Of Prosperity and Pollution (supplement to Powering the People: India's Capacity Expansion Plans)
Because India has large domestic coal resources (and virtually no other fuel sources); a strong incentive to deploy cheaper, well-proven generation technology; and needs to rapidly increase the availability of electricity to its citizens, the country will likely continue to rely on coal-based power in the long run. However, in its quest for prosperity, the country is battling unprecedented levels of air pollution. It’s so bad that a haze hanging over the country has reduced sunlight 5% by some estimations.
To make matters worse, environmental regulations promulgated by the Ministry of Environment and Forests—also the coordinating agency for climate change—are not enforced strictly, as the production of electricity is given priority. In fact, much of the enforcement has come about as a result of judicial interventions.
On the other hand, India is a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol, and though it is not subject to emissions limits, the country has repeatedly said it is concerned about climate change.
Last June, the country unveiled a national action plan for climate change that has two core ideas: to move from fossil fuels to renewables and to increase energy efficiency. But although doing so will help reconcile India’s rapid growth with increasing urgency to mitigate its carbon and pollutant emissions, it will not be enough, says the Pew Center on Global Climate Change in a January white paper.
Some of the more critical actions the nation could take now are to improve the efficiency of all elements in the existing power system, aggressively deploying higher-efficiency pulverized coal combustion technologies (such as supercritical and ultrasupercritical technologies) and establishing and enforcing standards for sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxide. The center also suggests that India should invest in gasification technologies and engage in a detailed geological assessment of onshore and offshore carbon storage sites.
To make sure these measures can be implemented successfully, India must secure the health of its institutional and financial sector. It is of equal importance that the government pays significant attention to public needs. “The priority should be to ensure that these technology programs and the resulting policies are robust and that they adequately respond not just to the climate challenge but also to the wider challenges facing the Indian power sector,” the Pew Center advised.
—Sonal Patel is POWER’s senior staff writer.