On this bountiful breeze

Although the cause of alternative, renewable sources of energy 8212; such as wind energy 8212; has been enthusiastically advocated by envi...

Although the cause of alternative, renewable sources of energy 8212; such as wind energy 8212; has been enthusiastically advocated by environmentalists for long, mainstream opinion has been that these sources combined together can at best play only a marginal role in meeting our overall energy requirements. It is widely believed that for as long in the future as one can reasonably foresee at present, oil will continue to be the mainstay of our energy hungry world. It is this consensus which has led to such a desperate quest, including war, for gaining control over the biggest reserves of oil in West Asia.

However, there are some indications that before long the world will have to revise this conventional understanding of the energy situation. One reason is that during the last 10 to 15 years the incentives for exploiting renewable energy have increased tremendously as a result of the growing importance given to the issue of climate change. Consequently, there is a genuine effort in many countries to try to curb emissions of greenhouse gases most notably carbon dioxide, and hence the enhanced need to cut down on fossil fuel consumption. Although some of the biggest burners of fossil fuels, like the US and Australia, have drawn well-deserved flak for their glaring neglect of this responsibility, several other countries are realising the potential of alternative, renewable sources of energy.

For example, Germany has achieved so much in renewable energy particularly wind energy in just a decade. Starting from almost zero levels in 1990, it is now regarded as a world leader in wind energy as it has 38 per cent of the global capacity in wind energy. In fact, Germany has set itself an ambitious target of harnessing 25 per cent of its electricity production from wind by 2025.

The Germany government played an important role in realising this potential by enacting a law under which renewable energy producers receive above market-rate payments for power they feed into the grid. This is not considered a temporary subsidy, but a genuinely deserved payment for the environmental benefits provided by renewable energy. The higher costs are spread equally to all consumers of electricity.

This doesn8217;t make much difference at present because the share of renewable energy in total energy consumption is still not high, but what will happen in about two decades when this share is likely to become quite substantial? Will consumers protest then? There is good reason to believe that such a possibility can be avoided. Already there are indications that improved technology and economies of scale are leading to a significant reduction in costs. Available estimates suggest that wind power and solar PV photo-voltaic costs have been reduced by 10 to 15 times in the last 20-25 years. If this progress continues, then consumer resistance to higher costs of renewables can be avoided. However, it must be admitted that as of today, the cost of electricity from solar PV is much higher.

The potential of hydrogen as an alternative energy source is rated by many experts to be even higher, much higher. But environmentalists insist that the process of separating hydrogen should avoid fossil fuels or nuclear energy. To consolidate the beneficial environmental impact, which is the essence of the quest for alternative fuels, only renewable energy sources should be tapped.

As a country which depends too much on oil imports for its energy needs, India has everything to gain and nothing to lose from devoting more effort and resources to the development of renewable sources of energy.