India’s Renewable Energy Potential Remains Untapped

India’s Renewable Energy Potential Remains Untapped

Darshan Goswami, Contributor
July 23, 2013

India has tremendous energy needs and an increasing difficulty in meeting those needs through traditional means of power generation. On July 30th and 31st, 2012 the world's largest blackout, The Great Indian Outage, stretching from New Delhi to Kolkata occurred. This blackout, due to failure of the northern power grid, caused nearly 700 million people — twice the population of the United States — to be without electricity.

A grid failure of such magnitude has thrown light onto India's massive demand for electricity, together with its struggle to generate as much power as it needs. India is aiming to expand its power-generation capacity by 44 percent over the next five years but recent problems indicate the scale of the challenge. Even before the blackout, in June of 2012, the country's power generation fell short by 5.8 percent when confronted with a peak-hour demand of 128 GW, according to Government data.

Electricity consumption in India has been increasing at one of the fastest rates in the world due to population growth and economic development. India’s economy faces increasing challenges because energy supply is struggling to keep pace with demand, and there are energy shortages (as much as 15 percent daily) almost everywhere in the country. Such chronic lack of energy and unreliable supplies threaten India’s economic growth.

So, what can India do to meet the future energy demands and help eliminate wide-ranging power outages in the future? The Government needs to make an assessment of how best to address the power needs to meet the future growth and prevent such massive power failures. India’s power blackout is an opportunity for developing sustainable energy solutions.

For economic as well as environmental reasons India needs to shift to non-polluting renewable sources of energy to meet future demand for electricity. Renewable energy is the most attractive investment because it will provide long-term economic growth for India. A favorable renewable energy policy could create millions of new jobs and an economic stimulus of at least US$1 trillion, and perhaps much more if all indirect economic (ripple) effects are included. "India is the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy sources and if properly utilized, India can realize its place in the world as a great power," Rifkin says.

New PV Module Encapsulation Materials Led By New Cell Types

New PV Module Encapsulation Materials Led By New Cell Types

James Montgomery
June 12, 2013

Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is a recipe of highly engineered materials and components, sandwiched with specific functions and working together to harness sunlight and convert it into electricity. One of those layers is the encapsulation film which protects the solar cell and ensures its performance and reliability; its role is to provide optical and electrical transmissivity and keep out moisture.

Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) has been the solar module encapsulant material of choice since the 1980s. It is as field-proven as any solar PV technology component.

EVA still commands the vast majority of solar module encapsulation today: it has a proven track record and is a low-cost option, notes Alison Bennett, global technology manager for PV encapsulants at DuPont. But the emergence of both thin-film and high-efficiency cells means a greater need for an alternative to EVA. As the market expands for more thin-film and higher-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells, so too will the usage of alternative encapsulant materials.

Time and technology march on, and EVA's shortcomings have been revealed after years of evaluation. Additive materials to improve EVA's crosslinking and adhesion properties can generate "free radicals" which contribute to physical deterioration and degradation of properties, starting with yellowing or discolouration. Among these is generation of acetic acid.

Top 12 Ways to Transform Biofuels Using Materials Already Around Us

Top 12 Ways to Transform Biofuels Using Materials Already Around Us

June 04, 2013
Jim Lane, Biofuels Digest Great ideas abound for new feedstocks and novel infrastructure. We admire so many of them: jatropha, carinata, switchgrass, sweet sorghum, blender pumps, systems-at-sea, and so much more.

But what about technologies that bolt-on a different processing unit, but keeps everything else the same. Or uses an abundant, odious and low cost feedstock?

That’s a frugal fuel. In these nefarious economic times, why not make do with what’s already in place?

Here are our Top 12 ways to transform biofuels using materials — usually waste by-products, or lower-value materials — already around us.

12. Glycerine

There’s a small market for glycerin as a building block material, but it has been overwhelmed by the supply coming from some biodiesel operators who have been producing a pure enough glycerine for sale into the industrial glycerin market — many biodiesel operators haven’t been able to produce it at sufficient purity and it has been distributed at very little value into the feed market, or even landfilled.

Then, along come numerous technologies aimed at converting glycerine from a low-value product into a high-value target material, such as isoprene (the main ingredient in synthetic rubber).

Wind Potential – All About the Data

Wind Potential – All About the Data
Amy Malloy 
May 22, 2013


When it comes to the deployment of wind power, data plays an important role in the design and operations of a wind farm. Is there enough wind? Where should the turbines be placed? How will the placement of turbines impact performance? Are the turbines in need of maintenance? Data collected from technologically advanced monitoring devices answers these questions. Data analysis helps to advance wind power as a renewable energy source.

Met Tower

The initial planning of a wind farm begins with selection of the proper location, not surprisingly, where wind resources are abundant. Wind resource assessment is the process by which a developer estimates future energy production from a wind farm. Research often begins with maps published by government agencies. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a desirable location will have an average wind speed of at least 9-10 mph. A preliminary site is then selected for on-site data collection. A meteorological tower (met tower) is installed to measure wind speed (with an anemometer), wind direction (using a weather vane), temperature, pressure, and relative humidity. Details, such as elevation and time of day, are factored in as well. Data from the met tower is collected for a minimum of about one year to determine the economic feasibility of a project.

India Releases Draft Offshore Wind Energy Policy

India Releases Draft Offshore Wind Energy Policy

Jeff Postelwait, Associate Editor, Electric Light & Power 

May 29, 2013

India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has released a draft national offshore wind energy policy for 2013. The draft policy was written with input from a steering committee on offshore wind energy. According to the draft, onshore wind energy has reached a stage of deployment that makes it competitive with traditional fossil fuel power generation. 

This level of cost competitiveness is thanks to supportive public policy that has, so far, not been extended to include offshore wind energy, according to the draft.

About 5 GW of offshore wind generation capacity is installed worldwide, with an equal amount in development or under construction. Top countries in the offshore wind market include the U.K., Belgium, The Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Germany. The E.U. set a goal of 40 GW in offshore wind capacity by 2020 and 150 GW by 2030.

PM: India to double renewable energy capacity by 2017

India's Prime Minister Vows to Double Renewable Energy Capacity 

By Jeff Postelwait, Associate Editor, Electric Light & Power |  April 18, 2013 

India will seek to double the amount of renewable energy it can generate to 55 GW in the next four years, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in his inaugural address. 

"It is proposed to double the renewable energy capacity in our country from 25,000 MW in 2012 to 55,000 MW by the year 2017. This would include exploiting non-conventional energy sources such as solar, wind power and energy from biomass," Singh said. 

These initiatives were announced as part of the prime minister's presentation of India's 12th Five Year Plan. 

Developed countries are the ones best poised to help meet the challenge of climate change, he said, adding that India has set a goal of cutting its energy use by 20 to 25 percent by 2020 by increasing its energy efficiency. 

Another measure the prime minister called for is an international research and development center for solar energy. This National Institute of Solar Energy could be operational by 2015, he said. Research into solar thermal and solar photovoltaic would be part of this initiative. 

The price of producing solar power was cut in half over the past two years, he said, going on to acknowledge that fossil-fired power generation, such as coal power, is still less expensive. The difference, he said could be made up for with subsidies. 

About 87.5 percent of India's electricity is generated from non-renewable sources. Coal constitutes 57 percent of India's installed capacity. 

In December 2011, over 300 million Indian citizens had no access to electricity — most of these residents are from rural areas. 

This article was originally published on Electric Light & Power and was republished with permission. 

Comment by Anumakonda Jagadeesh 

We,People involved in the Renewable Energy research and promotion welcome your statement, “India will seek to double the amount of renewable energy it can generate to 55 GW in the next four years”. 

Here is an action plan for India on Renewables: 

Biofuel and Biogas for Power Generation: 

Agave is a care – free growth plant which can be grown in millions of hectares of waste land and which produces Biofuel. Already Mexico is using it. Another Care free growth plant is Opuntia which generates Biogas. Biogas can be input to generate power through Biogas Generators. Biogas generators of MW size are available from China. Yet another option is Water Hyacinth for biogas. Water Hyacinth along with animal dung can produce biogas on a large scale and then power. In Kolleru lake in Godavari and Krishna Delta in Andhra Pradesh it is available in 308 Sq. Km for nearly 8 months in a year.