Need to address problems arising out of Carbon dioxide emission: Suresh Prabhu

Photo: Motherboard

[Editor: Assured of government’s backing, the Indian wind power industry has ended ending the year, 2014 on a high note. India has taken nearly a quarter century to create wind power capacity of 22,200 MW. But now, Power Minister Piyush Goyal wants the industry to ramp up installations, so that the capacity additions in 2018-19 are 10,000 MW. The most the industry added in any year was 3,168 MW in 2011-12. The government has been supporting the renewable energy sector: (i) the grant of the industry’s long-standing request for restoring the tax-saving ‘accelerated depreciation’ duty, and (ii) exemption from 4 per cent special additional duty on imported components for wind turbines. Moreover, according to some media reports, on the works there is a proposal to impose a ‘renewable generation obligation’ that will force companies putting up coal or lignite based thermal power plants to create an additional 10 per cent of their project capacities as renewable energy plants. This is expected to give that ‘extra push’, as cash-rich public sector companies such as NTPC, NLC and DVC might quickly come up with large wind (or solar) projects. Having given the industry all it wanted, the government is now gesturing: “go, do it”. In 2014-15, India will see wind power capacity additions between 2,000 MW and 2,500 MW, roughly the same as last year. Meanwhile, Motherboard, wrote on 13 October, 2014: 

A leaked report shows that wind is the hands-down cheapest energy source in Europe, beating the presumably dirt-cheap coal and gas by a mile. Conventional wisdom holds that clean energy is more expensive than its fossil-fueled counterparts; politicians who oppose incentives for solar and wind routinely point to their cost as an omnipresent hurdle. Yet truly honest cost comparisons show that renewable energy sources are often cheaper than their carbon-heavy competition. The report, which was prepared for the European Commission, shows as much: it demonstrates that if you were to take into account mining, pollution, and adverse health impacts of coal and gas, wind power would be the cheapest source of energy, period] 

New Delhi | January 20, 2015: Union Minister of Railways, Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu on Tuesday said it was imperative that problems and challenges arising out of carbon dioxide emissions are addressed approximately.

The Minister released a book "Carbon Capture, Storage and Utilization (CCSU)" which deals with the issue of mitigating climate change concerns arising out of emission of carbon dioxide in atmosphere.

It is a collection of papers prepared by eminent authors. R.V. Shahi is the Former Power Secretary, Govt. of India, Malti Goel, Former Advisor in the Ministry of Science and Technology, and M. Sudhakar, Advisor/Scientist, Ministry of Earth Sciences.

Prabhu said that the Ministry of Railways is the biggest consumer of energy in the country. While it mostly uses electricity and diesel but now using alternate sources of energy like wind, solar, CNG and Bio fuels.

Referring to the energy scenario in the country, he said that while India is making vigorous efforts to use alternate sources of energy like solar energy, wind geo thermal, bio fuels but our dependence on fossil fuel will continue for many years.

Global efforts in this direction, particularly during last ten years, have raised some optimism that in coming years Carbon Capture and Storage could become a reality and very soon thereafter could even become cost effective. All efforts have to be mobilized to see that these technologies become relevant for developing economies to adapt.

It should be the responsibility of developed economies to share the findings of various researches, so that these become affordable for developing economies. Indian Industry and Research Institutions have also to do and contribute much more than they have been doing so far.

Courtesy: Webindia123.com