National media houses have carried multiple headlines on the latest budgetary proposals for the energy sector. They should indicate multiple concerns to the overall welfare of our people in the near term as well as in the long term:
- Union Budget 2024 | Govt to come out with document on energy transition pathway: Sitharaman
- Renewable power companies gain from pumped storage projects
- Push for research and development of new technology for nuclear energy in Budget 2024
- Budget 2024: Nuclear energy to drive India’s Viksit Bharat's new power mix
On an objective consideration of various statements in the budget speech, those of us who have been keen observers of the electricity/ energy sector, have to come to an unfortunate conclusion that the overall welfare of our country was not at the focus of those advisors, who might have persuaded you to make budgetary provision for additional super critical thermal power plants, high voltage transmission lines, Pumped Storage Plants, and Nuclear Power technology.
This is so because those advisors seem to have completely ignored the oft repeated PM's slogan: "sub ke saath, sub ka vikaas, sub ka vishwaas, sub ka prayas". Those advisors seem to have shown gross indifference to multiple concerns by civil society groups on many segments of the electricity sector, such as super critical thermal power plants, high voltage transmission lines, Pumped Storage Plants and Nuclear Power technology.
It should be highly disconcerting to a welfare oriented and democratic society that such credible concerns even from domain experts and power sector professionals on multiple occasions, and addressed to the concerned ministries, NITI Aayog and PMO have been completely ignored without showing the courtesy of any acknowledgement; let alone suitable clarifications.
In this larger scenario, the civil society groups have no option other than to conclude that the overall interest of the country has not been the focus for these advisors and the ministries, and that the provision of commercial benefits to a few entities and individuals might have been the primary focus. A few brief comments on some of these concerns?
(1) "A policy to support pump storage projects will be brought to provide round-the-clock energy..."
Multiple representations to the the ministries of Power, EF&CC, PMO and NITI Aayog have been sent explaining why these PSPs pose a lot of credible concerns on the environmental front alone, and on the fact that there are benign options (such as BESS) to meet the same objective.
(2) "... state-owned enterprises NTPC and BHEL in joint venture will set up 800 MW super critical thermal power plants with higher efficiency."
You may please take some time to quiz the power ministry/ CEA/ NITI Aayog advisors to know that there is nothing like environmentally friendly and efficient coal power plants, especially in the context of a climate emergency, irrespective of fancy titles given to them by the vested interest groups. There can only be marginal reduction in the unacceptable pressure on our natural resources such as forests, land, water and air pollution even in the case of the thermal power technology, which calls itself most efficient and advanced.
There have been several global agreements/ declarations to minimise the burning of coal, and for the wider adoption of renewable energy technologies. Hence, setting up of any kind of coal based power plants, even if it is titled as the most efficient and advanced technology, can be and must be avoided, basically because there are much better options.
India has humongous potential with renewable energy sources, and the same technology has matured enough, and has become techno-economically attractive to be a sustainable backbone of our energy sector, as exemplified by the confidence reposed by the PM in advocating 1 crore solar roof top systems on our houses. A discussion paper in this regard is enclosed.
(3) "PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana generated a remarkable response with 1.8 crore people registering under it."
If so, why should not the Yojana be extended to say 10-20 crore houses in the next 5-10 years, rather than investing in the much more costly and risky nuclear power plants, and the destructive coal power plants?
(4) “Towards that pursuit, our government will partner with the private sector for 1.) Setting up Bharat Small Reactors. 2.) Research and development of Bharat Small Modular Reactor. 3.) Research and development of newer technologies for nuclear energy.”
It should be termed as amazing and sordid scenario how easily pliable our authorities can be to blindly accept the tall but unrealistic claims by nuclear power sector lobbies. There have been a plethora of reports/ analysis from across the world during the last 15-20 years to establish beyond any reasonable doubt that any nuclear power technology, including the small modular reactors (SMR), can only be unacceptably costly, risky and too slow to build and operate.
DAE officials seem to have been successful in hiding the multiple disconcerting facts about nuclear power technology, especially from Indian perspective, and in persuading you to allocate a considerable percentage of energy sector allocation to a wasteful technology, which can also become a sort of albatross around our neck, if we care to take cognisance of three major nuclear disasters which have devastated the project impacted communities, and which have polluted large regions with nuclear radiation.
Any additions to large size power plants, including coal, nuclear, PSPs, or even the large size solar/ wind power parks, will also lead to the additional demand for more of high voltage power lines, which will seek the diversion of lands, funds and materials, in addition to a lot of capital investment.
In this context, it should be stated as an alarming scenario that as per the unsubstantiated projections of the Union Ministry of Power, in a BAU scenario scores of coal power plants, nuclear power plants, tens of PSPs along with dozens of high voltage power lines at enormous capital costs (in addition to massive social and environmental costs to the larger society) will have to be constructed in the next few decades.
On the contrary, adequate investment in distributed types of renewable energy (RE) sources, such as roof top solar power systems along with suitably designed battery energy storage systems (BESS), will not only be able to meet the growing demand for electricity/ energy in the country, but will also minimise the societal level costs in the form of social, environmental and economic costs associated with large size power plants.
There is gross indifference towards concerns on thermal plants, transmission lines, pumped storage plants and nuclear technology
At a high level, it needs to be emphasised that the environmental and ecological costs alone, as exemplified by the ever escalating threats of the global climate emergency, can be drastically reduced by the effective use of RE systems, such as solar roof top systems.
That is the reason why it become clear that the adequate investment in various schemes such as PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana with suitable but ambitious targets, such as solarizing 25-30 crore houses by 2030, along with all other kinds of buildings, IP sets, public lighting systems etc. can revolutionise the demand and supply scenario in our electricity/ energy sector, putting our country on a green energy and sustainable pathway.
In this larger context of global climate emergency, it is unfathomable to energy sector observers like me as to why the life threatening future for their families and children/ grand children has not become a critical factor for objective consideration for our bureaucrats, ministers, law makers, political leaders and other societal level leaders.
Hence, the Union government should take care to spend/ allocate money only to those economic activities, which will result in least impact on our natural resources, such as forests, fresh water bodies, agricultural lands, materials etc.
Without such a rational and critical approach to our developmental paradigm, at least in energy/ electricity sector, the govt. policies/ practices will lead our country to various kinds of ecological disasters, especially to the vulnerable sections of our society, and hence, the oft repeated slogan "sub ke saath, sub ka vikaas, sub ka vishwaas, sub ka prayas" will remain an empty rhetoric.
It can be seen as an alarming scenario that no one agency/ entity in the Union govt. seems to be willing to take into an objective account the genuine concerns of the people of this country, as well as from the credible global science bodies such as UNEP, UNFCCC, IPCC, FAO etc. The critical urgency emphasised in various reports of these agencies has been the basis to what the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, stated last month on the occasion of World Environment Day. He said: "...the battle to secure the planet's future will be won or lost in the next 18 months".
Hence, the criticality of adequately protecting our natural resources, forests, fresh water bodies, soils, atmospheric air etc. should be of the highest priority for our society, and this is feasible only if the Union government adopts green energy pathways, and if and only if, it makes conscious efforts to eschew high impact power generation technologies.
Without the effective participation of the concerned civil society groups in the formulation of all such national level policies/ practices, such as budgetary estimates, our communities have been facing multiple and life threatening problems, and these will only escalate with the passage of each year.
---
*Power & Climate Policy Analyst, Karnataka. This article is based on the author's representation to Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Finance Minister
Comments