CATEGORIES
Air Pollution In India: Major Issues And Challenges
As per a study published in The Lancet Planetary Health Journal, in 2019, air pollution ‘caused more than 16.7 lakh deaths in India — over ten times more than the country’s COVID-19 death toll so far’. In this thought-provoking article, Dr Bhola Ram Gurjar foregrounds the challenges India is currently facing to bring the level of air quality to a certain standard and discusses solutions that could be adopted to combat the national crisis.
RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
Molten Salt Tower echnology for India
Power generation is the backbone of India’s solar sector. Sheela K Ramasesha highlights the merits of considering the solar molten salt tower technology in the country’s power mix to achieve a quicker and more efficient way of power production.
LPG ADOPTION BY RURAL HOUSEHOLDS: Financial Instrument to Push Refills
One of the major health hazards in India stems from household air pollution. The use of the traditional cooking stove, called chulha, involves burning of biomass, thereby releasing smoke that is a leading cause of illness and death. In this article, Debajit Palit, Martand Shardul, and Deborshi Brahmachari discuss the advantages of replacing biomass stoves with LPG and recommend an innovative financial instrument for increasing the uptake of LPG refills by rural households
JAPAN ENERGY FIRM INPEX SETS 2050 NET-ZERO EMISSION GOAL
Inpex Corp, Japan’s biggest oil and gas producer, said it is targeting net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 through the expansion of renewable and hydrogen energy as well as the use of carbon capture technology.
INDIA TO WITNESS FASTEST RISE IN ENERGY DEMAND BY 2040: IEA
In a report titled, ‘The India Energy Outlook 2021’, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said, the rapid expansion of solar power combined with favourable policies is transforming India’s electricity sector, allowing the country to offer clean, affordable, and reliable power to a growing number of households and businesses.
EMISSIONS CONTROL IN THERMAL POWER STATIONS: A Long Road to Cross
In this article, Raghav Pachouri brings out the current situation and the challenges confronting us regarding emissions control in thermal power stations (TPSs) in India. While analysing the impact of the power sector on air pollution levels, he highlights the current status of compliance in India (especially Delhi-NCR and critically polluted areas) till June 2020 after revised emission norms for TPSs came into effect on December 7, 2015. He also dwells on the major roadblocks in the timely compliance of emission norms and also offers a few solutions.
Managing Air pollution From Crop Burning
The perils of crop-residue burning contribute to major environmental degradation. In this article, TCA Avni and Sunil Dhingra discuss how the practice of stubble burning is responsible for poor air quality and loss of agricultural biodiversity. They highlight the importance of managing paddy residue and offer sustainable solutions, incentives, and alternatives to crop burning.
GOVERNMENT EXTENDS TENURE OF CENTRAL ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION CHIEF, MEMBERS TILL NEXT YEAR
The government has issued order for extension of the tenure of former Gujarat cadre bureaucrat Pradeep Kumar Pujari as chairperson of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) till mid-next year.
CHINA SET TO ADD 140 GW RENEWABLE ENERGY CAPACITY IN 2021
China is expected to add 140 GW of renewable energy power generation this year as its electricity consumption continues to grow, according to forecasts from the China Electricity Council (CEC).
Flood Early Warning System For Guwahati
In this article, Prasoon Singh, Dhriti Pathak, and Saurabh Bhardwaj say that flood early warning systems that can predict the flood hotspots of the city based on information regarding the rainfall intensity and duration can be a major boost towards enhancing the resilience of flood-prone cities such as Guwahati. They also inform us that TERI in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has recently launched a Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) for Guwahati.
Energy System Vulnerability To Climatic Shocks
Cyclone Sidr had hit Bangladesh on November 15, 2007 and caused the deaths of around 3400 people. The cyclone also led to one of the largest blackouts ever recorded. Such events underline not only the vulnerability of densely populated coastal areas to natural shocks but also more specifically the vulnerability of key lifeline infrastructure. In this article, Jun Rentschler and Omotola Adeoye summarize existing data sources and research to illustrate the vulnerability of power systems to natural shocks.
STRENGTHENING DISASTER RESILIENCE OF THE POWER SECTOR IN INDIA
Electricity services are one of the most needed services in the present world. A natural hazard event not only causes direct physical damage but also disrupts electricity services along with various indirect damages. The severity and intensity of extreme weather events are increasing in India. In this article, Ranit Chatterjee and Lalatendu Keshari Das focus on building resiliency into the power infrastructure in India.
Enhancing Resilience Through Early Warning Systems: An Approach to Disaster Risk Reduction
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), organized a webinar on the launch of a flood early warning system (FEWS) on August 13, 2020.
DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN HYDROELECTRIC POWER PROJECTS
Power sector is vital because economic growth of a nation depends on it. The hydropower projects face both natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, and cyclones and man-made disasters such as bomb explosion, fires, and terrorist attacks. Such disasters result in extensive damage to infrastructure and cause loss of lives and disruption of electric supply. In this article, Shambhu Ratan Awasthi and Deepak Joshi discuss disaster management in power sector.
RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
Researchers have developed a computational model that helps users understand how changes in the nanostructure of materials affect their conductivity – with the goal of informing the development of new energy storage devices for a wide range of electronics.
Sustainable Thermal Comfort in Buildings Through Prioritizing Occupant Needs
A major reason for the poor satisfaction with thermal environment is the lack of individual and personal control over the environment. Building environment control systems can be designed by incorporating personalized control systems for greater satisfaction at much less energy consumption. In this article, Asit Kumar Mishra and M Ramgopal present a simple three-level approach that can achieve this goal and lead to a sustainable thermal comfort system.
Solar Powered Mobile Water Purifiers
Various methods exist for the purification of water. The lack of fuel use has made the solar energy application relatively superior than the conventional sources of energy for water purification as it does not cause various types of pollution effects. Suram Singh Verma, in this article, talks about solar powered water purifiers and elaborate on their advantages and challenges.
UN CHIEF SEEKS END TO FINANCING OF COAL TO SMOOTH CLEAN ENERGY SHIFT
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged countries to stop financing for coal and commit not to build new coal-fired power plants to enable a shift to clean energy.
MAKING COLD CHAINS COST-EFFECTIVE
The loss of food produced happens differently in developed and developing countries. In developing countries like India, much of the food loss occurs at the beginning of the chain. This can be attributed to poor storage, cooling, and transport infrastructure. In this article, JofiJoseph discusses the obstacles to penetration of cold chain in rural India and the implementation of a cost-effective cold chain from the farm to the fork.
BP TO INVEST USD 70 MILLION IN INDIA'S GREEN GROWTH EQUITY FUND
UK’s energy major BP will invest $70 million in the Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF) with an aim to rapidly scale up commercially viable low carbon solutions, the company said in a statement.
MEETING COOLING DEMAND SUSTAINABLY
India is expected to have the highest cooling demand by 2050. The next 20 years will also see a massive increase in the building stock. Atul Bagai, in conversation with TCA Avni for Energy Future, talks about the major challenges that will need to be addressed through innovations such as passive cooling, renewable energy, and related new technologies.
GREEN ENERGY AND GRID INTEGRATION - Potential and Economic Viability in India
As the costs of renewable technologies have come down, renewable markets are slowly evolving to become viable alternatives to the conventional energy. Governments across the world are reconsidering the economics of renewable energy and increasingly accommodating renewables into the complex equations of public policy. Shreya Shekhar, in this article, examines the renewable energy in countries that have been early movers in the market and then considers the Indian context to discuss potential and problems.
COOLING INDIA WITH ENERGY EFFICIENT SOLUTIONS
With rapid urbanization and a growing population, there is a demand for sustainable, clean, and energy efficient cooling solutions. Access to cooling has become a development need and an equality issue. The interplay of a variety of factors is important to understand in order to encourage energy efficiency in cooling. In this article, Ritika Jain talks about suitable solutions for clean and energy efficient cooling in India.
ACCELERATING THE TRANSITION TO EFFICIENT COOLING
The impact of climate change is manifesting itself in increasingly erratic weather patterns. Increasing focus has been placed on cooling and promoting sustainable cooling at affordable cost. There is a growing recognition that access to sustainable cooling is a necessity in a warming world. The growing demand for cooling will increase global warming. In this article, Manjeet Singh and Vasudevan Rangarajan examine how a transition to climate-friendly and energy-efficient cooling would avoid emissions and allow an increase in cooling access that would contribute substantially to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Coronavirus And Climate: Australia's Chance To Shift To Green Energy
The COVID-19 pandemic is a “huge opportunity” to fast-track Australia’s shift towards more renewable energy, climate scientists have told the BBC.
Coronavirus Crisis Hits Solar And Wind Energy Industry
Swinerton Renewable Energy had everything it needed to build a promising new solar farm in Texas. It lined up more than 2000 acres for the $109 million project estimated to generate 400 jobs while under construction.
RENEWABLE POWER SURGES AS PANDEMIC SCRAMBLES GLOBAL ENERGY OUTLOOK, NEW REPORT FINDS
The pandemic-induced global economic meltdown has triggered a drop in energy demand and related carbon emissions that could transform how the world gets its energy – even after the disease wanes, according to a report released today by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
RAPIDLY CHANGING ENERGY LANDSCAPE
Energy is an essential factor in the effort to achieve sustainable development. India has taken significant steps to enhance its energy security. It is investing in a variety of measures, such as increasing the capacity of renewable energy in the energy mix, increasing efficiency of energy utilization, and ensuring universal access to electricity and clean cooking fuels. Rajnath Ram, NITI Aayog, in conversation with TCA Avni for Energy Future talks about the role technology will play in energy transitions, the challenges for the renewable energy sector, and the role of NITI Aayog in the changing energy landscape.
CORONAVIRUS WAKE UP CALL FOR SOLAR INDUSTRY, NEED TO SET UP MORE MANUFACTURING FACILITIES IN INDIA
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a wake-up call for the domestic solar industry as it is heavily dependent on imports, but domestic manufacturing can be sustained only if there is profitability, a senior official of Tata Power Solar said.