India: Food, fuel, water and alternate energy sources

It is only an academic exercise to debate which of the three securities is most important for India: food, energy and water. All of them are equally important. Relatively new and expanding sector of alternate energy sources is forcing us to look at these sectors in an integrated and holistic manner.

It has become a fashion in some elite circle to claim that if only India can implement a strategy to develop alternate energy resources, we will solve our energy security problem. However, the alternate energy sources are not a panacea for our energy problem. At the same time, there is an urgent need to take up research on them on war footing.
According to the Integrated Energy Policy Report of the Planning Commission unveiled last year, even by 2031 alternate energy sources will meet only 5 to 6 percent of our total energy requirements of 1.6-1.8 billion tonnes of oil equivalent, even after increasing 40 times the current usage. Currently, alternate energy sources consisting, among others, of micro hydel, wind, solar, ethanol, bio diesel and energy from waste, are contributing just 2.0 percent of our total energy consumption.

Of the different alternate energy sources, ethanol and bio diesel are now promoted as ultimate answers to our energy security. By 2031, total petroleum demand is likely to reach between 490 and 550 million tones, whereas potential for ethanol and bio diesel production is only 10 and 20 million tonnes respectively.

If we can overcome our insatiable desire to have private transportation like developed countries and develop a world class public transportation system, even better than any where in the world, we can easily reduce the forecast petroleum demand by more than 10 to 20 million tonnes. Simultaneously, if we can improve the railway system to compete with the trucking, then it should be possible to save in addition at least 20 to 30 million tonnes.

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