We are running out of resources like coal. There seem to be no major alternative sources of energy identified for solving this problem. Have there been any innovative ways to generate electricity in micro levels? Like say a way to generate electricity for an apartment at the apartment?(Cut transmission losses)I'm sure, very soon most of India would be power surplus. Firstly we should know about th
e problems and then we can come up with nice solutions. Power distribution is mostly controlled by state power sector units and hence by respective state governments. So every state should overcome the following problems at distribution level. Power theft
Non payment by users or tampering of meters to fudge with electricity metering
Free electricity to farmers is a nice program if it is implemented in a right way but majority was thieved because of its loopholes at implementation level. Free loading by government
Bad last mile network which leads to breakdowns and losses. At Production level:
Lack of control or co-ordination on tarrifs over private producers such as GVK power, reliance power, tata power etc
Selling a part of the state owned distribution sector (SEB's) to private companies which would bring efficiency to the table with an open eye bureaucracy. This was already done in few states. Need to be extended to other states. Most of the generation is within Thermal and Hydro. But it should be extended to other sources as well like solar and nuclear. Lack of encouragement for private production. That encouragement is because of lack of incubation centers at research levels. New Ideas:
(1) Net metering is my favorite technology so far, lets see what it is:
What is ‘Net Metering’? Net Metering is an eco-friendly idea that encourages the power consumers to adopt the generation of solar power to manage their demand and supply of electricity. In this process, the consumers not only generate power for their own needs but also get paid for the excess power generated by their solar Photovoltaic systems (PV systems). The excess electricity is send to the central grid which pays for the energy thus generated. How ‘Net Metering’ works? The electricity generated by the PV systems serves the immediate energy needs of your home and slashes your monthly electricity bill. Any extra power your home needs—day or night—is automatically supplied by PG&E. The excess electricity generated by your system, but your home does not use, is exported back to the electric grid. Why is it called ‘Net Metering’? Net Metering system is a billing mechanism that credits solar energy system owners for the electricity they contribute to the grid. For example, if a residential customer owns a PV system, it may generate more electricity than the home uses during daylight hours. If the home is net-metered, the electricity meter will run backwards to provide a credit against what electricity is consumed at night or other periods where the home’s electricity use exceeds the system’s output. Customers are only billed for their “net” energy use. Generally, only 20-40% of a solar energy system’s output ever goes into the grid. What are the benefits of Net Metering? Eco-friendly as it doesn’t generate harmful emissions
Reduces dependence on conventional energy sources
Provides electricity to power deficient homes
Encourages generation of solar energy by power consumers through incentives like negative bills and credits to surplus producers. (2) Nuclear power plants:
There is nothing new to introduce Nuclear generating stations here. But there is dire need to establish more number of nuclear power plants in India with clean technologies to get rid of pollution. Here the map indicates the nuclear power plants in india:
Some of them were in construction phase.Recently on news, Kundankulam plant faced several impediments during its construction phase and it took 3 years to get rid of all the errors and that in turn because of lack of fast debugging solutions. By encouraging all such new technologies we have a small way to get back our Desi Indians from US who did their MS on the respective fields ( Woaa.. We can debug the issues quickly with their latest technologies and at the same time we can provide employment for them in India). Will update the answer if I found some other new interesting ideas on power generation.
