solutions, “Rapid population growth and westernising lifestyles are among the critical factors that pressurise the available energy resources by increasing consumption of power. These factors have directly affected the energy security of the country.” Additionally, the estimated total primary energy consumption for India will reach around 554 million tonne oil equivalent (MTOE) by the end of the Eleventh Development Plan (2007–12). According to the International Energy Outlook 2005, natural gas consumption in India is expected to grow at an annual rate of 5.1 per cent, reaching around 2.3 trillion cubic feet by 2025. Furthermore, coal consumption is expected to reach around 315 MT by 2025, of which the coal used for power generation is estimated to increase by 2.2 per cent during the time period. This implies a requirement of over 59,000 MW of coal-firing capacity. With its targeted GDP growth rate of 8 per cent and an estimated energy elasticity of 0.80, India’s power demand is expected to grow at an annual rate of 5.6–6.4 per cent. This means a quadrupled power requirement in the next 25 years, which will be a huge challenge for India.
However, a remarkable aspect of the nation’s power scenario is that despite the net growth in energy demand, per capita power consumption is lower than that of other developing countries. Moreover, India has considerable potential for renewable energy generation in terms of small hydro power (SHP), biomass energy, solar power and wind energy. According to the Planning Commission’s report, India is the fifth-largest producer of wind energy and has around 15,000 MW of SHP generation capacities. The Impact The pace of industrialisation and the subsequent growth in power demands has resulted in a situation where the exhaustion of conventional energy resources is imminent. A large percentage of energy requirements are currently being fulfilled from non-renewable energy resources. Due to the limited availability, growing demands and inefficient energy usage, these resources are on the verge of exhaustion. “Currently, a large percentage of power demands are being fulfilled by nonrenewable energy resources. This has led to a situation called the energy crisis, as these sources have limited availability,” says Prof Joseph. Moreover, there are several hazards associated with the combustion of coal and petroleum. Combustion releases CO2 and SO2, gases that result in phenomena such as the greenhouse effect and acid rain. Global warming is another environmental issue that has emerged in recent times.
 Energy-Efficient Solutions To deal with the progressive exhaustion of non-renewable energy resources, several energyefficient technologies and equipment have been developed in the last few decades. These aim at maximising the energyefficiency and performance of conventionally-powered systems, while minimising their environmental impact. Alternate energy technologies have also been explored to maximise the use of renewable energy and alternative power sources. The ultimate goal of such technologies and equipment is to achieve optimal fuel efficiency and ecological safety and ensure sustainability. A few of these energy-management solutions are discussed below.
Infrared Thermography This is a temperature-profiling technology which is used to analyse the characteristic of a surface on the basis of its temperature. It is based on the principle that bodies emit infrared radiation with intensities which are a function of their respective temperatures. This radiation is detected using a thermal scanner which converts it into electrical signals. These electrical signals are fed into a display system which displays the temperature profile of the surface. Infrared thermography can provide immense assistance towards achieving energy efficiency. The technology can be used to estimate convection and radiation thermal losses from bodies by their increased surface temperatures.
Infrared thermography can be used to analyse thermal power stations to find excessive heat losses from bare and inadequately insulated surfaces or open claddings. Mending such defective surfaces in thermal power stations can save immense power generation costs. Sharing his views on the subject, Professor AK Sinha, HOD, Electrical Engineering Department, IIT Kharagpur, says, “Infrared thermography is a technology with diverse industrial applications, particularly in non-destructive inspection and fault detection. In electrical applications, the technology can be effectively used to detect high energy-loss areas such as those developed due to insufficient insulation. Checking and mending such faulty zones can save considerable energy which would otherwise be wasted as heat loss.” Moreover, the technology can also be used to inspect the presence of hotspots over the switchyard of captive power plants. If plants are inspected twice or thrice a year, reliability and performance can be improved to almost 100 per cent. The technology makes it possible to monitor the energy-efficiency of a system and is cost-effective in the long run. Maximum Demand Controller High-tension power consumers have to pay an additional maximum demand surplus over the usual bills. This additional charge is based upon the greatest value of power consumed over a certain period of time during the metering month. Also, the amount charged is usually a major percentage of the total bill, while it is based only upon the power readings gathered over a small isolated time period. Considerable savings can be achieved in such cases by minimising the non-essential loads during periods of high power use.
This can be achieved with a device known as a Maximum Demand Controller which effectively performs power load management. The device sends indication through an alarm whenever the power demand approaches a specified value, and, automatically switches off the non-essential loads in a logical sequence, in case no corrective action is taken. The actions performed by the device can be pre-programmed by the user and the supplier for all the equipment on the shop floor. In India, Kusam Electrical Industries Ltd is one of the leading suppliers of the device, which has features such as Load Manager Software and displays current demand, demand forecast, useable remaining useful demand and target demand. Building Automation System (BAS) It is a distributed control system with a network of intelligent electronic devices which are used to monitor and control the mechanical and lighting systems in a building. BAS aims to provide maximum comfort, while optimising the overall costs. As compared to conventional buildings, BAS-enabled buildings are better regulated in terms of energy and maintenance costs. “Building automation exercises smart control over energy-intensive systems and processes, such as lighting, temperature and humidity control, etc. This optimises the consumption of resources while maximising their performance and energy efficiency to provide maximum level of comfort,” says Dr Vijaya Lakshmi.
The essential components of BAS include the controller, occupancy, lighting, air handlers, central plant, and alarm and security. The controllers used in BAS are basically special-purpose input/output devices, which can be used to control devices used in buildings. The input console is used to feed the value of critical building parameters such as temperature, humidity, pressure and current flow. The output end of controller unit sends signals to control individual sub-networks according to the desired value of parameters. Modern-day building automation systems use three types of controllers—Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), system or network controllers, and terminal unit controllers.  Lighting is another component of BAS. This enables automatic switching of lights with the assistance of photo-sensors, motion sensors and timers. For example, the system can switch off the light if no motion is sensed during a certain time interval. The Air Handling Unit (AHU) in BAS regulates air quality and temperature with the help of temperature sensors which are fitted in the return and supply air ducts. The component cuts down the costs by controlling the supply of hot or cold air on the basis of room temperature, building pressure and time. Cogeneration It is an energy-conserving technology in which the exhaust heat released after thermal or mechanical operations is reused to perform other primary or secondary operations. It involves sequential generation of two useful energy forms, such as mechanical power and thermal energy, from a single primary energy source. While these primary energy forms are used to drive the mechanical components, the residual thermal energy is used in processes such as cooling and steam generation. As it results in maximum utilisation of the total available energy, cogeneration helps in achieving energy efficiencies as high as 85 per cent, which is impossible to achieve through conventional processes.
Cogeneration has considerable application scope in thermal power plants. In conventional generation and transmission, around 65–70 per cent of the power is lost via thermal losses and T&D wastage. With the help of cogeneration, the energy efficiency and conversion efficiency of thermal power plants can be improved through optimal energy usage. According to Professor Sinha, “The energy efficiency of a system is largely determined by its energy conversion and usage efficiency. Cogeneration is a highly effective process in terms of its role in energy efficiency improvement. In industrial systems such as thermal power plants, cogeneration can reuse the heat lost from steam for other activities.” Moreover, CHP also reduces the emission of greenhouse gases and the load on utility network because of online power generation. This further reduces the T&D losses and improves the energy efficiency of the system. Cogeneration is a feasible technology from both the macroeconomic and microeconomic aspects. At the macro level, it distributes power costs between the national power utility and private players, while conserving the energy resources. At the micro level, cogeneration can reduce the billing amount, while a rational power tariff plan is practiced. Green Computing In the last decade, the use of computers has increased exponentially due to the growth and advancements in IT. The growing number of workstations and data centres in the modern IT era has severely affected the global power industry in terms of energy consumption. Moreover, the huge volume of e-waste generated by the IT industry poses a great environmental hazard. The concept of green computing has been developed to maximise the energy efficiency and performance of IT equipment, while minimising the ecological impact. Durgadutt Nedungadi, Director, Marketing & Alliances, TSG, HP India, says, “Green computing is an emerging concept that maximises the energy-efficiency and performance of the IT industry while minimising its environmental impact. The philosophy also proposes to optimise resource utilisation without compromising on performance.”
There are multiple approaches to green computing—product longevity, algorithmic efficiency, resource allocation, virtualisation and power management. According to industry experts, product longevity is one of the biggest contributors to green computing because computer manufacturing itself accounts for around 70 per cent of the natural resources used in its lifecycle. “Product longevity can be enhanced by improving the manufacturing technology and upgrading systems rather than disposing of them on account of their being obsolete,” adds Mr Nedungadi. Algorithmic efficiency is another important aspect of green computing. This implies enhancing the efficiency of web algorithms to minimise the use of resources, while maximising energy efficiency. For example, the search algorithms used by Google can be improved to minimise search time, resource usage and CO2 generation, while maximising search accuracy and depth. In computing, resource allocation largely determines the amount of energy being used and the operating costs. Green computing can cut down energy consumption by routing traffic away from data centres that are experiencing warm weather. This automatically shuts down computers, and, thus, obviates air conditioning. Virtualisation is another effective approach to green computing in which a system administrator can integrate several hardware components into virtual machines on a single, powerful system. This obviates the hardware used originally and reduces power consumption.  Key Imperatives for IndiaDue to rapid growth in population and changing lifestyles, the energy demand in India is growing exponentially. Hence, remedial measures need to be taken with regard to several intrinsic and extrinsic parameters in the energy industry to meet the needs of the growing economy. A few of the energy imperatives for India are discussed below.
Private sector participation Along with public-sector firms, the participation of private players is important to meet the growing energy demands. Private firms can bring in huge cash inflows, along with their skill sets, to induce appropriate competition in the market, while improving technological competence. The Government of India (GoI) has modified the Indian Electricity Act of 1910 and the Electricity Act of 1948 to permit participation of private companies in oil and gas sector (exploration and production), coal mining (captive power) and the renewable energy sector. As per the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP), 100 per cent foreign equity investment has been permitted in the oil and gas sector, and self-marketing by the investors has been allowed. Also, around 95 per cent of the total wind power capacity in India is with the private sector.
Policy framework for the power sector An important amendment is necessary in the policy framework for the power sector in India. Some critical aspects of policy framework that must be clearly defined include energy pricing, crossborder investments, and exportimport of power sector utilities. In recent times, the Electricity Act 2003 has been formulated and amended by the GoI. The Act is most likely to benefit industrial consumers, private utilities and power equipment providers. However, the Act does not provide any specific financial incentive for private players to address public issues. Moreover, the Act is expected to affect the State Electricity Boards (SEB), because with the de-licensing of power generation and open access for independent power producers (IPPs) and captive power plants(CPPs), most of the big consumers will move to the private players.
Effective pricing strategy Pricing is another major issue in the Indian power sector, primarily due to the monopoly created by IPPs. With the changes in the power policy regime in the early 1980s, IPPs were granted the permission to enter Indian markets. These IPPs largely self-determine the price per unit according to the import parity prices. The GoI needs to tighten the regulations and make further amendments in the Electricity Act 2003 to achieve better control over electricity pricing. Another important aspect of effective power pricing is the restructuring of the taxes and duties levied on the services and products in the power sector. For example, while the duties levied on petroleum products are among the highest, railways tariffs are largely subsidised. The government needs to rationalise the tariffs on power sector services and products to effectively restructure the pricing.
Infrastructure development Considerable investments need to be made in the existing infrastructure to maximise the use of available energy resources. The development of transportation infrastructure—railways, ports and roadways—is essential to enhance the use of non-renewable energy resources such as coal and petroleum. Another important element of power infrastructure is the T&D system which, if inappropriate, results in huge T&D losses. Such losses can be minimised by performing regular maintenance and through the use of high-quality equipment. To realise the renewable energy potential of India, more capital investment needs to be channelled towards the development of key infrastructural elements such as wind farms, solar power stations and geothermal electric power plants. It is evident that India has a high capacity for the generation of wind power, SHP and biomass power, which, if developed, can fulfil the energy needs of the country to a great extent.
Towards energy security With a growth rate of 7–8 per cent, energy security has become the prime focus for India. In recent years, the government has emphasised the development of progressive energy resources and fostered energy independence. Indian Hydrocarbon Vision 2025 is a significant initiative taken by the government to enhance the nation’s energy security. A few principal objectives of Indian Hydrocarbon Vision 2025 are listed below.
Development of the energy sector of India as a globally competitive industry through the improvement of product quality and competitive development Achieving energy security by considering strategic and defence issues Infrastructure development to explore, support and utilise nonrenewable energy resources Promotion of investments, both domestic and foreign, through rationalising tariffs and framing effective energy pricing policy Developing an improved regulatory framework and exploring new hydrocarbon energy resources such as gas hydrates. Future Scenario With growing energy demand and the environmental impact of conventional energy resources, the development of new,more efficient and cleaner energy avenues is the prime concern worldwide.
Currently, it is apparent that coal will be used as the prime energy source in the near future. Hence, importing petroleum and natural gas will continue to levy heavy import bills on growing economies such as India. In such a situation, when nonrenewable energy resources are on the verge of exhaustion, the future of technological advancement and industrial development depends upon less-explored energy avenues such as renewable energy resources and alternate power. Energy resources such as wind power, geothermal energy, solar energy, hydropower and fuel cells need to be explored and harnessed to overcome the imminent energy crisis and achieve energy security. The adoption of energy-efficient technologies and processes is also necessary to minimise the consumption of existing energy resources, while maintaining a hazard-free environment. For this, energy recycling and green energy are among the most-touted methods to achieve effective energy management. |
