Program ScheduleRenewables :
Helping Rural Development
Provision of adequate energy is a key element in the development process and one of the main infrastructure requirements for agriculture and industrial development, employment generation and improvement in the quality of life of people, specially in the rural and remote areas. The present energy portfolio in India is based on a complex energy mix. The primary energy requirement is more than 380 million tons of oil equivalent (mtoe) per year, coming mainly from indigenous coal, and imported petroleum. A large portion (~30%) of the total primary energy consumption constitutes biomass in the form of firewood, agricultural residues, and dung cakes. These traditional energy sources are used for cooking and village industries in the rural areas. Use of biomass in traditional stoves results in poor levels of efficiency and high emissions, causing enormous health damages. Renewable energy devices such as biogas plants, biomass gasifier systems and turbostoves can provide clean energy to the rural masses in an affordable manner.
The current total installed power generation capacity in India is more than 1,48,000 MW. However, there is a gap between the demand and supply position. Though 82.3% villages in the country have been officially electrified, about 50% of all households are still to have electricity. Moreover, many of the cities, towns and the villages which have been electrified, get electricity hardly for a few hours. There is, therefore, tremendous scope and need for deployment of renewable energy systems and devices especially in the rural areas because, electricity is an essential requirement for all facets of our life. It is the key to accelerating economic growth, elimination of poverty and human development in rural areas. Provision of clean energy and electricity in villages is essential to cater for requirement of cooking, agriculture and other important activities including small and micro enterprises, khadi and village industries, cold chains, health care, education and information technology.
The choice of using renewable energy options needs to be determined, based on local condition an end use application, to ensure optimum utilization of its energy content and efficiency in a cost effective and reliable manner. India is endowed with a variety of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass, small hydro, biofuels, etc. These can be
appropriately and optimally utilized to make available reliable supply of electricity to each and every household.
