Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant

  Till recently nuclear power had been considered an ideal source to meet the ever-surging power needs in the country. There was apparently no significant opposition to it in the country, unlike even in some developed nations where opposition is spearheaded by organisations such as the Greenpeace. It really appeared to be very promising. But overnight hope has coming crashing down with the Fukushima nuclear  power plant disaster following a massive earth quake and tsunami. Particularly this has resulted in stiff opposition to the nuclear power plant under construction at Kudankulam in Tamilnadu. Intensive and extensive protests are going on in many parts of the country against nuclear power in the nation. Many political parties, NGOs and social activists have joined the bandwagon. While all concede to the need to generate additional power the primary concern of the protesters is one of safety.

  While safety has always been a matter of much concern in the installation of nuclear power plants in the past, it had been mostly in relation to accidental leakage of radio activity due to human error or technical  breakdowns. Another major worry has always been the safe storage and disposal of spent fuel which can cause serious risks to local communities and the environment . In addition, with a surge in global terrorism the possibility of potentially dangerous nuclear material falling into wrong hands with disastrous consequences looms large.  Governments had in the past successfully convinced local communities about their ability to safeguard against these potential risks, and several nuclear power plants are operating in many parts of the world despite serious accidents as those at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.

  All along not much concern has been expressed on the risk posed by possible natural disasters to nuclear power plants. But with Fukushima the focus has sharply shifted to their safety in relation to their location with reference to possible natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis. This appears to have given a boost to the Kudankulam protesters who claim that their fears are justified since the place is prone to tsunami risks as seen from the events of 2004. Though opinions are divided, it is rather ironical that even many scientists and technologists, including some nuclear specialists, are unable to ensure total safety of these installations. Some even express reservations against building new nuclear power plants. Even a highly developed nation like Germany has recently decided to discontinue nuclear power generation.

  No clear-cut solution appears to exist to solve the problem. One alternative suggested is massive power generation through renewable power sources such as solar, wind and tidal power. As of now it  is estimated that India needs to generate an additional 50 or 60 thousand MW of electrical power annually to boost development. The pace of development of alternative energy sources in the country is so slow that there is hardly any hope that even part of this target could be achieved in the near future. Another major issue is the potential rapid and severe environmental degradation that would result in efforts to boost higher energy generation using fossil fuels. Except for possible radio active leakage, disposal of wastes and disposal of the high temperature water that comes from cooling the reactors, nuclear energy is relatively clean.

  A reasonable solution to the situation seems to be a compromise involving highly regulated use of nuclear power with massive increases in alternative and renewable sources of energy. Total rejection of nuclear power would be similar to the proverbial act of throwing the baby out with the bath water. On the other hand, critical evaluation of each and every proposal for a nuclear power plant by highly competent experts, and its installation and operation ensuring all fail-safe risk protection standards, is imperative. Above all effective education and enlightening of the surrounding communities, both on the need for and indispensability of nuclear power, and at the same time addressing their safety concerns, will go a long way in making nuclear power acceptable in the long run, meeting the energy needs required to significantly boost  development and improve  living standards .

Regeneration through a callus phase can result in somaclones which are genetically different from the parental  types and can be used to obtain superior crop cultivars.

On the other hand growing apical meristem explants of plants on culture media will generate plants which will be genetically identical to the parental type . This technique referred to as meristem culture is used to rapidly multiply planting material in many crops. In addition meristem culture has other advantages such as producing pest and disease free planting material and significant savings by reducing the need for resources such as land, labour and capital.

Image source: http://greenteanews.net/images/tissue_culture.jpg

However one more major factor in favour of using meristem culture for plant multiplication is possible energy saving. Traditional plant multiplication methods involve raising nursery crops either in fields or green houses. This requires high energy input operations such as land preparation ( using machinery, consuming fossil fuels), irrigation ( consuming electricity), weed control, pest and disease management measures, fertiliser application  etc.  All these consume significant amounts of energy, and under Indian conditions the bulk of the energy produced is through use of non-renewable fossil fuels. The thermal power plants mostly depend on coal or petroleum-based fuels to generate electricity.

For the tissue culture facilities the energy needed is mostly for sterilisation of glassware and media and to illuminate the culture chambers as well as to reduce the temperature whenever required. Modern design technology enables construction of facilities suitably for maximum utilisation of natural sunlight and ventilation to markedly reduce energy needs for illumination and temperature control.

Banana Tissue Culture at Mevedir Toppa Biotechnology Lab in Gangtok.

Presently meristem culture is being used on a limited scale in crops such as sugarcane and bananas and some plantation and horticultural crops. Its large scale adoption for many other crops and plants will contribute much to reduce the energy needed to multiply planting material. Another very important potential use of meristem culture is the mass multiplication of saplings of trees for large scale afforestation programmes. Since rapidly increasing the forest cover in the country is an urgent imperative, meristem culture of these trees would be a great advantage. Although some institutions have started using the technique, its large scale adoption is very much essential.

Conventional methods of multiplying tree saplings is rather slow and quite resource intensive. The rapid multiplication of the saplings through tissue ( meristem) culture and the  resultant large scale afforestation are bound to significantly reduce our overall carbon footprint, in view of the remarkable capacity of vegetation to neutralise the harmful effects of increased carbon emissions.

Introduction

India is undergoing an energy crisis. 53% of the country’s current power needs come from coal. This highly polluting source of energy is bound to run out someday. Compared to the West, India’s energy consumption is growing at break-neck speed. As India’s poor millions advance out of poverty, they are consuming more and more power, outstripping national power production. The negative gap between consumption and production has been increasing exponentially in the past two decades, forcing the government to buy increasing quantities of power from abroad. This trend is set to continue, with the country doubling it’s energy consumption in the next 20 years. Finding alternatives to fossil fuel-based energy sources is vital to India’s future if it wants to continue sustained growth.

Careful analysis of future trends is important for providing the right information to companies wanting to get involved in energy production.

Since wind and solar energy sources are widely popular and considered to be important in India’s development of renewable energy (RE) ,an important place to begin the analysis is by studying the inherent potential for these two energy sources. In this article I will limit my analysis of the RE sector to these two energy sources.

Wind potential:

Currently, India is fifth in the world in terms of installed wind power capacity. It is second, only after Germany, in the rate of growth of it’s wind sector. Wind power accounts for 6% of the total installed power capacity and 1.6% of the actual power production in India. The total wind energy potential in India is 10 times the total installed capacity.

Given these figures, it is no surprise that this source for energy production has received much attention in the past few years.

The major benefits of wind power are it’s fast set-up and turnover, clean environmental record, low operating and maintenance costs, relatively low capital costs and operation without the need for high-tech equipment. These are immediately recognized as ideal conditions for any seeking a quick business solution.

However, wind also comes with it’s unique disadvantages. The most prominent of these is the fact that wind patterns vary seasonally and geographically. This means that it can only be tapped to make electricity in some localized parts of the country, and the electricity production will vary throughout the year. The map on the right shows how just a few regions of the country are suitable for wind power harvesting. The wind patterns in India have been mapped and the areas with highest wind energy potential have been identified:

For those parts of the country without sustained strong winds, wind power may not be the best answer.

Solar potential:

Compared to wind, India lags behind in solar power production. Only about 0.5% of the country’s power comes from solar. This is despite the availability of plenty of solar radiation in most of the country. In fact, India is one of the best places in the world to develop solar solutions for energy. Compared to wind, solar radiation is a much more abundant resource in India. Insolation levels are high all over the country, allowing for de-centralized, off-grid approaches to power production. Not only does this lead to a more stable system (because of less risk of any large scale power outages), but it is extremely efficient in terms of land area used (rooftops and open terraces can become energy sinks) as well as in terms of energy conservation (because inefficient, expensive and long transmission lines can be avoided).

The map on the left shows how India receives an average of over 5.6 Kilowatts /Sq. meter every day.

There are some disadvantages, however. Unlike wind, solar energy cannot be harvested at night. In India, an average of 65 days of the year are overcast and radiation levels are low on those days.

Even after taking into consideration these problems, solar power still remains a much better solution to India’s energy problems in terms of total energy potential. But there is a practical technology issue that is preventing more widespread adoption of solar solutions in India. The capital needed to set up solar electric systems is really high. Currently, the electricity obtained from a solar installation costs between 6 and 10 times that obtained from conventional coal based sources.

Trends in technology:

Today, the focus of the renewable energy industry in India has been on wind. Solar has received much less attention. The reason why this discrepancy between solar and wind based energy production is seen in India is the high cost of solar technology installations, both photo-voltaic and solar thermal, compared to wind technology installations.

Solar photo-voltaic technology is becoming more efficient by the day. Newer and cheaper methods of producing the silicon wafers needed to make the photo-voltaic sheets used in solar installations are being created. There have been major breakthroughs in both amorphous and crystelline silicon sheets. In the US and in Europe, scientists have developed higher efficiency levels than ever before. Today, solar paint, solar pavements, solar sheets and solar fabric have been produced. This is just the beginning in exploring the adaptability of solar cells in outdoor  human activities. We may be reaching a physical limit in the efficiency of solar cells, but the cost of making these cells will come down if there is sufficient investment in this area.

The reason why business and government have focused mostly on wind and not so much on solar alternatives, is because of a lack of foresight combined with a desire for fast solutions. Wind power is already an attainable goal for India. The promise of quick economic gains is the incentive behind the recent growth in the wind sector. Investors have flooded money into the market and today the industry is spending a lot of money on increasing the total capacity, while not following through on the production. This indicates a lack of  foresight in considering the limitations of wind power. The government has responded by providing incentives for the wind industry to invest more into this energy alternative, while not recognizing the need for incentives for solar that could help to develop cost-effective solar power installations. There is no doubt that wind will continue to grow, but the current model of development is more hype than substance.

The future must see a shift in this trend. Consider and compare India’s solar and wind potential in the world stage:

It is clear that when the technology becomes available, solar will provide a much more reliable and productive source of power for India. This analysis concludes that for a stable energy future based on wind and solar, a balanced approach in policy and business is necessary.  On the short term, we need to focus on utilizing the wind power capacity we already have installed while encouraging companies to invest wisely in wind power. Meanwhile, a long-term strategy must seriously promote the potential for solar power in India. Investors in RE must take a long term view of solar power. The same goes for government.  If too much government incentive is focused on wind and development of solar alternatives is shelved, we will have a lot of catching up to do when our demand for power becomes too high to be supported by the dwindling supply of fossil fuels.

There are many reasons why hydroponic agriculture is better than conventional farming except for a few crops and regions. The economic, environmental and food quality benefits of this form of cultivation are often inter-related and plenty. So, instead of talking about all the positive aspects of hydroponics, in this article I will focus on just one aspect of hydroponics- increased nutrient availability for the plants.

Here are some facts.

• Food yields in the industrialized countries are many times that of the developing countries.
• Much of this difference is due to better fertilization techniques using highly automated and industrialized processes.
• In developing countries, the technology to increase nutrient levels in the soil are too expensive for the average farmer.
• Idea soil conditions are very hard to maintain after they are reached. Each season alters the soil and makes it less ideal for the next cycle.

Given the above reasoning, it is obvious that if a means of efficiently increasing the quantity and balance of thenutrients taken up by the plants is discovered, it must be studied exhaustively. As early as 1946, India was adapting hydroponic techniques for popular use at a research facility in Darjeeling.  Back in the early days the process of producing the balanced mixture of nutrients was an expensive and technical process. Since then we have come a long way since then. Research in biochemistry has uncovered the essential and non-essential nutrients that plants require for their growth, flowering and fruiting. The nutrient requirements of specific plant species have been studied. All around the world people have come up with inexpensive ways to enrich the water with the nutrients needed. All this is great news for the hydropinically inclined Indian grower.

A couple of years ago I got hooked on hydroponics after reading about a couple in Costa Rica who run a hydroponics projects in the mountains there. The project is the brainchild of Gustavo and Olga Fallas, both biologists interested in pesticide-free community agriculture. Their efforts have led to the success of Eco 21, a non-profit operation outside San Jose, the capital. I was very impressed reading about how the team improvised to construct their greenhouse frame and hydroponic setup. They grow tomatoes, squash, peppers, lettuce and many other plants using hydroponic medium that they mix using raw salts.

The National University of Agriculture at La Molina in Peru has developed a recipe for nutrient mixture suitable for tropical climates. This is essentially the mixture that Eco 21 is using in Costa Rica. Such developments around the world can enable urban farmers in India to embrace hydroponics with renewed vigor.

I recently read a report of an Indian grower who claims to have created nutrient solution from purely organic sources. He is being assisted by his daughter who is a botany student. Although I am skeptical of the claim that purely organic sources can produce a rich nutrient mix, this is the right direction to be headed in. It will be interesting to follow this trend in the coming years.

If you are aware of nutrient mix solutions in India please contact me by leaving a comment!

Earlier this year two American students on a Fullbright scholarship to India made a well-publicized tour of the country in electric cars from REVA fitted with solar panels to increase their efficiency. The team covered a total of 3500 kilometers, meeting people from all walks of life and encountering local solutions that people in remote areas have come up with for their energy needs. They convinced the CEO of REVA to fit the cars with solar panels, increasing the mileage from 120 Km per charge to 150-200 Kms. Thomas Friedman, columnist with the New York Times, wrote about this Climate Solutions Road Tour and the enthusiasm of the two young activists whom he met on a trip to India. You can read more about the group and their tour here.

Here is a video of the tour being flagged-off.

REVA recently announced that a new manufacturing facility is being built according to international sustainability standards in Bangalore, India. So the good news is that the company is growing. Their cars are currently being sold all over India as well as in Britain, Spain, Greece and Norway among other countries. Israel will soon see imported REVAs in that country after a recent agreement with the Israeli company BDO-I2I .

But the question is if solar technology will eventually be incorporated directly into the cars. At the present time it is more feasible to manufacture plug-in electric cars, but it seems that the kind of efficiency boost that added solar panels could provide can make the car more appealing to suburban drivers and inner city transportation fleets. Localized solar generation is in the future for Indian energy production over the next decade. At current efficiency levels, solar photovoltaics are simply too inefficient to justify building them into mass-produced cars in countries like India. However, the development of more efficient and cheaper PVs could change the industry. The CEO of REVA Electric Cars, Chetan Maini, has had hands-on experience with solar cars, but the specially customized cars used on the tour will probably not be commercially available any time soon.

For decades the energy industry has relied on the IEA (international Energy Agency) for guidance in global projections, industry estimates and setting universal standards to energy production and use. But it has become increasingly apparent that the IEA has an agenda that doesn’t hold up the welfare of its member nations and of the environment. The IEA is heavily infiltrated by oil industry representatives leading to a conflict of interest. Rudolph Reichsteiner, a Swiss MP, has written criticizing the agency for their consistent underestimation of projected growth in the wind sector.  This is part of a systematic approach by the IEA to downplay renewable energy sources, in order to benefit their interests in traditional energy sectors. Many European leaders see the IEA as favoring traditional fossil-fuel based energy sources.

India to Join:

On February 1, 2009, the Indian cabinet approved a petition to join the IRENA. India has approved a contribution of $112000 for the first year of its membership. By this move India is showing its commitment to reducing consumption of non-renewable sources over time by promoting renewable energy sources. The Indian government said that they have been consulted and are working with the agency to expedite the process of joining officially as a member nation.

Two countries that are conspicuously missing in the list are Britain and the United States. The US is expected to joinunder the Obama administration which is generally in favor of renewables. Britain, on the other hand, seems reticent to join at this stage. Britain has been opposing the EU in emissions control measures for years and now they are opposing the IRENA. The British government released a statement saying that it did not plan on joining until large developing countries like India and China joined and made a commitment to reducing their CO2 emissions. This is very reminiscent of the rhetoric from the US during the Bush administration which fir years was against signing the Kyoto protocol on global warming and reducing CO2 emissions. Now that India is set to join, that is one argument less that these industrialized and well-to-do nations have for continuing their destructive practices. They have been blaming developing nations all this time, while it was their development that led to the global emergency we find ourselves in today. They are now running out of excuses.

The Future in light of the establishment of the IRENA:

The establishment of an inter-governmental body to co-ordinate efforts is sure to have a major positive effect for the renewable sector. Here is an excerpt from the IRENA website:

Mandated by governments worldwide, IRENA aims at becoming the main driving force in promoting a rapid transition towards the widespread and sustainable use of renewable energy on a global scale. Acting as the global voice for renewable energies, IRENA will provide practical advice and support for both industrialised and developing countries, help them improve their regulatory frameworks and build capacity. The agency will facilitate access to all relevant information including reliable data on the potential of renewable energy, best practices, effective financial mechanisms and state-of-the-art technological expertise.

Belguim has now joined the list of member countries, raising the tally to 76. We will keep track of the agency and report on new developments.

The most illuminating sign is the rate of growth in the wind industry. Just last year there were only about 50,000 people in the field. Together with the uncertain future of carbon-based energy sources and Obama’s focus on cleaning up our environment, the success of the wind industry comes as a welcome relief.

Growth is expected to slow down along with the rest of the economy this year, but it is still expected to do better than most other industries. The entry into the field of traditional oil-men like T. Boone Pikens has changed commonly held views about wind and alternative energy in general.

India has been doing really well in the wind sector, seeing much needed growth and foreign investment. Local companies are tying with investors to build the rotors and blades needed for local projects as well as to export to the US and Europe. However, there is a lot of untapped potential. India has traditionally relied on public sector backed assessment studies to estimate the potential of new growth areas, entrepreneurial possibilities and environmental risk analysis. Although there has been considerable interest from foreign and domestic investors, more private investment is needed at this stage. Currently only about 3% of India’s wind potential is being tapped. This amounts to around 1,800 MW. The government is offering incentives for research, wind monitoring and to procure equipment.

In the coming years wind is set to hit India big time.