Learning about India's energy options - Sheela Patel

On Friday 23rd August, John Samuel of NSDF and Sheela Patel attended a meeting organized by Miserioir to prepare for a meeting in October in Cape Town titled, “ International South 2 South conference : power up! A just energy transition for the South”.

The objective for the preparatory conference was:

1. To understand and reflect on energy issues from a policy perspective in the national Indian context

2. Get exposure to the challenges in the renewable and decentralized energy technology options at the grassroots level

3. Create an opportunity for partners to meet and prepare for a country profile to feed into the CT conference.

Presentations made by the following resource persons around which the main areas of discussions took place:

1. D Raghunandan  Center for Technology and Development, New Delhi
2. Prayas, Pune
3. Aarti/Sanchit, Pune: Priyadarshani Karve
4. TERI, New Delhi
5. Vasudha, New Delhi

Following are my personal notes, from the facts made by the organizers through power point presentations:

•  Most of the energy consumption is the material used from Bio mass that remains under the radar. 
• In the discussions clearly many NGOS have explored alternative energy solutions but face many difficulties and challenges.
• Discussion on Centralized and Decentralized energy solutions in the alternate renewable energy field have challenges. The solution lies in clever combinations. 
• One example given was about Rajasthan where communities got displaced to place solar panels for renewable energy; scarce water was used to clean the panels while the people faced water scarcity; and it hardly produced any jobs. 
• Electricity is most expensive but cleanest energy source. 
• The discussion is always about justice and energy.
• Transport planning of and within locations all contribute to create energy usage.
• In Maharashtra the Kelkar Committee reviews these issues and has commented that people who are poor bear the costs but get no benefits.
• A possibility to consider: what if all Panchayats set up their own grids and charged people, then at least they would get regular energy. However it would mean its more expensive than what is presently charged for electricity.
• A conflict between irregular or no access of subsidized electricity and additional costs for regular alternative energy is evident today.
• Climate change is going to impact agriculture in many ways. Clearly a mix of renewable energy  and electricity is the way forward but requires a change in infrastructure for successful delivery.
• The location issues are important; for instance solar energy for water pumps work where the water table is high, not where the pumped process has to go deep - which is increasingly the case.
• Garbage to energy sounds useful, especially in cities, but at  the moment, its not working because reparation  is not effective and outputs are not efficient. Yet the government wants to set up 500 units in the country, adversely impacting the waste pickers and recycling in the informal sector.
• Challenges of sustainability and understanding the global contexts within which sustainability has to be understood:
• Whatever India does it will have to deal with emissions related conventions that will occur globally and plan reduction in CO2 emissions. 
• RIGHTS based choices  are crucial for the new energy regimen to embrace.
• Defining a RIGHT to energy is crucial and forces to explore justice sustainability and future planning. 
• It is unclear yet what emission linked carbon budget India will get but whatever it is, it will constrain the present business a usual regimen.
• The right to energy has a pre-requisite of per capital goal setting. We have to ensure like GDP -it does not cloak inequity and unequal access.
• Presently India has some of the lowest emissions, 2870, which is half of china and yet we have a large development deficit as well at 30%
• 16% agriculture usage employs 56% people. Industry and services need to move to rural areas. 
• Significant infrastructure investment means high energy consumption—rails and highways are being planned without looking at energy audits.

Reduce Improve and replace was the slogan. Present growth is jobless growth