Pariksha SaathiLesson 10 of 10 · Environment and Ecology
Energy Resources and Sustainable Development: Renewables, Nuclear Power and the SDGs
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Kinds of energy
Energy sources are non-renewable, such as coal, petroleum, natural gas and uranium, which took millions of years to form and will run out, or renewable, such as sunlight, wind, flowing water, biomass, geothermal heat and tides, which nature keeps replenishing. India's National Action Plan on Climate Change (2008) set out eight national missions, including the National Solar Mission and the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency.
Solar and wind energy
Solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, made mostly of silicon, turn sunlight directly into electricity, while solar thermal devices such as solar cookers, water heaters and concentrating solar plants use the sun's heat. Most of India gets about 250 to 300 clear sunny days a year. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission was launched in 2010; Cochin International Airport became the world's first fully solar-powered airport in 2015; and the International Solar Alliance, launched by India and France at the Paris climate conference in 2015, has its headquarters in Gurugram, Haryana. A wind farm needs steady winds faster than about 15 km/h. Tamil Nadu, notably around Muppandal near Kanyakumari, and Gujarat have large wind farms, and the National Institute of Wind Energy is in Chennai.
Hydro, biomass, geothermal and tidal energy
Hydropower uses the energy of water stored behind dams; in India projects up to 25 MW count as small hydro. Large dams such as Bhakra Nangal on the Sutlej, which Jawaharlal Nehru called a temple of modern India, give power and irrigation but displace people. Biogas (gobar gas), made by anaerobic bacteria from dung and plant waste in a digester, contains up to about 75 per cent methane and leaves slurry that is good manure; biofuels include ethanol from sugarcane molasses blended with petrol and biodiesel from oilseeds such as jatropha. Geothermal energy taps the Earth's internal heat at hot springs; Puga valley in Ladakh is India's most promising site. Tidal energy uses the rise and fall of tides through a barrage; India's potential lies in the Gulf of Kutch and Gulf of Khambhat in Gujarat and in the Sundarbans, and France's La Rance plant (1966) was the world's first major tidal power station. Ocean thermal energy conversion needs a temperature difference of at least 20 degrees Celsius between surface and deep water.
Nuclear power in India
Nuclear power plants produce heat by the fission of uranium-235 and use it to raise steam; they emit almost no carbon dioxide but leave radioactive waste. Homi J. Bhabha, the father of India's nuclear programme, led the Atomic Energy Commission set up in 1948, and the Department of Atomic Energy followed in 1954. Apsara at Trombay (1956) was Asia's first research reactor, and Tarapur in Maharashtra (1969) was India's first nuclear power station. Bhabha's three-stage programme uses pressurised heavy water reactors burning natural uranium, then fast breeder reactors using plutonium (the Fast Breeder Test Reactor at Kalpakkam started in 1985), and finally reactors using thorium, which India has in plenty in the monazite sands of the Kerala and Odisha coasts. Other plants are at Rawatbhata (Rajasthan), Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu), Narora (Uttar Pradesh), Kakrapar (Gujarat), Kaiga (Karnataka) and Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu). Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (1987) runs them, and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (1983) oversees safety.
Energy conservation
Saving energy is the cheapest new source of energy. The Energy Conservation Act 2001 led to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in 2002, which runs the star labelling programme (more stars mean a more efficient appliance), the Energy Conservation Building Code and the Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme for energy-intensive industries. The UJALA scheme of 2015 spread LED bulbs, and 14 December is National Energy Conservation Day.
Sustainable development and the SDGs
Sustainable development, as the Brundtland Report of 1987 defined it, meets present needs without harming the ability of future generations to meet theirs, balancing economic growth, social equity and environmental protection. The eight Millennium Development Goals (2000-2015) were followed by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 25 September 2015, with 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets to be met by 2030. Among them are Goal 1 (no poverty), Goal 2 (zero hunger), Goal 6 (clean water and sanitation), Goal 7 (affordable and clean energy), Goal 13 (climate action), Goal 14 (life below water) and Goal 15 (life on land).
Rainwater harvesting
Rainwater harvesting means catching rain where it falls, from rooftops and open ground, and either storing it in tanks or sending it into the ground through recharge pits, trenches and wells to raise the water table. Tamil Nadu was the first state to make rooftop rainwater harvesting compulsory for buildings. India has many traditional systems: khadins, kunds and tankas in the Thar desert, johads (small earthen check dams) in Rajasthan, kuls in Himachal Pradesh, zabo in Nagaland, eris (tanks) in Tamil Nadu and bamboo drip irrigation in Meghalaya. Rajendra Singh of the Tarun Bharat Sangh, called the Waterman of India, revived rivers such as the Arvari in Alwar district by building johads.
Key facts
- National Action Plan on Climate Change (2008) has eight missions; the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission began in 2010.
- International Solar Alliance: launched by India and France at Paris in 2015; headquarters Gurugram, Haryana. Cochin airport became the first fully solar-powered airport in 2015.
- Wind farms need steady winds above about 15 km/h; Muppandal near Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu) is a major wind area; National Institute of Wind Energy, Chennai.
- Biogas contains up to about 75 per cent methane; hydro projects up to 25 MW are small hydro in India; Puga valley (Ladakh) is the leading geothermal site.
- Tidal energy: Gulf of Kutch, Gulf of Khambhat and Sundarbans; La Rance (France, 1966) was the first major tidal power station; OTEC needs a difference of 20 degrees Celsius.
- Nuclear firsts: Atomic Energy Commission 1948, Apsara reactor 1956 (Asia's first), Tarapur 1969 (first nuclear power station), Fast Breeder Test Reactor at Kalpakkam 1985.
- Three-stage nuclear programme (Homi Bhabha): natural uranium in heavy water reactors, plutonium in fast breeders, then thorium from monazite sands.
- Energy Conservation Act 2001; Bureau of Energy Efficiency 2002 (star labels); UJALA LED scheme 2015; National Energy Conservation Day 14 December.
- SDGs: adopted 25 September 2015; 17 goals, 169 targets, deadline 2030; Goal 7 is clean energy, Goal 13 climate action, Goal 14 life below water, Goal 15 life on land.
- Traditional water harvesting: khadins, kunds and tankas (Thar), johads (Rajasthan), kuls (Himachal), zabo (Nagaland), eris (Tamil Nadu), bamboo drip (Meghalaya).
Quick revision
NAPCC 2008, eight missions; Solar Mission 2010; ISA 2015, Gurugram; wind needs over 15 km/h; small hydro up to 25 MW; biogas up to 75 per cent methane; Puga geothermal; La Rance 1966 tidal; AEC 1948, Apsara 1956, Tarapur 1969, FBTR 1985; three stages ending in thorium; BEE 2002; UJALA 2015; SDGs 25 September 2015, 17 goals, 169 targets, 2030; Tamil Nadu first to mandate rooftop harvesting.