Sustaining India\u27s Economic Growth

Depleting fossil fuel reserves and the tangible impact of climate change have mandated nations to review national energy-mix policies. The Government of India\u27s target of 7% GDP growth rate will require 1,476 GW installed power capacity by 2052. But historical constraints since 1951 on growth of power capacity (like land acquisition, water, fuel supply chains and silting of dams) have limited power capacity growth in India to a maximum 4GW/year. Should these historical constraints continue into the future as business-as-usual scenarios, just 472 GW would have been realized by 2052, effectively slowing India\u27s GDP growth rate to 3.5% per annum. Assuming those constraints affect only coal-based thermal power plants and that there will be no constraints to realizing Government targets for nuclear, hydroelectric, wind and solar power capacities, 932 GW might be realizable by 2052, yielding 5.5% GDP growth rate. Even with 5.5% GDP growth, the nation will have to increase annual power capacity from a historical peak of about 4 GW/year to unprecedented levels of 18 GW/year in 2032 and 28 GW/year by 2052. India\u27s emphasis is now on terrestrial solar power. This type of energy is clean and perennial, although its availability is limited to an average 5.6 hours per day. Solar energy harvested in space is recognized as an always available 24x7 source. For a sustained 7% GDP growth rate targeting 1,476 GW in 2052, and as an insurance policy for shortfalls in achieving power capacity growth using terrestrial sources, this paper presents a Space Solar Power profile that increases from 17 GW in 2017 to 544 GW in 2052. This added SSP capacity almost doubles India\u27s per capita GDP, delivering a net GDP benefit to the nation estimated to be worth over $100 trillion. The net carbon avoided by SSP substitution would be about 66 million tonnes, in addition to 9 million tonnes of carbon avoided by the National (200 GW Terrestrial) Solar Power Mission. The technology for building and orbiting space solar power stations is complex and politically sensitive. Some 10-15 years may be required to implement a working system in space. So, the outline of an advanced space transportation system based on two decades of design work on affordable space solar power for India is also briefly described

Solar Photovoltaic panels utilization to extract clean and green energy for utility application using PVsyst software: A Bibliometric Review

This paper presents a survey on educational documents in the field of solar photovoltaic (PV) utilization to extract clean and green energy. The main purpose of this bibliometric analysis is to understand the size of the available documents for the research of PV solar panel utilization using PVsyst. This detailed review was conducted in the PV research, literature considering all subjects from the Scopus database. The pattern for the specific arrangement of keywords was separated with the recovered results from the Scopus database, publication type, year of publication, distribution conveyance by nations, subject classes, association, authors, and financing organizations. It was discovered from the close examination that mainly conferences, articles, and review papers from the United States of America, India, and Spain have significant contributions in publication. The time series dataset started in 1999 till date. Major contributions are from the branches of Engineering and Energy, Material Science, Physics, and Astronomy

Renewables 2005: Global Status Report

The Global Status Report provides an assessment of several renewables technologies -- small hydro, modern biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels -- that are now competing with conventional fuels in four distinct markets: power generation, hot water and space heating, transportation fuels, and rural (off-grid) energy supplies. The report finds that government support for renewable energy is growing rapidly. At least 48 countries now have some type of renewable energy promotion policy, including 14 developing countries. Most targets are for shares of electricity production, typically 5-30 percent, by the 2010-2012 timeframe. Mandates for blending biofuels into vehicle fuels have been enacted in at least 20 states and provinces worldwide as well as in three key countries -- Brazil, China and India. Government leadership provides the key to market success, according to the report. The market leaders in renewable energy in 2004 were Brazil in biofuels, China in solar hot water, Germany in solar electricity, and Spain in wind power. The Global Status Report fills a gap in the international energy reporting arena, which has tended to neglect the emerging renewable energy technologies. Regular updates will be produced in the future. The report was produced and published by the Worldwatch Institute and released today at the Beijing International Renewable Energy Conference 2005, sponsored by the Government of China. This Conference brings together government and private leaders from around the world, providing a forum for international leadership on renewable energy and connects the wide variety of stakeholders that came together at the International Conference for Renewable Energies in Bonn, Germany, in 2004. The creation of REN21 was sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. Formally established in Copenhagen in June 2005, REN21 is now supported by a steering committee of 11 governments, 5 intergovernmental organizations, 5 non-governmental organizations, and several regional, local, and private organizations

Concentrated Solar Power: Actual Performance and Foreseeable Future in High Penetration Scenarios of Renewable Energies

Producción CientíficaAnalyses proposing a high share of concentrated solar power (CSP) in future 100% renewable energy scenarios rely on the ability of this technology, through storage and/or hybridization, to partially avoid the problems associated with the hourly/daily (short-term) variability of other variable renewable sources such as wind or solar photovoltaic. However, data used in the scientific literature are mainly theoretical values. In this work, the actual performance of CSP plants in operation from publicly available data from four countries (Spain, the USA, India, and United Arab Emirates) has been estimated for three dimensions: capacity factor (CF), seasonal variability, and energy return on energy invested (EROI). In fact, the results obtained show that the actual performance of CSP plants is significantly worse than that projected by constructors and considered by the scientific literature in the theoretical studies: a CF in the range of 0.15–0.3, low standard EROI (1.3:1–2.4:1), intensive use of materials—some scarce, and significant seasonal intermittence. In the light of the obtained results, the potential contribution of current CSP technologies in a future 100% renewable energy system seems very limited.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Project FJCI-2016-28833)European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 69128

A review on the complementarity of renewable energy sources: concept, metrics, application and future research directions

It is expected, and regionally observed, that energy demand will soon be covered by a widespread deployment of renewable energy sources. However, the weather and climate driven energy sources are characterized by a significant spatial and temporal variability. One of the commonly mentioned solutions to overcome the mismatch between demand and supply provided by renewable generation is a hybridization of two or more energy sources in a single power station (like wind-solar, solar-hydro or solar-wind-hydro). The operation of hybrid energy sources is based on the complementary nature of renewable sources. Considering the growing importance of such systems and increasing number of research activities in this area this paper presents a comprehensive review of studies which investigated, analyzed, quantified and utilized the effect of temporal, spatial and spatio-temporal complementarity between renewable energy sources. The review starts with a brief overview of available research papers, formulates detailed definition of major concepts, summarizes current research directions and ends with prospective future research activities. The review provides a chronological and spatial information with regard to the studies on the complementarity concept.Comment: 34 pages 7 figures 3 table

Pace Energy & Climate Center 2016 Annual Report

The Center staff and many allies are deeply involved in the business of electric utility transformation. We live and work in a remarkable time. Decades of steady, thoughtful leadership on clean energy issues is now bearing fruit. Clean energy is not just the right thing to do, it is increasingly recognized as the right choice economically, technically, and for all members of society. Our work, especially in 2016, has been about making sure that we seize the moment and secure the benefits of clean energy use for all communities in New York, the Northeast U.S., across the country, and throughout the world. Never has it been more important that we succeed in our work. The challenges of climate change, the changing path of policy, and the moral imperative of building a clean energy foundation for future generations drive us every day. While we don’t work actively in Washington, D.C., changes there threaten our work. The Center focuses on waging a strong offense at the state and community level, and on effectively communicating the benefits of clean energy development and policy. In 2016, we answered the call for clear-eyed policy leadership in the many New York Public Service Commission’s (“NYPSC”) Reforming the Energy Vision (“REV”) initiative proceedings under way. Our work multiplied as the Commission transitioned from vision to implementation and execution, and so did our impact. See the Appendix for the active NY PSC proceedings in which the Center is engaged! The Center continued its regional leadership as a champion of super-efficient combined heat and power, strong solar energy market policy, and interstate cooperation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We expand the reach of our ideas and support through formal regulatory interventions, thought leadership, and good old-fashioned research and writing. The Pace Energy and Climate Center continues to operate as a small, agile, interdisciplinary team of talented and committed individuals, and continues to benefit from the support of the best law student interns anywhere. Our network of collaborators at other organizations has grown over the year, as has our reputation in the media

Energy for Development: The Potential Role of Renewable Energy in Meeting the Millennium Development Goals

This report identifies renewable energy options that are currently in wide use in some regions and that are now ready for large-scale introduction in many areas of the developing world. Through 26 case studies, the report cites biogas, small hydro, solar, wind, ethanol, and biodiesel, among other technologies, as viable options for poverty alleviation in developing countries.As their cost has declined and their reliability has improved, renewable energy technologies have often emerged as more affordable and practical means of providing essential energy services. Although the strongest renewable energy growth has been in grid-connected power systems and liquid fuels for transportation, several technologies are well-suited to providing modern energy services for low-income people. Scaling up a broad portfolio of renewable energy options can make a major contribution to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, concludes the report.The creation of REN 21 was sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. Formally established in Copenhagen in June 2005, REN 21 is now supported by a steering committee of 11 governments, five intergovernmental organizations, five non-governmental organizations, and several regional, local and private organizations

Geospatial multi-criteria analysis for identifying high priority clean energy investment opportunities: A case study on land-use conflict in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a globally important emerging economy with rapidly increasing energy demand. The Bangladeshi government's primary capacity expansion plan is to install 13.3 GW of new coal by 2021, including the 1.3 GW Rampal coal power plant to be developed in the Sundarbans. Inadequate geospatial and economic information on clean energy investment opportunities are often a significant barrier for policy makers. Our study helps fill this gap by applying a new method to assess energy investment opportunities, with focus on understanding land-use conflicts, particularly important in this context as Bangladesh is constrained on land for agriculture, human settlements, and ecological preservation. By extending a geospatial multi-criteria analysis model (MapRE) we analyze the cost of various renewable energy generation technologies based on resource availability and key siting criteria such as proximity to transmission and exclusion from steep slopes, dense settlements or ecologically sensitive areas. We find there is more utility-scale solar potential than previously estimated, which can be developed at lower costs than coal power and with minimal cropland tradeoff. We also find significant potential for decentralized roof-top solar in commercial and residential areas. Even with a conservative land use program that reserves maximum land for agriculture and human settlement, there is more renewable energy capacity than needed to support Bangladeshi growth. This study provides critical and timely information for capacity expansion planning in South Asia and demonstrates the use of geospatial models to support decision-making in data-limited contexts