Trigeneration will create the right energy

Any conversation on successful energy efficiency deployment is incomplete without speaking about two of its most important drivers: beneficial use cases, matched by a successful business model. In its bid to meet the Paris Agreement’s Nationally Determined Contributions, energy efficiency is, as defined by the NITI Aayog, our ‘low-hanging fruit’ .

A Planning Commission scenarios-based analysis — ‘India Energy Security Scenarios 2047’ (IESS 2047) — estimates that India can bring down its energy demand by 25-40 per cent over the next three decades through economy-wide energy efficiency measures. Corresponding to this are reductions in emissions.

The catalyst to make this happen — first and foremost — is a win-win for consumers and business to switch to greener options. This has been seen with India’s uptake of sustainable technologies like LED bulbs, where business models have made it possible to reduce both prices and emissions. We must, however, keep in mind that efficient appliances are just one piece in the energy efficiency landscape.

Considering that India will need to build 700-900 million square metres of commercial and residential space until 2030 , and that energy demand is expected to increase at least fourfold by 2032, it is time to identify large-scale energy solutions.

What’s the trajectory?

What will power India’s future growth trajectory? A business-as-usual approach, that is, the use of coal and fossil fuels though inevitable, cannot be the major contributors. Not only is coal a heavy polluter, the Government has also downgraded its estimation of the useful life of this resource to just about 40 years or so. Lack of availability and other factors have caused over 36,000 MW of new generational capacity to become stranded assets.

Besides, fossil fuels are not viable, keeping in mind the need to decarbonise and have an affordable energy source. Gas is ideal as a transition fuel for a 100 per cent carbonless energy future — it is the cleanest burning hydrocarbon, highly affordable, and can be supplied for over 200 years at the current levels of consumption (International Energy Agency).

The next, and perhaps most important question is: How can gas be deployed easily, sustainably, and on a viable scale?

To both decarbonise and find affordable fuel options, India must find a sustainable way of meeting the energy needs of residential and commercial establishments, two of the large consumers of energy. The personal and macro cost of these needs can be met through one technology: tri-generation. Using gas as fuel to generate electricity, trigeneration uses high temperature emissions to provide cooling by heat transfer. Simultaneously, low temperature emissions can be used for heating water. One fuel and three applications — it’s a truly versatile solution. Its overall efficiency, of using gas for electricity, heating and cooling, is around twice that of conventional systems.

The case for trigen

While there are clear merits for trigen adoption, its uptake needs creating use-based cases. The office and retail segment can identify trigen opportunities through the district cooling route by consolidating their interests, enabling projects to be set up according to the geographic proximity on case-by-case basis. A similar approach could also work for clusters of small and medium enterprises.

SME clusters, as well as hotels, hospitals and industries, can also meet their regular needs for hot water, cooling, and electricity through a consolidated trigen adoption approach. Trigen’s success relies on regular, affordable gas supply.

India must therefore create a favourable regulatory environment for gas, its distribution and pricing. Trigen can be even more profitable and environmentally sustainable using low-cost “opportunity fuels” such as methane from agricultural or food processing wastes, landfills, or wastewater treatment plant digesters.

If industries internally map their trigen-potential, and assess their needs for heating, cooling, and hot water, they can benefit from this revolutionary technology. Consolidating the requirements will benefit the country.

Fuel, technology, operations, permissions, insurance, and other factors to make trigen successful can all be managed with contracts . Such a cohesive approach can help formulate a functional, reliable solution to mutual financial and performance objectives. Industries and players who can find mutual benefits can create a strong case for gas-powered trigen.

The writer is the director and group head (Energy Management) of the National Productivity Council

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