The Government of India has announced plans to operationalize gas-based power plants across the country in response to the anticipated surge in electricity demand during the upcoming summer season. This
Build infrastructure' has become the favourite slogan of India Inc and is seen as the most important action for development. The discussion usually focuses on the massive investment required and the difficulties of providing it, but rarely on the way infrastructure planning is done. Official plans propose increasing the power generation capacity by 60% over the next 5 years and by 600% by 2031. According to the Planning Commission's working group on power, an investment of Rs 9,70,000 crore will be required just for the next five years. These projections are seen as natural for development. But there are several irreconcilable problems with this approach, which are leading to a crisis. The earlier we review our path, the better it is for our Economy and for democracy. Our plans are not accompanied by an assessment of impacts, nor a check on whether they are realistic. We do not estimate the land and water needed to install and run proposed power plants, nor do we check tariff impacts of investments. Even ballpark estimates of the number of people to be displaced are rare even though, potentially, the numbers can be large. For example, a study by the coal ministry estimates that coal mining alone will displace 8.5 lakh people in 20 years. Getting water or land for new power projects is going to be impossible without major social conflicts. Getting fuel will not be any easier. According to current estimates, known Indian coal reserves will be used up in 50 years. In this scenario, Indian energy imports will upset even the international fuel Markets. Three corrections are urgently needed in infrastructure planning. First, we should recognise that social and environmental costs are real and are paid, usually by the poor. These costs should be included in the cost of electricity. Second, the focus should shift from energy consumption to services. Current planning focuses on electricity
Energy security has to go hand in hand with economic development and environmental protection.
A mild earthquake caused by coal mining shook the western German state of Saarland on Saturday, causing damage to buildings but no injuries. A police spokesman in the Saarlouis region on the French border said the earthquake measured 4.0 on the Richter scale, the strongest on record in the area, and had knocked over chimneys and caused electricity outages. After the quake, roughly 1,000 demonstrators gathered near the epicentre in Saarwellingen, police said, to demand an end to mining work which has sparked dozens of small tremors this year alone. (Writing by Noah Barkin) REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
Solar cells generate electricity from sunlight without producing' pollution, but some environmentalists have been concerned about the potential negative impact of this photovoltaic technology. This is because the manufacture of solar cells involves toxic metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium and produces carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming. However, the first comprehensive study of the pollutants produced during the manufacture of solar cells gives them a reassuringly clean bill of health. Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York report that photovoltaic cells produce far fewer air pollutants than conventional fossil fuel technologies when manufacturing is fully accounted for. The study will appear next month in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, Vasilis Fthenakis and colleagues gathered data from 13 solar cell " manufacturers in Europe and the US over three years. The cells included four major commercial types: multicrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon, ribbon silicon and thin-film cadmium telluride The study concluded that generating electricity from solar cells reduced air pollutants by about 90 per cent compared with using electricity generated in conventional power stations
"India is more difficult...it now reco-gnises the reality of man made climate change...does not put its shoulder to the wheel. Its basic attitude...are that western governments created the problem so western governments must solve it'. <br><br> "They point out that if you look at emissions per capita they are not a major emitter. The counter argument is that it is the total amount of emissions that actually matter. Because India is growing so fast
The Centre has a plan to provide electricity on demand by the end of the 11th Five Year Plan, Union Minister for Power Sushilkumar Shinde said today. "However, we have targeted to produce 80,000 Mw in the 11th Five Year Plan, for which Rs 28,000 crore has been earmarked under the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Scheme (RGRES) compared to Rs 5,000 crore allocated in the last Plan, Shinde told at the concluding session of the two-day 85th Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) here, The 80,000-Mw power production included a 4,000-Mw ultra mega project, he said.
Maharashtra has reasons to push for the power projects. Its electricity demand is estimated to have touched 13,500 mw by October 2007, while the supply is about 10,500 mw. JSW Energy is one of the eight companies that signed agreements with the state government in 2005 to set up power plants. As per the MoEF website, 11 thermal power projects are awaiting environmental clearance. "Almost the whole of coastline of Maharashtra is industrialized and some parts of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg are left intact.
A boost for renewables, but nuclear power takes centre stage
The Government believes it is in the public interest that new nuclear power stations should have a role to play in this country's future energy mix alongside other low-carbon sources; that it would be in the public interest to allow energy companies the option of investing in new nuclear power stations; and that the Government should take active steps to open up the way to the construction of new
You can save money, electricity and get piping hot water for your home with a solar water heater.
