Building India's Energy Security

Photo by Waldemar Brandt: https://www.pexels.com/photo/rusty-oil-barrels-stacked-3151717/

The ongoing Israeli-US war with Iran has drawn attention to India’s energy vulnerabilities like never before. Though it has ensured a steady supply of petrol, diesel, and kerosene thanks to some smart buying and leveraging its goodwill with the Americans, Russians and even Iranians, the shortfall in the supply of LPG cylinders did cause more than a measure of panic among many households and small businesses, especially in the restaurant and catering segments.

​For all of India’s demographic, economic and military heft, the fact that it imports 89% of its oil and 60% of its gas requirements, respectively, makes the country strategically hamstrung. What makes the situation worse is the fact that most oil and gas producing regions are prone to political and military volatility. The Middle East has always been one of the most potentially unstable areas of the world, with myriad unresolved issues simmering across nations. In this context, the current closure of the Strait of Hormuz by the Iranian regime is a worst-nightmare- come-true scenario for the world oil economy.

If this wasn’t bad enough, the other major oil producer of the world, Russia, had already become a global pariah after its annexation of Crimea and the subsequent full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Buying oil from them attracts the risk of international sanctions and punitive tariffs in the Trumpian era. At the same time, diversifying one’s purchases and sourcing oil and gas from half a world away from the Americas does not seem to be a tenable long-term solution.

​With India meeting only about 15% of its oil requirements through domestic production which is less than the about 27%  in the case of China, its reliance on imports can prove to be its Achilles heel in the global geostrategic sweepstakes. Things are a lot better with regard to gas production, though, with India being able to meet 50% of its requirements via domestic production.

​India needs to work on building its energy security edifice so as to inure itself against global geostrategic pulls and pressures. If it is to achieve its destiny as a global power counted amongst the top three nations of the world, it needs to achieve 100 percent energy security like the US has.

​How to achieve 100% energy security?

​India can and should strive to achieve 100% energy security through a combination of measures. These include increasing domestic production of oil and gas by way of enhanced exploration, increased use of bio-fuels like ethanol and large-scale promotion of clean alternative sources of energy like solar, wind, thermal and green hydrogen. At the same time, nuclear energy should be turned to as a significant component of the Indian energy grid, as it is an efficient and relatively less polluting source of abundant energy. Given that India, like most large economies of the world, is committed towards drawing more and more energy from clean, renewable sources like wind and solar power, there should be enough provision of storing electricity to ensure a steady supply even when the sun has set or the wind is not blowing. A nationwide power inventory system needs to ensure that surplus power regions seamlessly transfer electricity to regions of deficit.

​Though India has abundant reserves of coal, which help it generate most of its electricity, transitioning to greener energy is in India’s interest, as climate change is a big issue impacting the nation’s future well-being. At the same time, the fact that these reserves exist acts as an effective hedge against any energy blackmail India might face in an era fraught with geopolitical tensions.

Given that a lot is set in store on battery power, especially in transportation, India should redouble its efforts to find new domestic sources of lithium and cobalt to help power this transition. Helping the nation achieve 100% energy security is a nation building activity in which the citizenry should be encouraged to build a stake. A great example of this is the rooftop solar installation drive, which allows lay people to contribute to the national security grid.

​100% energy security can be achieved by India if it gets into mission mode. This has something that has to be done if the long heralded India story is to finally see fruition.

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