Any talk on climate change ends up focusing on the energy sector and with India poised to grow exponentially in the coming decades, the need of the hour is not to abstain from using energy but to use it efficiently, so as to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Talking at a seminar on climate change, waster recycling and green energy, Ajay Mathur director-general Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) said that with 70% infrastructure in the country yet to be built by 2030, in the form of buildings, and the use of consumer goods such as refrigerators and air conditioners likely to peak in the coming years, this is the right time to think of ways to save energy and use it most efficiently.
?Energy is central to our existence and the need of the hour is to enhance energy supply in the country so that more and more people can use it to achieve economic development. But our focus should be on clean energy and efficient use of energy. We must work towards making power-effeicient devices and make sure that each one of us will buy efficient devices, even if it costs slightly more than an non-efficient device. It will cost more initially, but in the long-run, it will be more energy efficient and would also reduce carbon emissions,? said Mathur.
Stressing on renewable energy, Mathur said that the biggest hurdle in this is the additional cost that it puts on the entire system. ?While coal-based power costs
R1.70/unit at the powerhouse level, wind energy costs R 3.50/unit while solar power costs R12/unit. The challenge before us is how to reduce the cost of renewable energy so as to make it affordable to the general public,? he said, adding that it is high time to switch to renewable and bio energy as the country has already started depending too much on imported fuel. ?We are already importing 70% oil and 10% coal to meet the country?s energy needs. And by 2017, we will be importing 40% coal to run our power plants. This makes energy a very expensive commodity for us. Hence, energy efficiency has become relevant to every individual and every household. It is imperative for end users to make the right choices while purchasing appliances.?
Speaking at the seminar GSC Rao, CEO of Simbhaoli Sugars said that it is high time the country recognised the sugarcane as a huge source of bio-energy and grow more sugarcane. ?Sugarcane is a bio-mass based energy crop and both bagasse and ethanol are bio-friendly fuels. India is the world?s second largest sugar producer and the largest sugar consumer. And within India, Uttar Pradesh is the biggest sugarcane producer. We are literally sitting on a bio-friendly environment. All that we need to do is to produce more sugarcane, which will in effect more bio-friendly power through cogeneration and ethanol to run our cars on,? he stated.