Renewable energy - environmental friendly and low cost energy from inexhaustible sources
Energy resources exist in different forms - some exist as stocks and are exhaustible, others exist as flows and are inexhaustible. The first form is fossil fuels such as petroleum and carbon energy, the second form relates to resources based on constantly replenishing flows of energy such as solar, wind, hydro and geothermal as well as quantities grown by nature in the form of biomass. All of the latter forms are (mostly) green, clean and renewable and are therefore an answer to the shortage in commodities and increasing energy demands. Rising consumption of fossil fuels is still set to drive up greenhouse gas emissions and global temperatures, resulting in potentially catastrophic and irreversible climate change. Alternative energy sources can help to reduce emissions of CO2.
The possibilities to use renewable energy are still developing: energy resources evolve dynamically as a function of human engineering ingenuity. There is still a lot to do with regards to installing as well as developing alternative energy production there is still a lot to do – the energy demand is increasing worldwide, day by day with ongoing population growth and industrialisation.
Renewable energy wordwide
Countries worldwide already foster the production and distribution of renewable energy through different approaches on a political and economic level because they are aware of the benefits renewable energy provides. For several years, the modern renewable energy industry has been viewed as a “guaranteed-growth” sector, and even “crisis-proof” due to the global trends underlying its formidable growth throughout the past decade. In 2008, renewable energy resisted the credit crunch more successfully than many other sectors.
Several hundred cities and local governments around the world are actively planning or implementing renewable energy policies and are developing frameworks linked to carbon dioxide emissions reduction.
The current use of renewable energy, however, is still limited in spite of its vast potential. The obstacles are manifold: lengthy permission procedures, import tariffs and technical barriers, insecure financing of renewable energy projects and insufficient awareness of the opportunities for renewable energy. Worldwide renewable energy plays no decisive role although it offers clean alternatives to traditional energy sources as well as decentralizsed energy supply solutions to developing countries.
Renewable energy in India
Currently, coal, oil and natural gas are the three primary energy sources in India and India ranks third amongst the coal-producing countries in the world. Being the most abundant fossil fuel in India to date, coal continues to be one of the most important sources for meeting the domestic energy needs. Coal accounts for 55 percent of the country’s total energy supplies. Despite increasing dependency on commercial fuels, a sizeable quantum of energy requirements (40 percent of total energy requirement), especially in the rural household sector, is met by non-commercial energy sources, which includes wood, crop residue and animal waste for cooking and heating. Other existing energy options in rural communities, such as diesel generator sets and kerosene lanterns, can have a bad impact on the environment. They are polluting, prohibitively expensive and logistically difficult to disseminate.
Resource augmentation and growth in energy supply has not kept pace with increasing demand and, therefore, India continues to face serious energy shortages. To this day more than 56 percent of households in India do not have electricity connections. Moreover, poor quality of power supply and frequent power cuts and shortages impose a heavy burden on India’s fast-growing industry. It is estimated that primary energy demand in India will double by 2030.
Renewable energy sources offer viable options to address the energy security concerns of a country. In recent years the country has invested in renewable sources of energy such as wind energy. India is the world’s fifth largest producer of wind power after Denmark, Germany, Spain and the USA.
There is a significant potential in India for the generation of power from renewable energy sources—, small hydro, biomass and solar. In July 2009, India unveiled a 19 billion USD plan to produce 20,000 MW of solar power by 2020, the "National Solar Mission". Whether this mission will be successful remains to be seen.
Everything has two sides
Renewable energy sources can be useful and cause damage at the same time. One must always look at the whole picture. The use of alternative energy resources has to be evaluated by its eco-balance.
For example, heavy metals are used for the production of solar power cells which remain in the factory, though the finished solar module isn´t toxic at all.
Windparks are not without their controversies due to the irritation they can cause on birds and bats. Offshore windparks could be a problem for migratory birds.
Diverse hydroelectric power plants can also cause changes in existing ecosystems. Burning biomass can produce nitrogen monoxide, sulfur dioxide and respirable dust.
Using geothermal energy fluids drawn from the deep earth carry a toxic and explosive mixture of gases, notably carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, methane and ammonia. Plant construction can adversely affect land stability.
The future
Almost every increase in the energy production to 2030 occurs in non-OECD countries. The reliance on imported oil and gas of the main consuming regions, including India, is increasing substantially. This consolidates mutual dependence but also enhances the risk of supply interruptions. Rising energy prices, increased import dependence and rising greenhouse-gas emissions are environmentally, economically and socially unsustainable. Achieving a more secure, low-carbon energy system calls for radical action by governments at national and local levels, and through participation in coordinated international mechanisms.
India has the advantage of being able to incorporate new, cleaner technologies into its infrastructure as it grows, while wealthier countries have to supplant existing infrastructures. Greater reliance on renewable energy sources offers enormous economic, social, and environmental benefits.
As seen in many other countries, developing and implementing alternative energy resources can provide a lot of jobs. Greenpeace, like many other grassroots organizations and social enterprises in India, believes that centralised power is the root cause of energy poverty. With centralised power, be it through coal, hydro or nuclear power, electrifying cities is the priority and rural villages, often at the tail end of the power grid, are literally left in the dark. Locally installed power plants for wind power, solar energy or biomass are decentralised sources of energy and thereby empower people at a grassroots level. It creates independence of power companies and low-cost options to bring energy to rural areas.
A first step at international level is the funding of the International Energy Agency IEA. 136 countries are part of it, India still isnt. IEA assumes that renewable energy could cover more than one fourth of the worlds primary energy demand by 2030.
The video below (put together by German non-profit /e-politik.de/) provides an excellent overview of the ins and outs of various types of renewable energy:
