ABSTRACT

Energy plays a pivotal role in the development of a region. Increasing dependency on fossil fuels has caused serious concerns at the local (energy dependency, pollution, etc.) and global (global warming, GHG emission, etc.) levels. Harvesting of energy depends on the availability of resources apart from the economic viability and technical feasibility of meeting the demand. The energy requirement of India is mainly supplied by coal and lignite (19378.24 PJ), followed by crude oil and petroleum products (18432.96 PJ) and electricity (7562.24 PJ).  However, energy consumption in rural India is largely dependent on non-conventional energy sources due to the availability, possibility of rapid extraction, and appropriate technologies. Globalization and consequent opening up of Indian markets has led to urbanization with the enhanced energy demand in the industrial and infrastructure sectors. The perishing stock of fossil fuel coupled with the growing concerns of climate change has necessitated the exploration of cost effective, environment friendly, and sustainable energy alternatives.
Renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind are emerging as viable alternatives to meet the growing energy demand of the burgeoning population. Strengthening of transmission and distribution network with the integration of local generating units (RE-based standalone units) would help in meeting the demand. Distributed generation (DG) with micro grids are required to minimize transmission and distribution (T and D) losses, and optimal harvesting of abundant local resources (such as solar, biofuel, etc.). The focus of the current communication are i) understanding the energy scenario in India; ii) sector- and source-wise energy demand with the scope for energy conservation; and iii) prospects of renewable energy with smart grids to meet the distributed energy demand while optimizing harvest of local energy sources.

Keywords: Indian energy scenario, sustainable energy, distributed generation, renewable energy, energy trajectory.