Comments
Optimal utilisation of generation capacity would entail synchronous integration of the southern region into the framework of inter-regional exchange of power, says an expert.
This mode of exchange of power is presently possible in synchronous mode among all regions except the South, according to Mr Haribandhu Panda, Director, HDF School of Management, Bhubaneswar.
ENERGY CONGRESS
Mr Panda stated this in a paper on ‘Energy scenario in India' being presented at the seventh Kerala Environment Congress being organised here by the Centre for Environment Development and the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology.
Open access in transmission, trading and power exchange would bring competitiveness to the electricity market, Mr Panda said.
The aggregate technical and commercial losses in the sector have remained very high in the country. Accelerated Power Development Reforms Programme has, however, sought to bring about some relief on this score.
SUBSIDY-DRIVEN
The total power generation capacity from renewable sources in the country is about 17,221.86 MW as on March 31, 2010. It constitutes approximately 10 per cent of the total installed electricity generating capacity.
A significant segment of the renewable energy resources (RES) is subsidy-driven, Mr Panda observed. In the absence of honest economic pricing of alternative non-renewable sources of energy, RES may not be able to sustain for long.
Referring to energy conversion issues, he said that there are various processes that help achieve it but some of them waste more energy than others.
WASTED ENERGY
One particular wasteful process is that of electricity generation in thermal power stations.
Such a station normally converts around 35 per cent of the input primary energy into electricity. By using the combined cycle, the efficiency can be improved to 45 to 46 per cent.
In hot countries, such as India, the combined cycle power plant efficiency can be improved by reducing the inlet air temperature through absorption chiller.
Further improvement in thermal efficiency of conventional power plants is restricted because of the constraint of material and physical property of working fluid.
SOLE EXCEPTION
In warm countries, about 45 per cent of primary energy is dumped into atmosphere at the condenser and cooling tower of a utility at a temperature of around 30 degree Celsius.
This waste heat is practically useless, and sometimes harmful for any industrial and domestic application. The sole exception is the beneficial impact on horticulture and fish farming in colder countries.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.