Energy footprint of India: Scope for improvements in end-use energy efficiency and renewable energy

Ramachandra, TV (2019) Energy footprint of India: Scope for improvements in end-use energy efficiency and renewable energy. [Book Chapter]

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Abstract

Energy plays a pivotal role in the development of a region. Increasing dependency on fossil fuels has caused serious concerns at the local (energy dependency, pollution, etc.) and global (global warming, GHG emission, etc.) levels. Harvesting of energy depends on the availability of resources apart from the economic viability and technical feasibility of meeting the demand. The energy requirement of India is mainly supplied by coal and lignite (19378.24 PJ), followed by crude oil and petroleum products (18432.96 PJ) and electricity (7562.24 PJ). However, energy consumption in rural India is largely dependent on non-conventional energy sources due to the availability, possibility of rapid extraction, and appropriate technologies. Globalization and consequent opening up of Indian markets has led to urbanization with the enhanced energy demand in the industrial and infrastructure sectors. The perishing stock of fossil fuel coupled with the growing concerns of climate change has necessitated the exploration of cost effective, environment friendly, and sustainable energy alternatives. Renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind are emerging as viable alternatives to meet the growing energy demand of the burgeoning population. Strengthening of transmission and distribution network with the integration of local generating units (RE-based standalone units) would help in meeting the demand. Distributed generation (DG) with micro grids are required to minimize transmission and distribution (T and D) losses, and optimal harvesting of abundant local resources (such as solar, biofuel, etc.). The focus of the current communication are (i) understanding the energy scenario in India; (ii) sector- and source-wise energy demand with the scope for energy conservation; and (iii) prospects of renewable energy with smart grids to meet the distributed energy demand while optimizing harvest of local energy sources. Source wise energy analyses reveal that total primary energy consumption has increased manifolds during the past three decades from 18 MTOE (in 1980) to 104 MTOE (2011) in India. Coal consumption has increased from 213 MT (1990–91) to 615 MT (2013–14) and therefore, has grown more than 3 times over the years. Transportation tops in oil consumption (54.28 MTOE) followed by industrial (28.8 MTOE) and domestic (24.89 MTOE) sectors. Total natural gas production in the country was about 18 BCM (billion cubic meters) during 1990–91 and increased to 34.64 BCM now. Electricity generation shows a growth of over 26 times in 40 years that has increased from 43,724 GWh (1970–71) to 11,79,256 GWh. Renewable energy is being used in various forms as is evident from the dependence on bio-energy to an extent of 85% among the rural population (constitutes 70% of the total) since time immemorial. Grid interactive power generating plants from RE sources constitute 37,414 MW with the major share of wind energy plants (24376.26 MW, 65%) followed by biomass/bagasse cogeneration plants (4418.55 MW, 12%), solar photovoltaic (4346.82 MW, 12%), and small hydro (4146.82 MW; 11%). Power generation from municipal solid waste accounts for a very small fraction. Sector-wise and source-wise energy analyses reveal that the energy consumption per GDP (Energy intensity) of India is 0.42 kgoe/million USD. Comparison of the energy intensity (the ratio of energy consumption per GDP) versus GDP per capita of various countries reveal that the energy intensity of India is more than 12 times that of Switzerland, 4 times that of Germany, 3 times that of USA and about 1.3 times that of China, indicating the inefficient use of energy and the need for energy conservation through end use energy efficiency improvements to enhance the GDP with the present level of energy consumption.

Item Type:	Book Chapter
Publication:	Environmental Footprints and Eco-Design of Products and Processes
Publisher:	Springer
Additional Information:	The copyright for this article belongs to Springer.
Keywords:	Distributed generation; Energy trajectory; Indian energy scenario; Renewable energy; Sustainable energy
Department/Centre:	Division of Interdisciplinary Sciences > Center for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning (CiSTUP)
Date Deposited:	05 Dec 2022 06:42
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2022 06:42
URI:	https://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/78232

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