Scenario of Renewable Energy Potential in India

Sagar N Patel1, Ishan P Joshi2, B.S.Pillai3

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Asst.Professor, Asso.Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Charotar Institute of
Technology, Changa, Anand-388421, Gujarat

1. Introduction
India’s energy demand is increasing with the robust growth in economy. A steady forecasted growth for
manufacturing sector would need more power generation in future. However, power generation through
fossil fuels raises serious concern over the depleting resources and environmental pollution. India has
signed the Kyoto Protocol under which it has to drive a clean development mechanism aimed at protecting
the environment by reducing carbon emissions. In light of this concern, renewable energy is a major option
in India. Renewable energy’s share in Indian energy mix is relatively small when compared to energy from
fossil fuels. Government is keen to promote the use of clean energy and have formulated policies and
incentives to attract investments from private and public sector companies. Thus the need is to identify
investment and technology transfer opportunities, current scenario, regulatory policies, technology maturity
and competition for different renewable energy technologies. The scope of this study is limited to use of
new and renewable ergy for electricity and transportation and following sectors have been examined in
detail:
o Wind Energy
o Solar Energy
o BioMass
2. Energy Scenario in India
The Indian economy has been growing at more than 8% since last 3 years. In spite of the expected
slowdown in the global economy the Indian GDP is likely to grow at about 7%. To grow at this rate one of
the major requirement is to have uninterrupted supply of energy. The primary use of the energy is for
electricity generation followed by fuel for transportation. An Indian consumer consumes 512Kg of oil
equivalent of energy for power, transportation, industrial and domestic applications in cities and rural
areas.
The major source of energy is coal and oil as specified in Figure 2. Coal, Oil, Gas, Hydro, Nuclear are the
different fuel sources contributing to energy mix in India. Coal and Oil dominate this energy mix but are
affected by the vagaries of supply & demand, international commitment, legal issues, environmental issues.
There is need to balance this energy mix and look for alternative sources of energy from long term
perspective. Government of India has a mission of “power for all” by 2012. Currently 44% of the 200
million Indian households do not use electricity and 75 million rural households still use kerosene for

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lighting. This means additional requirement of energy through grid interactive and distrusted/decentralized
sources.

. Source: Planning Commission of India

To meet the increasing energy demands, India will have to explore all the available energy options. It must
also take adequate steps to maximize the utilization of the existing sources by employing technology to
maximize energy efficiency, demand-side management and conservation. Currently renewable energy
constitutes a small fraction of the total energy basket but have good power generation potential, specifically
the hydro, wind, solar and biomass. They can complement the fossil fuels in the short term and can be
developed as sustainable sources of energy for longer term.
3. Renewable Energy Drivers and Potential
• There is a large scope for investments in solar energy sector and Government of India is taking all the
necessary measures to promote the solar energy generation in the country.
• Wind energy, the fastest growing renewable energy source, accounts for over 70% of the total installed
renewable energy generation capacity. A cumulative capacity of 10,891 MW has been set up so far (as
on October 31, 2009). This makes India as the fifth largest producer of wind energy in the world.
• 50,000 MW Hydro Initiative was launched by the government in 2003 as a part of the energy security
programme. Out of the proposed 162 projects, 77 projects totalling a capacity of about 37,000 MW
were undertaken. All these projects are likely to be operational by the end of 12th plan (2012-17).
• India has been able to utilise only around 35% of the potential of biomass energy and has a future
potential for almost 12 million biomass plants.
• The existing alliances and agreements between Indian and foreign players for various project activities
are bound to continue in the future. Besides, the growing prospects in this sector are also attracting new
players and this scenario is likely to tighten the competition in this sector.

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• Globally, India ranks 5th, in terms of exploitable hydro-potential and 4th in wind power generation.
Hence, there is a huge potential capacity ready to be explored in this sector by entities like
manufacturers and project consultants.
Table 1 : Cumulative achievements under different renewable energy programmes as on 30.06.2010
No. Sources / Systems Achievements Cumulative
during 2010-11 Achievements (upto
(upto 30.06.2010) 30.06.2010)
I. Power From Renewables

A. Grid-interactive renewable power

1. Biomass Power (Agro 45.50 MW 901.10 MW

residues)
2. Wind Power 202.73 MW 12009.48 MW
3. Small Hydro Power (up to 25 31.64 MW 2767.05 MW
MW)
4. Cogeneration-bagasse 67.50 MW 1411.53 MW
5. Waste to Energy 7.50 MW 72.46 MW
6. Solar Power 2.00 MW 12.28 MW
Total (in MW) 356.87 MW 17173.90 MW

B. Off-Grid/Distributed Renewable Power (including Captive/CHP Plants)

7 Biomass Power / Cogen.(non- 6.00 MW 238.17 MW

bagasse)
8. Biomass Gasifier 4.00 MWeq. 125.44 MWeq
9. Waste-to- Energy 6.00 MWeq. 52.72 MWeq
10. Solar PV Power Plants 0.0 MWp 2.92 MWp
11. Aero-Generators/Hybrid 0.0 MW 1.07 MW
Systems
Total 16.00 MWeq 420.32 MWeq

208 Villages &

II. Remote Village 6867 villages & Hamlets
Hamlets
Electrification

III. Decentralized Energy Systems

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 12. Family Type Biogas Plants 0.07 lakh 42.60 lakh

13. SPV Home Lighting System nos. 6,03,307 nos.

14. Solar Lantern nos. 7,97,344 nos.
15. SPV Street Lighting System nos. 1,19,634 nos.
16. SPV Pumps nos. 7,334 nos.
17. Solar Water Heating - 3.53 Mln. sq.m.
Collector Area

MWeq. = Megawatt equivalent; MW = Megawatt; kW = kilowatt; kWp = kilowatt peak; sq.

m. = square meter
Source: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has promoted the renewable energy by i) budgetary
support for research & development and demonstration of technologies ii) financial support through
various financial institutions iii) fiscal incentives, tax holidays, depreciation allowance and remunerative
returns for private sector for power fed into the grid through state nodal agencies ( e.g. Gujarat Energy
Development Agency ( GEDA) for state of Gujarat).

3.1 Renewable Energy in Gujarat

Gujarat has an installed capacity of 1240 MWMW wind power generation as on August 31 2007. Gujarat is
targeting to achieve 4000 MW by 2012 in/and around 57 potential sites that have a favorable wind speed of
19 to 25 Km per hour. State government intends to rationalize the incentive scheme for wind farms to
attract more private investments and to simplify procedure for allotting government waste land for above
purpose.
Large areas of the State have solar insolation of 5.8-6.0 Kwh per sq.mt. per day. Vast tracts of land in
Banaskantha, Kutch and Saurashtra are ideally suited for tapping solar energy both for generation of power
and green house. It is proposed to encourage setting up of suitable solar power stations in North Gujarat
and Kutch/Saurashtra. The organic urban waste generated in the urban areas can be used for generation of
energy. This will not only augment scarce energy resources but also go a long way in efficient disposal of
the urban waste. The State has a large coastline of 1600 Km. The tidal wave altitude in Gujarat in many
places reach nearly 6 mtrs. The technologies for the efficient use of tidal wave are at developmental stage.
4 Wind Energy
Today India is a major player in the global wind energy market. The potential is far from exhausted.
Indian Wind Energy Association has estimated that with the current level of technology, the ‘on-shore’
potential for utilization of wind energy for electricity generation is of the order of 65,000 MW. The
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unexploited resource availability has the potential to sustain the growth of wind energy sector in India in
the years to come.
Wind in India is influenced by the strong south-west summer monsoon, which starts in May-June, when
cool, humid air moves towards the land and the weaker north-east winter monsoon, which starts in
October, when cool, dry air moves towards the ocean. From March to August, the winds are uniformly
strong over the whole Indian Peninsula, except the eastern peninsular coast. Wind speeds during the period
November to march are relatively weak, though higher winds are available during a part of the period on
the Tamil Nadu coastline.
4.1 Current Wind Energy Projects
• A notable feature of the Indian programme has been the interest among private investors/developers in
setting up of commercial wind power projects. The gross potential is 48,561 MW (source MNES) and a
total of about 11807 MW of commercial projects have been established until March 31, 2010.

• Wind energy installed capacity in Gujarat in 2004-05 was only 51 MW. To promote clean and green
energy, the capacity was increased to 1864 MW as the per March 2010 figures. The break-up of
projects implemented in Gujarat and India are given in Table 2 : State-wise Wind Power Installed
Capacity in India.
Table 2: State-wise Wind Power Installed Capacity in India

State-wise Wind Power Installed Capacity In India

Gross Total Capacity (MW) till
State Potential 31.03.2010
(MW)
Andhra
8968 136
Pradesh
Gujarat 10,645 1864
Karnataka 11,531 1473
Kerala 1171 28
Madhya
1019 229
Pradesh
Maharashtra 4584 2078

Orissa 255 -
Rajasthan 4858 1088
Tamil Nadu 5530 4907

Others 4

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 Total
48,561 11807
(All India)
Source: Indian Wind Energy Association

5. Solar Energy
India has about 250 to 300 clear sunny days in most parts of the country. Annual solar energy received is
approximately 5,000 trillion kWh per year and the daily average solar energy incident varies from 4.6 -6.4
kWh per square meter. Gujarat has almost 300 days of clear Sun, have solar isolation of 5.8-6.0 Kwh per
sq.mt. Per day, conducive arid condition and minimal Sun tracking, making it an ideal place for solar
energy power plan.
Solar energy can be harnessed through two routes, namely solar photovoltaic and solar thermal, by direct
conversion to electricity and heat energy respectively. Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) technology enables the
direct conversion of solar radiation into electricity. A variety of SPV devices/systems have been developed
for centralized applications like streetlights/ garden lights, home lighting, lanterns, street lighting, stand-
alone SPV power plants, water pumping systems., road studs, blinkers, building integrated PV systems,
solar power packs. Solar Photovoltaic also has a potential for grid interactive power plants.

6. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to Electricity

Municipal solid waste (MSW) predominantly includes household waste and commercial wastes collected
by a municipality within a given area. They are in either solid or semisolid form and generally exclude
industrial hazardous wastes. Municipalities are responsible for collection, transport and final disposal.
As per 11th planning commission there are presently 4378 urban agglomerations and towns in the country
(of which 423 towns and cities have a population exceeding 100,000). Of these, there are 35 urban
agglomerates and cities with a population of over 1 million. Urban households generate 42 MMT/annum of
solid waste of about 0.115MMT/day and 6000 million cubic meters/annum of liquid waste.
Due to rapid and widespread development, not only state capitals but even many cities are already facing
the problem of dumping the huge quantum of MSW generated daily. All existing dumpsites are
supersaturated and hence scientific disposal has become vital. Along with managing the environmental
concerns energy in the form of biogas, heat or electricity is seen as a bonus, which improves the viability of
such projects. While incineration, RDF, biomethanation is the most common technologies, pyrolysis and
gasification are also emerging. The major benefits of recovery of energy from urban wastes are: is to bring
about :
• reduction in the quantity of waste by 60 % to 90%,

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• reduction in demand for landfill sites
• reduction in cost for transportation of wastes to far-away landfill sites,
• reduction in environmental pollution,
• Generation of substantial quality of energy.

The major benefits of recovery of energy from urban wastes is reduction in the quantity of waste by 60 %
to 90%, reduction in the demand for land as well as cost of transportation of wastes to far-away landfill
sites, and net reduction in environmental pollution, besides generation of substantial quantity of energy.
The National Programme on Energy Recovery from Urban and Industrial Wastes was launched in 1995-96
with the following objectives:
• creation of conducive ecosystem, financial and fiscal regime to promote, develop and demonstrate the
utilization of wastes for recovery of energy;
• improvement in the waste management practices through adoption of renewable energy technologies
for processing and treatment of wastes prior to disposal; and
• promotion of projects for recovery of energy from wastes from Urban and Industrial sectors.
• In 2000, the Ministry of Environment and Forests notified a new set of rules under the Municipal Solid
Waste Rules 2000 governing MSW collection, segregation, storage, transportation, processing and
disposal of municipal solid waste.
• Three demonstration projects, with subsidy from MNRE, for energy recovery from Municipal Solid
Wastes with an aggregate capacity of 17.6 MW were been installed at Hyderabad, Vijayawada and
Lucknow in collaboration with local urban bodies with limited success.
7. Concluding Remarks:
India is a nation in transition. Considered an "emerging economy," increasing GDP is driving the demand
for additional electrical energy, as well as transportation fuels. India is a nation of extremes. Poverty
remains in areas with no energy services, while wealth grows in the new business hubs.There exists
potential opportunities in the sector with the increasing demand-supply gap in the sector. The major
focused area is the exploration which can lead to the improved production ultimately contributing to bridge
the demand supply gap.
Coal fired generation currently provides two thirds of the generation capacity, and hydropower supplies the
other third. India is blessed with vast resources of renewable energy in solar, wind, biomass and small
hydro where the technical potential of these renewable exceeds the present installed generation capacity.

8. References

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1. Indian Wind Energy Association Retrived from http://www.inwea.org/
2. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. (n.d.). Retrieved August 2010, from www.mnre.gov.in/
3. Biomass Gasification based Generation Projects.
4. Gujarat Energy Development Agency. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.geda.org.in/.
5. Institute, T. E. Liquid Biofuels for Transportation: India country study on potential and implications for
sustainable agriculture and energy .