The dogging issues are: How fast and best to exploit the resources of Renewable Energy, and develop enough electricity thereof. How to fix the cost paradigm? Whether subsidies of electricity would be wound up? Whether or not special paradigms be created to ensure fuels like coal, oil and gas for generation of power? How fast to start manufacturing the basic materials for renewable energy modules?

Speakers in three back to back conferences this month, convened by the Power Ministry in collaboration with 5th World Energy Congress (WEC), NTPC and Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) have projected these issues in clear terms, yet the picture is one of confusion about how the generation problems would come to a logical end.

Besides fuels, a number of reformatory issues, such as need for power tariff revision, removal of anomalies and/or abuse of subsidised power support mechanism, and woes about electricity generation explain the policy confusion.

In a slowered economy as on date, it only means that the transition in the concept of types of power generation has only started. The time spent in about two decades after the beginning of the Reform moves it seems was not enough. Therefore the new policies expressed in these conferences have only intensified the confusion.

Even after the message of power sector reforms effected in results like PPP model, Bhagidari, the Electricity Act 2003, Accelerated Power Development Reform Programmes, and the Restructured Power Development Reform Programmes, the government concentrated more on traditional sources of power (thermal and hydro), the India’s thrust for power begins with the thermal and also ends with it.

Complacent claims in conferences only aired the policies regulating how effectively fuels should be made available to thermal plants, but not how resources and funds should be ameliorated to intensify alternative energy profile of the country, should the fuel supply fail the plants’ capacities.

No wonder then, new and renewable energy minister Farooq Abdullah, would touch hearts when spoke on the concluding day of the 5th WEC : “Time has come. Find out areas we should go farther, so that when we meet again next year we can tell us what your suggestions have done. That’s, how to work together. Work to free this world from the grapple of the fossil fuels. Sixtyfive years of Independence, yet 40% of people don’t have clean drinking water, enough public hospitals, schools, electricity. So please help us to achieve the goal of Renewable Energy in a big way.”

Time was already there however. Since the Reforms of early 90’s, India was already boasting of a few lakhs of trillionaires among its citizens. It already owned the super class technology knowhows, and many willing governments in states. The country had already a few massive companies successfully exploring greener pastures in world markets. Reliance, Infosys, Mittals, and Tatas, besides the PSUs like BHEL — which have proven culture of Quality applications in manufacturing (following the principles of Malcolm Baldrige Criteria of performance excellence in manufacturing) — to start manufacturing units of Photo-Voltaic Solar (PVS) modules within the country.

Incidentally, all these private and public sector MNCs apply quality disciplines according to the lean six sigma principles which the American Society for Quality (ASQ) preach and teach to create competitive manufacturing and operational capabilities at par with global standards.

Yet the opportunities for renewable energies were not created or grabbed. In 1990s itself, India lost the vantage time to start early. It is because the governments during those times did not or could not took hard decisions to pull the PPP models into action.

If such activities were started three decades back, which were possible because these giant Indian MNCs were effectively capturing opportunities abroad, today we could have solar power at an economy rate for the masses.

The February conferences stressed what veteran Farooq Abdullah appealed to the audience: “Local content is required to allow the private players to take up. Let us start generating energy, let us work together, let us save this earth.”

If the government transfers these local responsibilities to private players in synchronized planning structure, in a sun-bathed country like India, developing solar and wind energy would naturally become successful ventures. Over a period of time these would be effective alternatives to tackle the fossil fuel woes in thermal power generation. We need more and more SPV manufacturing units in the country, more and more wind turbines. The government would do well to prioritise these domains of manufacturing.

The ministry of new and renewable energy is looking at generating 3000 mw of wind power for transmission into the grid within the 12th plan. The MNRE estimates to generate 3000 giga watt of power from renewable energy sources like solar, wind, hydro and biomass.

This could have already been started by indigenously manufacturing equipment and tools, which BHEL and Moser Bayer are doing in small sizes. With PPP and Bhagidari models drawing the Indian MNCs, and billionaires among the citizens, the draw would have ensued a new resurgence of patriotism, which terror and strife-ridden India needs to develop. The MNRE’s programmes of generating of 15,000 gigs of renewable energy in next five Plan periods, would eventually require the Indian MNCs putting resources together, under the aegis of the MNRE. Hope this happens now, albeit late. (IPA Service)