Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 2
Primary and fi nal energy from renewables
3. It is unreliable due to discontinuous availability
of source of energy.
4. It is scarce in a sense that the real estate where
those energies are reliably continuous and in
economic proximity to rate payers is scarce.
5. Once the electricity is produced by the sun or
wind, it cannot be stored because battery tech-
nology is not currently up to the task; hence it
requires immediate consumption.
But in a world where fossil fuels are equally
scarce resources, it is arguably a better option to
have optimal mix of renewable and nonrenew-
able sources of energy rather than being heavily
dependent on either one. Proponents of green
energy argue that if the government can put a
man on the moon, it can certainly make green
energy economically attractive (Taylor and Van
Doren
2011
). In the recent times, many countries
including the USA have been pushing for improv-
ing carbon footprint through renewable sources
of energy. Of course to promote relatively cost-
lier energy, government and administrations
across the globe have been incentivising the pro-
ducers and consumers through one or other forms
of subsidies. Many scholars and opponents of
renewable energy do argue that competitive
energy pricing should be free from any form of
subsidy. It is absolutely true in the long run, but
in the short run adoptions of greener technologies
require signifi cant impetus for greater level of
penetration. However, it should make economic
sense in the long run. India has been seriously
taking desirable steps to increase the share of
green energy, most importantly renewable energy
sources like wind and solar. Very recent develop-
ments suggest that India has been actively look-
ing for international partners to provide
techno-fi nancial support for generation and dis-
tribution of renewable energy in the country. In
September 2013, Germany committed fi nancial
and technical assistance to India for the green
energy corridors, which includes fi nancial assis-
tance of 250 million euros as reduced interest
loan. Technical assistance includes two million
euros for an Indo-German energy programme
and an additional two million euros for integration
of renewable energies into the Indian electricity
system (Singh
2013
).
Primary energy from
renewables
Final energy from
renewables
Target
(%) by
2020
Share (%)
2009-2010
Target
(%)
Share (%)
2009-2010
Countries
Germany
9
12
18
France
6
13
23
India
7
4.9
-
Italy
11
12
17
Japan
6.9
10 % by
2020
15
Spain
13
15
20.8
Sweden
38
48
50
Norway
65
67.5
UK
4
3.8
15
Source
: Compiled from various published sources
2012 calendar year, the contribution of renew-
able energy to Australia's electricity supply broke
10 % for the fi rst time this century, producing
more than 13 % of the total - powering the equiv-
alent of almost 4.2 million homes - and wind
energy contributed 26 % of renewables (Clean
Energy Council
2012
). Over the last 4 years,
solar energy has been picking up very fast in
Australia and generating close to 17,000 green
jobs. Some recent media reports suggest that
Australia may completely move to clean energy
by 2030.
5
Role of Renewables in Green
Economy
Renewable energy has been the point of discus-
sion for the past decade and is becoming an
increasingly important part of energy policy
agenda for many countries including the USA
and China. Some people like Taylor and Van
Doren (
2011
) argue that renewable energy is
quite literally the energy of yesterday and the
progressive society abandoned “green” energy
centuries ago for fi ve very good reasons:
1. Green energy is diffuse, and it takes a tremen-
dous amount of land and material to harness
even a little bit of energy.
2. It is extremely costly compared to competing
fossil fuel.
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