Renewable energy potential in India and future agenda of research

ABSTRACT

Demand of electrical energy is exponentially increasing causing environmental problems due to extensive use of fossil fuels. Hence, research has been promoted in renewable energy technologies to mitigate environmental pollution. Indian subcontinent is rich in renewable energy sources (RES). This paper describes potential of RES and region-wise installed capacity in India. Estimated potential of RES is 57 GW which is targeted to be 175 GW by 2022. A logical framework for our future research work has been presented. This includes performance optimisation of solar pumping system and reliability assessments of the designed system using reliability indices.

Abbreviation: RES: Renewable energy resources; SHP: small hydro plants; GOI: Government of India; MNRE: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; LHP: large hydropower; BCM: billion cubic metres; PEC: per-capita energy consumption; JNNSM: Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission; DNI: direct normal irradiance; SPV: solar photovoltaic; UMPP: ultra mega green solar power project; GIS: geographic information systems; WMS: wind monitoring stations; MPWL: Madhya Pradesh windfarms Ltd.; MIB: mat river basin; SWAT: Soil and Water Assessment Tool; ROR: run of river; SMS: short message service; CDM: clean development mechanism; NIOT: national institute of ocean technology; LOLP: loss of load probability; CSO: Central Statistics Office; CEA: Central Electricity Authority; TERI: The Energy and Resources Institute; WPI: Wind Power India; IEA: International Energy Agency; EAI: Energy Alternatives India; BKP: Biomass Knowledge Portal; IRENA: International Renewable Energy Agency; GAIN: Global Agricultural Information Network; NITI: National Institution for Transforming India; NIWE: National Institute of Wind Energy; UP: Uttar Pradesh; J&K: Jammu and Kashmir; HP: Himachal Pradesh; NR: northern region; MP: Madhya Pradesh; WR: western region; TN: Tamil Nadu; AP: Andhra Pradesh; SR: southern region; ER: eastern region; NER: north eastern region; A&N: Andaman & Nicobar     

Sustainable energy generation using hybrid energy system for remote hilly rural area in India

Hybrid energy systems are renewable energy system combined in a complementary fashion to ensure dependable power supply at competitive cost. Diesel generators (DGs) are also added here as a back-up source of supply. For remote areas far from a transmission grid, these systems can provide a reliable and cost-effective supply. Addition of DG could instigate environmental pollution in such remote unpolluted areas. In the present work, optimal sizing of hybrid energy system has been attempted for a remote village cluster of Uttarakhand (India) to make available desired power supply at minimum environmental effluence. Hybrid Optimization Model for Electrical Renewable (HOMER) software from National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA has been employed to attain the objective. The software offered several feasible systems, ranked on the basis of net present cost (NPC). All such systems are further analysed for emissions they have made in the environment. Hence, the optimal system fulfilling the criteria of minimal environmental degradation with sufficiently minimum NPC has been searched for. In the present work, the most appropriate system offered on the basis of NPC is the one which has five wind turbines (10 kW each), one DG (65 kW) and 25 batteries (6 V, 6.94 kW h each). The NPC of the system is $1,252,018, whereas its initial capital cost and levelised cost of energy (COE) are $94,233 and $0.292/kW h, respectively. After further analysis of all the feasible systems on the basis of environmental effluence, the most feasible system explored is the one which has minimal emissions of various pollutants such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxide. The system has been obtained on a compromised NPC of $1,270,921 with a capital cost of $148,133 and COE of $0.296/kW h. Components of the system include five wind turbines (10 kW), a 9 kW PV panel and a 65 kW DG along with 30 batteries (6 V, 6.94 kW h each). The system so obtained would prove to be a feasible, optimally sized and sustainable power supply alternative for remote unelectrified hilly rural area.     

The performance of solar powered desiccant dehumidifier in India: an experimental investigation

The regeneration and adsorption of desiccant wheel for producing the dry air was experimentally investigated. The air needed for regeneration was heated in an evacuated tube solar collector with surface area 4.44 m². The desiccant wheel is regenerated at the temperature in the range of 43.9–72.6°C. The regeneration and adsorption performances are affected by the regeneration temperature, wheel rotation, air flow rate (process and regeneration) and ambient conditions. By comparing the adsorption and regeneration performance at different air flow rate and constant rph, it was found that maximum adsorption and regeneration rates are obtained at air flow rate of 210.789 kg/h. Regeneration temperature directly affects the effectiveness of the desiccant wheel. Maximum desiccant wheel effectiveness of regeneration sector and adsorption sector is obtained at air flow rate of 105.394 kg/h. The regeneration performance of desiccant wheel with evacuated tube solar air collector is suitable for the Indian climate.     

Stand-alone hybrid energy system for sustainable development in rural India

Renewable energy system such as solar, wind, small hydro and biogas generators can be used successfully in rural off-grid locations where grid connection is not possible. The main objectives of this study are to examine which configuration is the most cost-effective for the village. One renewable energy model has been developed for supplying electric power for 124 rural households of an off-grid rural village in eastern India. The load demand of the village was determined by the survey work, and the loads were divided into three sub-heads such as primary load I, primary load II and deferred load. Locally available energy sources such as solar radiation and biogas derived from cow dung and kitchen wastes were used as sensitivity variables. This study is unique as it has not considered any diesel generator for supplying unmet electricity to the households; rather it completely depends on locally available renewable resources. Here in this paper, two different models were taken and their cost and environmental benefit were discussed and compared. The net present cost, levelised cost of energy and operating cost for various configurations of models were determined. The minimum cost of energy of $0.476/kWh with lowest net present cost of $386,971 and lowest operating cost ($21,025/year) was found with stand-alone solar–biogas hybrid system.     

Potential use of solar energy for waste activated sludge treatment

The use of solar energy as a disintegration unit operation for waste activated sludge was tested in a pilot plant. The effect of the treatment process on chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), settling time and filtration index was investigated in single (solar) and sequential processes (solar & biological). Solar oxidation was found to be a good sludge disintegration technology. Available solar photons were utilised to degrade the soluble organic matter and release the cell liquids. The highest COD and TSS removal efficiencies were obtained by the month of June. Sequential process efficiencies were related to accumulate solar photons, aerobic treatment time and operational condition. Sequential process resulted in COD and TSS removal efficiency of 16% and 13%, respectively. Increasing aerobic treatment time and/or mixing the oxidised sludge with fresh sludge improved COD and TSS removal efficiencies to 23% and 27%, respectively. The use of sequential processes improves the settling tendency of sludge by bio-oxidation of the released portions and eliminates protein charge effect on sludge settling.     

Validation of the CANDY model with Russian long-term experiments

The CANDY model has been qualitatively assessed for simulating long-term dynamics of soil organic carbon and tested against different long-term experiments representing various land uses and geographical sites, but never before against conditions of the Former Soviet Union (FSU). Our goal was to simulate long-term trends in soil organic carbon for the long-term experiments of Barybino (Moscow region, Russia), Grakov (Kharkow region, Ukraine) and Yachenka (Minsk region, Belarus) representing the predominant arable soil types, climate conditions and typical management strategies for the investigated arable areas. The fit of modelled results to the observed data was evaluated to assess the suitability of the model for further applications in the FSU. The crop parameters of the CANDY model had to be adapted to the low yields observed under the Russian site conditions resulting in a higher sensitivity to crop-derived carbon input as a function of yield. The results show that the approach of treating the organic carbon situated in micro pores as inert, is an applicable solution for simulating soil carbon dynamics under Russian conditions. This evaluation of CANDY, against long-term experiments from Russia, gives confidence for its wider application in this region.     

Sustainable cooking energy options for rural poor people in India: an empirical study

Currently, energy consumption for cooking in rural households of India is mostly based on fuelwood used in traditional stoves. This paper presents results of a study carried out in a forest fringe area of India on cooking energy use. The concept of calculating levelized cost as cost per unit of useful energy is applied on source–device combinations of cooking and validated in Bargaon Community Development Block of Sundergarh District in Odisha, India. About 92 % of the households in the study area use fuelwood as the only energy source for cooking; the total use of fuelwood for only cooking, in the Block is nearly 1.8 times the total sustainable wood supply showing an urgent need for promoting alternative cooking energy options. This paper also presents an assessment of different cooking options in terms of cost per unit of useful cooking energy. LPG, biogas and gasifier stoves are found to be far too expensive for the local people. Briquette-fired improved stoves appear to be a promising cooking energy option in the study area. Government support and intervention are recommended for promoting this option.     

Forecasting energy demand of China using Bayesian Combination model

To analyze the impact of the related economic factors on China's energy demand, Path analysis is used to analyze the major factors and their direct and indirect effects on energy demand. This study showed that the main factors that affect the energy demand are the economic growth, the total population, and the primary energy structure, the economic growth is the main determining factor, and the primary energy structure is the major restrictive factor. On this basis and considering the multicollinearity and the validity of the forecast, we established a partial least-square (PLS) and the trend extrapolation prediction model, and then we sum up all the information to found a PLS—trend extrapolation combination forecasting model based on the optimized combining forecast theory. Finally, we obtain the probability distribution of the error using the Bayesian statistic theory and find the confidence interval of combining forecasting result. The results indicate that the outcome of combining forecasting will be more precise after using the Bayesian error correction approach.     

Suitable gamma energy for gamma-spectrometric determination of U in surface soil samples of a high rainfall area in India

The paper presents a systematic study on suitability of various gamma lines for monitoring of ²³⁸U activity in soil samples around a uranium mineralized zone of Kylleng Pyndengsohiong Mawthabah (Domiasiat), Meghalaya in India. The area lies in a plateau region which recieves the highest average annual rainfall (12,000 mm) in the world. The geochemical behaviour of the uranium and its daughter products at such wet climatic conditions imposes restrictions to assess ²³⁸U through gamma lines of radon decay products. Soil samples were collected from nine locations around the uranium mineralization zone for analysis. The ratio of the concentration of uranium obtained from gamma energies of radium daughter products to the 63.29 keV of ²³⁴Th was found to vary from 1.01 to 2.07, which indicates a pronounced disequilibrium between uranium and radium daughters. The results obtained from various gamma energies were validated from the data generated by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) technique. The ²³⁸U activities from the two analytical methods show a well fitted regression line with correlation coefficient 0.99 which validates the reliability of 63.29 keV energy for estimation of uranium in such conditions.     

Prediction of primary energy demand in China based on AGAEDE optimal model

In this article,we present an application of Adaptive Genetic Algorithm Energy Demand Estimation(AGAEDE) optimal model to improve the efficiency of energy demand prediction.The coefficients of the two forms of the model(both linear and quadratic) are optimized by AGA using factors,such as GDP,population,urbanization rate,and RD inputs together with energy consumption structure,that affect demand.Since the spurious regression phenomenon occurs for a wide range of time series analysis in econometrics,we also discuss this problem for the current artificial intelligence model.The simulation results show that the proposed model is more accurate and reliable compared with other existing methods and the China's energy demand will be 5.23 billion TCE in 2020 according to the average results of the AGAEDE optimal model.Further discussion illustrates that there will be great pressure for China to fulfill the planned goal of controlling energy demand set in the National Energy Demand Project(2014—2020).     

Performance analysis of solar water heating system in Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Southern region of India

In the present study, a natural circulation thermosyphon flat plate solar water heater has been tested at the CDFD, Hyderabad (17.37°N, 78.43°E) Andhra Pradesh, India. Experimental data were noted on a sunny day. Dynamic response of the system to variations in solar insulation was studied and analyzed. T _inlet °C and T _outlet °C temperatures were recorded. The performance of the system can be improved by using aluminum tape inserts into the collector fins. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the performance of flat plate collector with and without inserts (aluminum strip of 1 mm thick, 3 mm width and 203 mm length). It is expected that with the same collector with the same flow rate, higher efficiency can be obtained by inserting the tapes inside the collector copper fins (9 mm). Thus, the cost of the system can be further bringing down by enhancing the collector efficiency.     

Sustainable building technology: thermal control of solar energy to cool and heat the building naturally

Environment, Development and Sustainability - A sustainable building design technology is being proposed to heat and cool inside the building naturally by using exterior curtain wall to control the...     

Case study of augmenting livelihood of fishing community at Sagar Island,India, through solar thermal dryer technology

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Drying of fish at the Sagar Island (21.7269° N, 88.1096° E) is generally carried out in open sun on the seashore on plastic sheets or mat of...     

Analysis of the energy demand of the Chilean mining industry and its coverage with solar thermal technologies

The mining industry represents more than half of Chile’s foreign exchange earnings and its increasing expansion will demand a continuous development of its energy supplies. Mostly, all the mines in Chile are located in the desert regions, having a large surface with one of the highest solar radiations levels and clearest skies in the world. Covering the mining industry’s energy demand with solar energy is thus an obvious and promising approach. In this paper, the implementation of solar thermal heating is studied in every mining process and the solar thermal electricity generation for the entire mine demand is considered as well. The work concludes that the installation of flat plate collectors to heat water for mine processes, especially for electrowinning, is strongly recommended. Additionally, the installation of solar thermal power plants can satisfy the mining electricity demand.     

Heterogenous impacts of components in urban energy metabolism: evidences from gravity model

Environment, Development and Sustainability - The undergoing rapid urbanization is bringing dramatic economic development and social improvement for cities, but also a series of problems associated...     

Research priorities for managing the impacts and dependencies of business upon food,energy, water and the environment

Delivering access to sufficient food, energy and water resources to ensure human wellbeing is a major concern for governments worldwide. However, it is crucial to account for the ‘nexus’ of interactions between these natural resources and the consequent implications for human wellbeing. The private sector has a critical role in driving positive change towards more sustainable nexus management and could reap considerable benefits from collaboration with researchers to devise solutions to some of the foremost sustainability challenges of today. Yet opportunities are missed because the private sector is rarely involved in the formulation of deliverable research priorities. We convened senior research scientists and influential business leaders to collaboratively identify the top forty questions that, if answered, would best help companies understand and manage their food-energy-water-environment nexus dependencies and impacts. Codification of the top order nexus themes highlighted research priorities around development of pragmatic yet credible tools that allow businesses to incorporate nexus interactions into their decision-making; demonstration of the business case for more sustainable nexus management; identification of the most effective levers for behaviour change; and understanding incentives or circumstances that allow individuals and businesses to take a leadership stance. Greater investment in the complex but productive relations between the private sector and research community will create deeper and more meaningful collaboration and cooperation.     

Regulation of nuclear radiation exposures in India

India has a long-term program of wide spread applications of nuclear radiations and radioactive sources for peaceful applications in medicine, industry, agriculture and research and is already having several thousand places in the country where such sources are being routinely used. These places are mostly outside the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) installations. DAE supplies such sources. The most important application of nuclear energy in DAE is in electricity generation through nuclear power plants. Fourteen such plants are operating and many new plants are at various stages of construction. In view of the above mentioned wide spread applications, Indian parliament through an Act, called Atomic Energy Act, 1964 created an autonomous body called Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) with comprehensive authority and powers. This Board issues codes, guides, manuals, etc., to regulate such installations so as to ensure safe use of such sources and personnel engaged in such installations and environment receives radiation exposures within the upper bounds prescribed by them. Periodic reports are submitted to AERB to demonstrate compliance of its directives. Health, Safety and Environment Group of Bhabha Atomic Research Centres, Mumbai carries out necessary surveillance and monitoring of all installations of the DAE on a routine basis and also periodic inspections of other installations using radiation sources. Some of the nuclear fuel cycle plants like nuclear power plants and fuel reprocessing involve large radioactive source inventories and have potential of accidental release of radioactivity into the environment, an Environmental Surveillance Laboratory (ESL) is set up at each such site much before the facility goes into operation. These ESL's collect baseline data and monitor the environment throughout the life of the facilities including the decommissioning stage. The data is provided to AERB and is available to members of the public. In addition, a multi-tier system of AERB permissions is in place to ensure that all aspects of safety have been considered before permission to operate is granted. The stages where permission of AERB is essential are site selection, design data, and several stages during construction and operation. The details required by AERB include provision for treatment and storage of radioactive waste, de-commissioning procedures and provision of costs. In addition to AERB, nuclear power plants have to comply with the requirements of Ministry of Environment and Forests and get their clearance. This is given on the basis of Environmental Impact Assessment Report which should satisfy the authorities that no ecological damage will be caused and the facility will not have adverse effect on the environment. In addition, the State Pollution Control Board where the facility is to be located has to permit the site of the plant for its proposed discharges into the environment. It is largely due to the above comprehensive regulatory controls that none of the plants in India had any accident during the last 34 decades of operation. The type of measurements carried out by the ESL's and results from a few typical ESL's will be presented.     

Some problems arising in analysis of large-scale animal irradiation experiments

This paper describes some of the problems that occur in experiments designed particularly to study the effects of irradiation. One of the purposes of such experiments is to provide data that allow an informed judgment on estimates of the risks for man after exposure to radiation.It is no trivial matter to establish whether exposure to agents, such as radiation, increases the probability of a tumor arising de novo or whether the effect is an advancement of the time of appearance of naturally occurring tumors. In many murine tumors, the problem of establishing which of these two possibilities is the case is increased by the high natural incidence. In order to interpret the data from carcinogenesis experiments, a knowledge of the natural history of the tumor of interest is necessary. In this paper we present data that help to elucidate the biology of lung tumors in hybrid B6CF₁/An1 mice.The rising incidence of many tumors late in life raises the question of whether a common systemic factor is involved. In experiments with female mice, relatively low doses of radiation may sterilize the ovary with subsequent hormonal imbalances that in turn may influence the appearance of tumors in a number of hormone-influenced tissues. We have found that radiation may increase not only the age-specific rates of tumors but also the probability of the number of different tumor types.The possibility of a lack of independence of the occurrences of different tumors complicates the data analysis. To answer some of the questions we have raised, it would be of considerable help to have data on the prevalence of tumors; however, such data usually involve serial killing which is costly. We have examined the possibility of obtaining prevalence data for lung tumors by the determination of the incidence of lung tumors in mice dying from causes other than lung tumors. There appears to be no difference in the prevalence of lung tumors determined by using either this approach or serial killing.