Integrated Power Policy
The recommendations of Integrated Energy Policy (IEP) under the Planning Commission and subsequent media reports that a large number of power projects are being proposed (exceeding a capacity of more than 800,000 MW, which is about 4 times more than the present capacity) will pose many serious concerns to our densely populated and resource constrained communities, and could well be seen as in serious conflict with the overall welfare goals for our communities.
In the context of growing number of agitations because of the issues associated with people’s displacement, impact on environment, fast depleting natural resources, ever growing inequalities, global warming etc. the need for active involvement of various sections of the society cannot be ignored any more. A paradigm shift to the way in which we view the demand / supply of electricity is urgently required to ensure social harmony in our society and in choosing an acceptable level of ecological health. This book has been written keeping in view the huge difficulties being faced by our communities because of the ill-conceived power projects. Various agitations across the country protesting against nuclear, dam based hydro and coal power plants are the main reasons for bringing out this book.
The primary objectives of this book are to discuss: (i) as to what constitutes the true electrical power demand of our communities; (ii) the social, economic and environmental impacts of various conventional forms of producing electricity in the Indian context; (iii) India’s potential in various forms of energy resources w.r.t its natural limitations; (iv) the costs & benefits to our society of conventional power sources, and suitable alternatives; and (v) to recommend a set of credible action plans/policies for a sustainable power policy.
The book has argued, amongst other issues, that: (i) the true electrical power demand in our country could be much less than the exaggerated figures given by the official agencies; (ii) such legitimate demand can be met without having to add a lot of conventional power plants in the near future, and by renewable energy resources alone in the longer term; and (iii) the relevant technologies are already known to be techno-economically viable.
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