Alternative sources of energy

Shafey Danish

This is one part of the oil price rise that I am really happy about. People are for the first time seriously considering alternative sources of energy. These would essentially be of a kind that would not pollute the world (except nuclear), as they would not really burn fossil fuels.

The other exhilarating thing about crude price rise is that it would inevitably slow the growth rate down (yippee!). So the breakneck pace of development, and I may add, the breakneck work would slow down to something comfortable.

No, it would not mean less things for us. It would simply mean less to waste. It would mean development that can be sustained without the guilt of harming the environment. It would mean Coco Cola in bottles that do not need to be thrown away but can be returned and recycled. It would mean you would not have a new jar or a new bottle every time you buy something new.

Alternative energy in short is a whole new world.

Here we will look at some of the main alternatives to crude. Remember though, that there is really no ‘alternative’ to oil. These alternatives would serve only so far as to prevent the world from totally collapsing once the oil comes to an end, it would really not gurantee the same kind of lifestyle as we have today.

Solar energy

Two excellent reasons for the use of solar energy are the savings and the environment. The earth receives more energy from the Sun in just one hour than the world uses in a whole year. Globally solar is the fastest growing source of energy with an annual average growth of 35%, as seen during the past few years.

Finland is taking a lead in energy issues. While the country uses just as much energy per capita as the US, it produces less carbon-dioxide emissions as it gets almost 30 percent of its energy from renewable sources. Finland spends 3.5 % of its GDP on research while US spends 2.7%.

Nuke energy

The problem with nuke energy is what to do with the radioactive waste, which would remain radioactive for centuries. The problem with nuke energy is putting proper safeguards in place that would prevent another Chernobyl from happening.

Otherwise it by far is the most viable source of energy available and really the only one that has replaced carbo fuels. France meets more than 70% of its energy needs from nuke energy. The power within the atom can supply power which is virtually inexhaustible, limited only by the availability of nuclear fuel, which today is enriched uranium. In days to come India could well develop thorium as an alternative fuel.

Nuke energy, for a very long time has served merely as a bi-product of the nuclear power ambitions of states around the world. Which is why even America’s nuclear industry has been languishing for decades. But now that a crisis of gigantic dimension knocks at the door, nuclear power should experience a second coming.

For India of course this second might be delayed, is it would need to break down the door of Left`s opposition. Wind energy

Wind energy has become popular in recent times. Till sometime back the cost of converting wind energy to electricity was financially viable. But at current crude rates that is certainly not true. Currently at 94.1 gigawatts, wind power accounts for just 1% of total electricity produced in the world.
There are various factors pulling back the development of wind energy. For one it needs huge spaces. Areas where wind farms can be set up. Then again the electric supply depends on the force of wind passing through the area; which can fluctuate heavily.

It is not something that all countries can rely on, as not all countries would have areas suitable for setting up wind farms.

Biofuels

Biofuels roughly speaking (very roughly speaking) is fuel made from plants. Biofuels can be made from almost anything that has been a plant or part of a plant, animal or part of an animal at any point of time.

In India the concept is used to generate biogas, or as it is locally called, gobar gas, which is made from cow dung. The concept as practised in India has a lot of potential. All sorts of useless matter, pure waste, could be turned into electricity.

But that is not the way that things are going internationally. Internationally biofuels are being increasingly made from things that could serve as food. Sugar, vegetable oil, animal fats etc.

In Brazil for example, which uses the highest percentage of biofuels, ethanol is made from wheat, corn, sugar beets, sugar cane, molasses among other things. That is just Brazil. Now imagine what would happen when a consumer of the size of the US starts turning towards biofuels. We would have a situation, where large quantities of food material would be diverted for cars and factories, even as the world’s millions unable to pay the cost of food driven high by this new demand, starve to death.

Biofuel is an alternative fuel that one does not wish the world to take to.

Hydel Power

Hydel power is right up there with solar energy as one of the cheapest, least harmful renewable source of energy. Which is why it is the most widely used form of renewable energy. Hydel power supplies upto 19% of world electricity (around 715,000 MWe ). It accounted for as much as 63% of the total electricity produced from renewable sources in 2005.

It’s benefits are obvious: it is cost effective, it does not generate any sort of harmful waste and often hydroelectric projects are create in tandem with useful by products like water reservoirs etc. But here too one needs to be careful as to which plan we choose. India goes for large hydroelectric power projects which can be harmful to the surrounding eco system. They can cause large scale displacement of people also as the Narmada dam controversy demonstrates.

In most part of the World, including US and China small hydro projects are preffered. China in particular has around 50% of the world’s small hydro capacity. India with its abundance of rivers and waterfalls is ideally placed to exploit this energy source.