Energy Security through New & Renewable Energy Sources

Energy Security through New & Renewable Energy Sources

In view of the growing acceptance of the human cause of Global Climatic Change, and severity of Global Warming the comity of Nations have realized the need for developing new and renewable energy sources (NREs). The recently published report by the Select Committee on Economic Affairs, House of Lords, UK, and the subsequent Stern Review final report on Economics of Climate Change have provided enough reason for the governments around the world to invest wisely in new and renewable energy sources. In this background it is relevant to review how our own society has been viewing the reality of new and renewable energy sources.

In the background of the ever growing concerns on the fast depleting fossil fuels, and the huge political, economical and environmental issues associated with the nuclear energy, the role of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sources (MNRE) becomes all the more evident. But, in the opinion of many industry experts, the policies of the govt. in this regard is leaving much to be desired. I can see two main problems in this regard:

1. When we talk of new and renewable energy sources, most agencies including the govt., seem to consider those sources largely from the point of view of grid connectivity. It is very unfortunate that our society has not yet objectively considered how crucial the NRES could be as distributed electricity generation sources of millions of homes, offices, schools, street lights, agricultural pump sets etc. Such sources can bring down the demand on the state /regional /national electricity grid by a huge margin. Conservative estimates indicate that by optimal deployment of NRES, the load on the electricity grid can b