The technology menu for efficient energy use in India

Autor: Anand Subbiah, Eric D. Larson
Rok vydání: 1994
Předmět:
Zdroj: Energy for Sustainable Development. 1:36-38
ISSN: 0973-0826
DOI: 10.1016/s0973-0826(08)60011-3
Popis: TOTAL ELECTRICITY GENERATION in India has grown at a compound rate of over 9% per year. Even with such rapid growth, generation has not kept up with demand, and blackouts and brownouts are contributing to lost industrial and agricultural output as well as unmet residential and commercial sector needs. The requirement for electricity generation is projected by India’s Central Electricity Authority to grow by a factor of 3 between 1991 and 2010 (CEA, 1991), corresponding to a requirement of 150-200 million kW of new baseload generating capacity. Average capital investments of more than 220 billion rupees (Rs.) ($7.1 billion) per year would be needed to support such growth through new power plant construction. The allocation of public financing for the electricity sector has accounted for a large percentage (1719%) of total public spending over the past few years. In 1993, spending allocated to the electricity sector was Rs. 150 billion ($4.9 billion) (Planning Commission, 1991). Public resources to finance generating facilities are not expected to be adequate to meet the projected need. In this context, cost-effective strategies for reducing the requirement for new capacity are needed. Improving the efficiency with which electricity is used in India has the potential to significantly reduce demand through cost-effective and environmentally benign means, while providing a level of electricity services comparable to what could be achieved through expanding electricity supply. To implement efficiency improvement strategies requires at a minimum that good information relating to energyefficient end-use technologies be available to the relevant decision-makers in India -electricity users, suppliers, equipment manufacturers, policy-makers, and others. This article has two interwoven objectives. One is to report on an information resource being developed to aid in the design and implementation of energy projects, programs, and policies in India. The second is to present analysis drawn from this resource that indicates the potential for cost-effective electricity efficiency improvements in India.
Databáze: OpenAIRE