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| Photo by Pok Rie: https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-metal-current-posts-157827/ |
India is
the third highest consumer of energy after China and the United States
consuming 36.44 exajoules to 159.39 exajoules and 95.91 exajoules consumed by
the latter respectively.[1]
Securing the growing energy needs of this vast land is of prime importance if
India is to reach its desired position amongst the top few nations of the
world, as befits its size, history and aspirations. This is challenging in the
best of times, but especially in the new global scenario which is seeing the
rapid melting down of old certainties.
With the US
retreating into itself and no longer desiring to be the global guarantor of the
painstakingly created global world order and the emergence of a belligerent and
expansionist China hell-bent on imposing its own version of a global world
order dominated by them, India has its task cut out in charting an economic and
foreign policy that best suits its interests. Diversifying its energy sources
has to be at the top of its priorities.
India at
present imports 85% of its oil, largely from the Middle East and Russia-regions
that are fraught with geo-political tensions, including ongoing wars. That
India is not immune from strife that afflicts other regions is clear from the
West’s attempts to stop India from buying Russian oil and more recently the
attack on a vessel off the coast of the Indian state of Gujarat carrying crude
oil to India.
India needs
to take a cue from the United States which is no longer an importer of oil and
is totally energy independent, thanks in no small measure to the shale
revolution witnessed by the country. As a matter of fact, the US is now a net
oil exporter. While replicating that might seem like a tall order, nothing is
impossible if one thinks through a plan that becomes a national priority. India
was an importer of food grain in the 1960s and didn’t grow enough to meet the
requirements of its people. All of that changed with the Green Revolution and
today India is a food surplus nation that exports grain-a far cry from the days
it had to receive grain in the shape of aid.
It is time
that the nation made energy self-sufficiency a national priority. The first
step in such a mission would be to diversify the sources of energy. The Indian
government for its part has launched an ambitious energy security strategy
which involves substantially increasing the use of petrol blended with ethanol,
looking at alternative sources of energy, striving for a gas-based economy and
promoting the use of green hydrogen.[2]
There is
some potential of India exploiting its shale resources to obtain oil, but the
activity should be carried out with due caution after taking into account ant
environmental concerns that might arise on account of it. Solar energy on the
other hand is as clean a source of energy as it possibly can get. Besides,
India gets a lot of sun, unlike many other countries in the Northern Hemisphere
that do not. According to the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), India
boasts a solar energy potential of 748 GW, if one were to assume 3% of waste
land could be utilized for installing Solar PV modules.[3]
The other important source of clean renewable energy has a lot going for it
too. India already ranks fourth after China, the United States and Germany in
terms of installed wind capacity at 42.8 GW (on-shore) as of April of 2023.
Furthermore, the National Institute of Wind Energy has estimated that India has
a wind power potential of around 695.5 GW at 120 metres above ground level and
1164 GW metres above ground level.[4]
As for
green hydrogen, it may not be a very viable source of energy at present owing
to its high cost of production at $3.6 to $5.8 a kg, bringing it down to
between $1 to $2 by the end of the decade will not only make it the most
affordable source of energy in the world but also make it possible for India to
export it.[5]
Another source of natural perennial energy in the country is geothermal energy.
According to the records of the Geological Survey of India, there are some 340
hot water springs in India. All in all, one can look at the potential of
generating 10600 MW of energy using this source of energy.[6]
[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/263455/primary-energy-consumption-of-selected-countries/#:~:text=China%20is%20the%20largest%20consumer,such%20as%20oil%20and%20coal.
[2] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1889967#:~:text=Petroleum%20%26%20Natural%20Gas-,India's%204%2Dplank%20energy%20security%20strategy%20is%20based%20on%20diversifying,by%202025%3A%20Hardeep%20Singh%20Puri.
[3] https://www.mondragon-assembly.com/?taxonomy=&term=noticias
[4] https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-wind-energy-potential#:~:text=Wind%20resource%20assessment%20by%20the,ground%20level%20across%20the%20nation.
[5] https://www.forbesindia.com/article/innovation/green-hydrogen-can-help-india-meet-its-netzero-ambitions-how-long-before-a-real-impact-is-seen/87937/1
[6] https://prepp.in/news/e-492-geothermal-energy-in-india---geography-notes
