Global Energy Issues

There are two possible paths to provide energy services to the people:

1. The hard/unsustainable path continues with heavy reliance on unsustainable resources- fossil fuels and nuclear power. This leads to serious pollution problems and disposal problems of radioactive wastes.

2. The soft/sustainable path relies on energy efficiency and renewable resources to meet the regions energy requirement. This is a radical departure from what most energy planners in the region are considering. Local area planning with an emphasis on renewable sources of energy and improvement in end use efficiency ensures sustainable development.

The centralised planning approach is adopted currently for resource management and energy policy decisions. There is a need to move towards the softer path, to ensure sustainable development for the present and for the future.

Renewable energy ensures supply security and diversity, and unlike fossil fuels or nuclear power avoids exhausting the planet's resources and causing other negative environmental impacts and represent the sustainable way of producing and using energy. Renewable such as wind, geothermal, solar and farm grown energy crops contribute today less than 2% of global energy supplies. The World Energy Council (WEC) projects a total contribution from all the renewable energy sources in the range of 20 - 50 % of the world primary energy supply by the middle of the next century. Renewable energy (mainly bioenergy) currently provide nearly 14% of the total global energy needs, but use of bioenergy is not very satisfactory all over.

In the developing world wind, water, sun, waste and crops have begun to make significant contribution to meet heat and power needs. The renewables are likely to play an increasing role in coming years, largely because of their ability to help combat global warming and other environmental problem causing concern to the international community. A recent UN study concluded that, in certain circumstances, renewables could account for as much as 60% of the world’s market by the mid- 21^st century. This potential however depends on a number of factors such as stimulating a market, addressing the barriers to renewables’ deployment and raising awareness of the benefits and opportunities these clean energy sources offer.

The principle types of renewable energies available today are:

1. Biomass Energy
2. Hydro power
3. Wind power
4. Solar Energy
5. Municipal waste
6. Industrial waste
7. Wave energy
8. Tidal power
9. Geothermal heat

All the above renewables could make a major contribution to meet the present energy needs.

In response to the progress in renewable energy technologies all over the world, Government of India created the Department of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (DNES) in 1982, which later has been converted into full fledged Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES). Taking in to account the limitations of the conventional banking approach and to accelerate the momentum of development and large scale utilisation of renewable energy sources and primarily for promoting, developing and financing NRSE technologies, Indian Renewable Development Agency Limited (IREDA) was developed in March 1987. In its first decade of operation, IREDA committed financial assistance to the tune of US $ 397million for renewable energy projects.

Source: Ministry of Non-conventional energy sources.

Much of the estimated potential is yet to be tapped. Development of renewable energy needs proper planning strategies. Supply and service network is the backbone of success to any technology, which should taken into consideration while formulating policies for energy issues. Integrated approach in energy planning is the key for sustainable development. Many factors affect technology progress and use. The major being Government intervention in promotion and development.

Physical Progress of Renewable Energy Technologies in India(Cumulative Achievement up to September 1995)

*Figures are being firmed up (Source: MNES)