More than 80 per cent of the Indian requirement of crude oil amounting to around 160 million tonnes a year is presently being imported and the level of import is likely to go up steadily, with the expansion of crude refining capacity. It is unlikely that the domestic production of crude oil would be stepped up in tune with the demand growth.
At present, the country imports around 60 million tonnes of coal — both coking and non coking types. If India were to maintain a GDP growth of around 8 per cent in the coming years, the demand for energy will substantially go up and it is expected that coal import would increase to 230 million tonnes a year by 2020.
High dependence on imports
The above facts readily point to the dependence on import of the energy sources such as crude oil, coal and natural gas will reach an unacceptable level in the next few years throwing the country at the mercy of international suppliers and trade cartels. Obviously, the Government of India has to take some forward planning measures with a sense of urgency to avoid a crisis situation on the energy front .While the Government is certainly thinking on these lines and discussing about alternative sources such as nuclear, solar, shale gas and offshore wind energy, there are considerable uncertainties with regard to these projects. That the cost of nuclear and solar power would be so high as tobe beyond the capacity of the consumers to pay is a matter of concern.
Under the circumstances, the Government and the domestic industry have to think of more dependable and appropriate sources for energy in tune with the country's strength and appropriate to the climatic and soil conditions. From this point of view, the jatropha and algae biofuel represent the most ideal energy options in the foreseeable future.
Ideal crops
Both algae and jatropha are agricultural crops ideally suited to grow in India. The production cost of algae and jatropha bio fuels is is quite high under the present available technology practices. In India, while in the case of jatropha oil, some research and development efforts have been initiated by individual companies, though without any specific coordination between them and fixing a national time bound target, the R&D efforts in the case of algae bio fuel is at negligible levels.
There is a great need for the Government to take the initiative for promoting and facilitating research and development efforts with regard to jatropha and algae bio fuels, so as to develop engineering and technology practices to produce the oil at affordable and acceptable cost. There is certainly enough talent and enthusiasm amongst scientists and technologists in the country to meet the R&D challenges in the field. But, they have to be given the facilities and appropriate policies and incentives to achieve the desired ends.
The Government should immediately set up two separate and dedicated research and development facilities, with the task of developing and fine-tuning the technologies for the production of jatropha and algae bio fuels from various aspects including agricultural practices, biotechnology and chemical engineering aspects and activities in several other related fields. These dedicated R&D labs should be given a clear stage-wise target of up to five years with provision for funding which may be of the order of a few hundred crores of rupees over the next five years.
No comments:
Post a Comment