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5th September 2024, 18:34
BHPian
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Energy Independence - A story oregon a reality?
There is truthful overmuch speech contiguous astir vigor independency and specifically from India which is nett importer of energy. So I thought wherefore don't I bring fore the facts connected however India is placed this respect. How is India oregon different countries dealing with it.
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Energy dependence of India
Oil, state and ember are the 3 cardinal fuels of the satellite arsenic of today. Except Coal, India doesn't person the different 2 successful abundance to prolong its needs.
Crude OilOil is superior operator of proscription and manufacture successful India. We import the 87.7% of the crude that is needed to tally the country. The import measure was $132 cardinal for the twelvemonth 2023, acknowledgment to favourable planetary rates. The nett import was $108 billion. But the import quantity is expanding YoY. We are the world's 3rd largest importer of crude oil.
Country-wise Import Split - CIS (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia) and Middle-East countries were astir adjacent suppliers of crude to India for the twelvemonth 2023-24. So we person a dependency connected a constricted acceptable of countries to supply america lipid and planetary politics/wars bash interaction the supplies arsenic good arsenic the prices.
LNG
India uses state for cooking, powerfulness generation, fertilizer accumulation and concern use. In past 25 years with the advent of CNG vehicles, we person started utilizing it for proscription arsenic well. We are world's 4th largest importer of gas. We imported 46% of the state successful FY24. The import worth was $13.3 billion.
Country-wise Import Split - Majority of our state is imported from Qatar, United States and UAE. These 3 countries relationship for astir 70-80% of the import. So we person a dependency connected a constricted acceptable of countries to supply america state and planetary politics/wars bash interaction the supplies arsenic good arsenic the prices.
Coal
Coal is chiefly is utilized successful powerfulness procreation and dense industries successful India. India has world's 3rd largest reserves of Coal (Anthracite and Bituminous). India has unfastened import argumentation for ember which means an manufacture tin import ember if it meets their prime requirements oregon terms point. There are 15 imported ember powerfulness plants (privately owned) which are designed to tally connected imported ember only. The full depletion of ember for FY24 was 1258 MT and retired of this import was 261 MT. Imports are 20% of the full consumption.
Country-wise Import Split - Almost 70% of the ember is imported from Australia oregon Indonesia. There is lesser geopolitical hazard successful ember arsenic commodity arsenic we person abundant reserves.
Challenges owed to India's dependence connected lipid and gas
1. Country circumstantial imports - With lipid and state being monopolized by OPEC, India is astatine the mercy of these countries for supply. Recently India was capable to diversify proviso owed to Ukraine warfare but again state walks a choky enactment connected diplomatic relations to bash each this.2. Fuel pricing for extremity consumer is babelike connected unfastened marketplace rates but the authorities tally lipid selling companies effort to modulate the prices truthful arsenic to trim terms shocks for the extremity consumer. Govt tries to compensate OMC for the losses that hap owed to terms shocks. Examples - Ukraine war, Israel war, US sanctions connected Iran, US sanctions connected Venezuela.
3. The proviso of lipid and gas is babelike connected planetary routes. Uncertainty of proviso puts a batch of unit connected substance prices successful the country
Examples - Blockage of Suez canal, Ukraine War, Gulf war
4. Transportation of lipid and state - Oil oregon state arsenic commodity needs to question to scope the extremity consumer. For fuel, Oil needs to question to Indian larboard and past to refineries and from refineries it needs to spell to organisation hubs to beryllium sent to extremity consumer. For PNG/CNG, you tin physique pipelines and present it to doorway measurement oregon substance stations. For LPG, you prime it from refineries and nonstop it to bottling plants. All of this proscription itself needs fuel.
With the occupation stated, is determination a solution? A elemental reply is "yes". There are aggregate solutions and biggest solution of them is electrification. I volition reply the How?
Electrification1. Electricity tin beryllium generated from aggregate sources - Thermal (Coal), Wind, Solar, Hydro. The absorbing happening to enactment is that we are abundant successful each these sources. I cognize thermal is not cleanable energy but that not the thought here.
2. Electricity procreation is thing that tin beryllium democratized. An manufacture oregon commercialized constitution tin setup a star powerfulness works connected their extortion oregon a idiosyncratic location proprietor tin setup extortion apical solar. Residential Societies tin setup extortion apical solar. I cognize Solar is lone disposable successful time time. Read on!!
3. Electricity tin beryllium transmitted implicit agelong region and adjacent exported/imported. Example - Asean Power Grid and India's privation to link it - Link, India and Middle eastbound undersea powerfulness cablegram - Link, Australia and Singapore undersea powerfulness cablegram - Link
4. Electricity tin beryllium stored. Solar is disposable for circumstantial magnitude of clip and station that 1 has to trust connected different powerfulness sources. This is wherever BeSS tin assistance to store energy for disconnected star hours. BeSS tin supply grid stableness arsenic good erstwhile combined with a substation. BeSS tin replaced diesel generators which are utilized successful industrial, commercialized and residential establishments. Battery prices are falling making BeSS projects easier to instrumentality - Link (Electric Vehicles & India Power Generation Thread)
5. Possibility of micro grids - With Solar and BeSS combined, determination is anticipation of mounting up aforesaid sustaining villages. This was implemented successful Modhera, Gujarat - Link, Maligaon successful Odisha - Link
6. Electricity tin beryllium utilized for transport. Electric vehicles are the premier example. Railways is different large example.
Before radical speech astir powerfulness proviso and deficiency of it. We person been improving successful this space. We are not powerfulness surplus but we are adjacent to interruption even
Biomass
1. Biomass tin beryllium converted to marque greenish hydrogen. Recently a task was awarded to Gensol which volition person 25 tons of biomass to 1 ton greenish hydrogen - Link. Before you commencement reasoning present travel hydrogen cars, Hydrogen is simply a large request for fertilizers, refining and galore different industries. All these industries are being asked to determination to greenish hydrogen.
2. Biomass tin beryllium converted to biogas for commercialized room use - Recently Maruti Suzuki installed a 0.2 ton per time biogas works for usage successful plant's canteen and accumulation process - Link
Ethanol
1. Ethanol blending with petrol
- Government has dilatory expanding ethanol blending successful petrol - E10-E15. E20 is targeted for 2025. Ethanol is by merchandise of sweetener accumulation truthful we don't request to import it. India is adjacent investigating flex substance vehicles successful conjunction with Toyota - Link. I cognize a batch of aged vehicles are not compliant with E20 substance and request E10 fuel. There is simply a thread (Impact of 20% ethanol petrol connected existent petrol engines) to sermon thisHas immoderate state achieved vigor independence? Yes, it is Norway.
Let's spot what Norway has achieved. Majority of Norway's powerfulness comes from hydropower and thermal powerfulness is 1.5 % of the full accumulation for the twelvemonth 2023.This was not casual to execute arsenic they were mostly babelike connected hydropower, the powerfulness procreation fluctuated based connected rain. To code this, they deployed offshore upwind plants. Today, upwind caters for 10% of their powerfulness generation.
The result of each this, biggest request of fossil fuels successful a state similar Norway is heating of homes. The homes successful Norway are not heated by gas, they banned fossil substance based heating successful 2017. They achieved non fossil substance heating - Link
After achieving astir 100% greenish grid, determination was a large quality a fewer days backmost was that Norway achieved 94% EVs successful their caller car sales.- Link to the article.Today Norway exports astir of their state and lipid production. They are present looking astatine ways of converting caller motortruck income to electrical arsenic well.
Summary:
I cognize each of this is easier said than done. I volition summarize with pursuing points:
1. Energy information and independency is cardinal for the agelong word extremity of developed India.2. We person ne'er been the vigor providers of the world. We person an accidental to go 1 if we put and beforehand renewables and artillery manufacturing.
3. Clean situation and nett zero c footprint are the extremity end but the contiguous request is vigor independence.
4. Every attack has challenges and pitfalls but 1 needs to commencement somewhere
5. I cognize batteries are supplied by China but batteries are recyclable commodity. Hence lesser interaction of the import than lipid and gas. Also for 60 KW lithium artillery - 6 kg lithium is needed. Rest are worldly which we person disposable
6. As citizens, we indispensable lend to this extremity by adopting measures similar rooftop star successful our homes and businesses. Use electrical cooktops with rooftop solar. Societies tin besides beforehand star implementation successful their parking spaces oregon extortion top
Please note: This is simply a not governmental treatment connected govt policy. There are different dedicated thread for govt argumentation related to EV
Disclaimer: These presumption are my idiosyncratic sentiment and I americium not affiliated to immoderate govt oregon non govt organization.
