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HYPERLOOP 2018

ENERGY
CONSOLIDATED PRELIMS CURRENT AFFAIRS

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1. SOLAR ENERGY ...............................................................................................................................3

1.1 Basic Technology in Solar Cells ..................................................................................................3
1.1.1 Solar Photovoltaic ........................................................................................................................ 3
1.1.2 Cheaper Solar Cells ...................................................................................................................... 4
1.1.3. Rooftop solar power ................................................................................................................... 4
1.1.4 India's largest floating solar power plant..................................................................................... 5
1.1.5 Indian Railways' first set of solar plants ....................................................................................... 5
1.1.6 Clean Cooking movement ............................................................................................................ 5
1.2 Government Initiations .............................................................................................................6
1.2.1 International Solar Alliance .......................................................................................................... 6
1.2.2 Solar Briefcase.............................................................................................................................. 7
1.2.3 Green Airports and Light houses ................................................................................................. 7
2. RENEWABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY ...................................................................................................8
2.1 Tamil Nadu’s success story in Wind energy .................................................................................... 8
2.2 World Renewable Energy Technology Congress............................................................................. 8
2.3 First large-scale battery storage project for wind, solar ................................................................. 8
2.4 Fuel from oxygen in air ................................................................................................................... 9
2.5 World’s First Hydrogen Tram Begins Operation in China ............................................................... 9
2.6 Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) .................................................. 9
2.7 Tracing India’s nuclear journey ..................................................................................................... 10
2.8 India’s three-stage nuclear power programme ............................................................................ 10
2.9 Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) in India ........................................................................................... 12
2.10 Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) ................................................................. 13
3. FOSSIL FUELS ................................................................................................................................ 13
3.1 Oil & Gas ................................................................................................................................ 13
3.1.1. Methanol - a clean fuel ............................................................................................................. 13
3.1.2 LPG (Cooking gas)....................................................................................................................... 14
3.1.3 Coalbed Methane....................................................................................................................... 15
3.1.4. India-Iran Gas Pipeline .............................................................................................................. 16
3.1.5 India's Farzad-B gas field deal with Iran..................................................................................... 16
3.1.6 Hydrocarbon cooperation with Kazakhstan .............................................................................. 17

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3.1.7 India to build natural gas trading platform ................................................................................ 17

3.1.8 India to renegotiate LNG rate with US, Russia ........................................................................... 17
3.1.9 Mega oil and gas auctions .......................................................................................................... 18
3.1.10 Dynamic Fuel Pricing ................................................................................................................ 18
3.1.11 World's largest combustion research facility........................................................................... 19
3.1.12 Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga - First Piped Natural Gas (PNG) project ...................................... 19
3.1.13 Clean Cooking Forum ............................................................................................................... 20
3.2 Other fossil fuels..................................................................................................................... 21
3.2.1. Coal as a fuel ............................................................................................................................. 21
3.2.2 Opening up coal mines to commercial auction ......................................................................... 22
3.2.3 Coal India to take up clean coal technologies............................................................................ 22
4. SAFETY OF POWER PLANTS ........................................................................................................... 23
4.1 Disaster management drill to take place at Kudankulam power plant ........................................ 23
4.2 Safety issues in thermal power plants .......................................................................................... 24
5. ELECTRIFICATION ......................................................................................................................... 24
5.1 Draft National Electricity Plan ....................................................................................................... 24
5.2 Apps in Electricity .......................................................................................................................... 24
5.3 Grahak Sadak Koyla Vitaran App ................................................................................................... 25
5.4 PPPs for mini power grid projects ................................................................................................. 26
5.5 Open access charges in electricity distribution............................................................................. 26
5.6 Ease of Doing Business – Getting Electricity ................................................................................. 26
5.7Saubhagya Web-portal.................................................................................................................. 27
6 .ELECTRIC VEHICLES ....................................................................................................................... 28
6.1 E- Vehicles ..................................................................................................................................... 28
6.2 Infrastructure for the electric vehicles.......................................................................................... 29
6.3 National Electric Mobility Mission Plan ........................................................................................ 30
7. ENERGY CONSERVATION .............................................................................................................. 31
7.1 The Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2017 .................................................................. 31
7.2 All Central Government offices to retrofit energy efficient appliances........................................ 31
7.3 Enhanced oil recovery projects ..................................................................................................... 32
7.4 India is fourth largest in LEED projects ......................................................................................... 32

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7.5 Energy Savings Certificates ........................................................................................................... 33

1. SOLAR ENERGY

1.1 Basic Technology in Solar Cells

1.1.1 Solar Photovoltaic

Solar photovoltaic (SPV) cells convert solar radiation (sunlight) into electricity. A
solar cell is a semi-conducting device made of silicon and/or other materials,
which, when exposed to sunlight, generates electricity. Solar cells are connected
in series and parallel combinations to form modules that provide the required
power.
 Crystalline Silicon solar cells (C-Si): Monocrystalline and Polycrystalline
 Thin-film solar cells: Amorphous Silicon Solar cells (A-Si), CIGS, CdTe
PV modules are manufactured by assembling the solar cells after stringing,
tabbing and providing other interconnections.
Solar Thermal
Solar Thermal Power systems, also known as Concentrating Solar Power systems,
use concentrated solar radiation as a high temperature energy source to produce
electricity using thermal route. High temperature solar energy collectors are
basically of three types:
 Parabolic trough system: at the receiver can reach 400° C and produce
steam for generating electricity.
 Power tower system: The reflected rays of the sun are always aimed at the
receiver, where temperatures well above 1000° C can be reached.
 Parabolic dish systems: Parabolic dish systems can reach 1000° C at the
receiver, and achieve the highest efficiencies for converting solar energy to
electricity.
Status of Indian solar manufacturing
There are more than 110 Indian solar cell and module makers registered with the
government, out of which Consultancy Bridge to India expects only a handful to
survive. This is because of Chinese modules which are 10-20% cheaper than those
made in India. That is squeezing out Indian cell and module makers, many of
which have inferior technology, depend on imports of raw materials, have limited
access to cheap loans and operate below capacity.

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Lack of significant domestic solar manufacturing capacity is a concern, as this is a

major gap as like India’s huge mobile phone market but negligible local
production.
1.1.2 Cheaper Solar Cells
Researchers at Australia’s University of New South Wales recently set a new
world record for solar cell efficiency by developing the largest single perovskite
photovoltaics cell, which is 10 times bigger than the current certified high-
efficiency perovskite solar cells.
Two technologies are
1. The hydrogenation
o Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) is used for doping and as
intrinsic absorber layers in thin-film silicon solar cells.
o a-Si:H is a very versatile material with properties that are of high
interest for application in other devices such as heterojunction solar
cells, detectors, or optoelectronic devices.
2. Perovskite cells technology
o Solar cell which includes a perovskite structured compound, as the
light-harvesting active layer
o Solar cell efficiencies of devices using these materials have increased
from 3.8% in 2009 to 22.1% in early 2016, making this the fastest-
advancing solar technology to date
What is Passive solar technology?
In passive solar building design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect,
store, and distribute solar energy in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar
heat in the [Link] technology has been used by humans since long time
1.1.3. Rooftop solar power
The government has set itself a target of 100 GW of solar power by 2022, of
which 60 GW is to come from utilities and 40 GW from rooftop solar installations.
What is rooftop solar?
 Rooftop solar installations can be installed on the roofs of buildings
 They fall under two brackets: commercial and residential.
What are the benefits?
 Provides an alternative source of electricity to the grid
 Environment Friendly and very useful in remote locations

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Hurdles
 Variability in supply.
o Efficiency depends on sunlight
o No power generation during night
 Storage technology for electricity, however, is still underdeveloped and
storage solutions are expensive.
Way forward
 Imports of cheap solar panels are continuously placing a downward
pressure on prices and so this scenario could change in the future.
1.1.4 India's largest floating solar power plant
At the Banasura Sagar reservoir in [Link] 500 kWp (kilowatt peak) solar
plant floats on 6,000 square metres of water surface of the reservoir.
Background:
 So far a 100 KW plant was the largest in the floating solar executed by the
NTPC in Kerala.
 First floating solar project was executed in West Bengal in 2014 at Rajarhat.
 Two floating solar projects with the capacity of 10 MW each are coming up
in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
Advantages
 No lands acquisition problem
 More efficient than land based solar panels because of more temperature
difference
 Reduces water evaporation

1.1.5 Indian Railway’s first set of solar plants

Part of the government's National Solar Mission in which Indian Railways plans to
commission 1000 MWp solar plants across its network
 Aim is a 100 per cent de-carbonised, most energy efficient and highest
electrified rail network in the world.
1.1.6 Clean Cooking movement
Prime Minister gave a call to start-ups to initiate a clean cooking movement by
tapping the huge market potential of solar energy
 By 2030, India aimed to address 40 per cent of its power needs by means of
renewable energy.
 The solar energy led clean cooking to rural women which made a positive
difference in their lives

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 It will also contributed to a cleaner environment

1.2 Government Initiations

1.2.1 International Solar Alliance

International Solar Alliance

Fiji, Niger and Tuvalu have deposited instrument of ratification of the Framework
Agreement of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in the recently held 5th
meeting of International Steering Committee (ISC) of the ISA.
 Till date 40 countries have signed and 11 countries have ratified the
Framework Agreement of the ISA.
 With ratifications by 15 countries, the ISA will become a treaty based
intergovernmental international organization
About International Solar Alliance (ISA):
The initiative was launched at the UN climate Change conference in paris at the
end of 2015 by the President of france and the Prime minister of India

Joint efforts
 Innovative policies, projects, programmes, capacity building measures and
financial instruments to mobilise more than USD 1 trillion dollars of
investments that are needed by 2030.
 The reduced cost of finance would enable the undertaking of more
ambitious solar energy programmes.
Aim
 The aim is for countries to work together towards the deployment of
appropriate benchmarks, facilitating resource assessments, supporting
research and development and demonstration facilities, with a view to
encourage innovative and affordable applications of solar technologies.
Five Key Focus Areas
Key focus areas to achieve these objectives are to:
 promote solar technologies, new business models and investment in the
solar sector to enhance prosperity
 formulate projects and programmes to promote solar applications

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 develop innovative financial mechanisms to reduce cost of capital

 build a common knowledge e-Portal
 facilitate capacity building for promotion and absorption of solar
technologies and R&D among member countries
India’s Contribution
 India has offered a contribution of Rs 175 crore for creating ISA corpus fund
and for meeting the cost of ISA secretariat for initial five years.
 International Steering Committee was establishment under the mandate of
the Paris Declaration of ISA to provide the guidance and direction to
establish the ISA.
 India has suggested that Multilateral Development Banks and other
financial institutions support solar projects through low-cost finance, and
research & technology institutions worldwide try their utmost to bring the
cost of solar power and storage within reach of all.
1.2.2 Solar Briefcase
Uttarakhand Govt. launches ‘Solar Briefcase' to provide electricity in remote
areas. 47 villages and 1, 40,000 families do not have access to electricity.

How will it work?

This system is perfect for the budget conscious buyer who needs reliable portable
power. It has a built-in 50w high efficiency portable solar panel for recharging
built-in 50Ah battery directly with sunlight. This system can easily power small to
medium-sized electronic devices such as cell phones, game systems, laptops,
iPads.
1.2.3 Green Airports and Light houses
 The Government of India encourages development of green airports.

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 AAI has commenced installation of 1MWp solar power plant at Tirupathi

and Vijaywada Airports.
 Earlier, the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) became the first
airport in the world, to be completely powered by solar energy.
Why needed?
 The aviation industry has a reputation for being particularly carbon
intensive
 Eco-savvy airports hope to change that by reducing the sector's carbon
emissions

2. RENEWABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY

2.1 Tamil Nadu’s success story in Wind energy

Tamil Nadu has reaped the benefits of better planning and forecasting in
integrating wind energy into its energy mix
 Tamil Nadu is also expected to fully realize its renewable energy potential
once the Raigarh-Pugalur green power transmission corridor, with a
capacity of 6,000 MW, is completed by May 2019
 And it has the largest wind capacities in the country and significant
developer and manufacturer interest.
 It is also investing in its fourth wind power sub-station at Thennampatti, in
addition to the ones in Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli.
 And most importantly, it must continue to build on its planning process for
the sector to truly integrate clean energy into its grids.
2.2 World Renewable Energy Technology Congress
The Energy and Environment Foundation is organizing 8th World Renewable
Energy Technology Congress & Expo-2017 in, Delhi.
The theme of the conference is "Renewable Energy: What Works".
3Ds, which today's global engagements need to focus their energy upon. These
are -
 a common shared goal of De-carbonization of the energy space;
 to look at more Decentralization of energy space; and
 More and more Digitalization of the energy space.

2.3 First large-scale battery storage project for wind and solar
Denmark's Vestas will help to build the world's first utility-scale project that uses
battery technology to store power from both wind and solar sources.

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Project in Australia
 The project in Australia aims to bring down the cost of renewable energy
production and help secure a steady supply of renewable power to the grid
regardless of weather condition.
 It will use batteries supplied by U.S. electric carmaker Tesla Inc
How will help India?
 So many remote places will benefit, which are still out of reach from
electricity
 Can bolster government electric mobility plan

2.4 Fuel from oxygen in air

Researchers from Cardiff University in the U.K. have discovered:
 Methanol can be produced from methane through a simple catalysis that
allows methanol production at low temperatures
 Using oxygen and hydrogen peroxide.
Current methanol synthesis
 Breaking down natural gas at high temperatures into hydrogen gas and
carbon monoxide
 Reassembling them expensive and energy-intensive processes known as
‘steam reforming’ and ‘methanol synthesis.’
Uses:
 Natural gas could use this method for “waste” gas saving
 Reducing carbon dioxide emissions

2.5 World’s First Hydrogen Tram Begins Operation in China

The world’s first hybrid electric tram powered by hydrogen fuel cells has started
running in China, marking a big step in the application of green energy in public
transport.
 Water being its only emission, the tram emits no pollutants.
 No nitrogen oxides will be produced as the temperature of the reaction
inside hydrogen fuel cells is controlled under 100 degrees Celsius.
 The distance between carriage floor of the tram and the rail is only 35cm
thanks to the latest low-floor technology, which can remove station
platforms
2.6 Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA)
 IREDA is a Mini Ratna (Category – I) Government of India Enterprise.

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 It is under the administrative control of Ministry of New and Renewable

Energy (MNRE).
 IREDA is a Public Limited Government Company established as a Non-
Banking Financial Institution in 1987.
 motto: “ENERGY FOR EVER”.
Objectives:
 To give financial support to specific projects and schemes for generating
electricity and / or energy through new and renewable sources and
conserving energy through energy efficiency.
 To strive to be competitive institution through customer satisfaction.
 To maintain its position as a leading organization to provide efficient and
effective financing in renewable energy and energy efficiency /
conservation projects.
 Improvement in the efficiency of services provided to customers through
continual improvement of systems, processes and resources.
2.7 Tracing India’s nuclear journey
Experimental reactors:
 Apsara, India’s first nuclear [Link] reactor was with the help from
United Kingdom under a lease agreement.
 Our second reactor for research purposes, CIRUS, was built with
cooperation with Canada and went into operation in the early 1960’s.
Commercial reactors:
 The Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS) which was built by General
Electric of USA.
 Special materials like nuclear fuel, zirconium components and heavy water
production required extensive work in the laboratories of the Bhabha
Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
India now has twenty-one reactor units in service.
Agreements with other countries:
 India signed cooperation agreements with the Westinghouse of USA and
AREVA of France in 2008.
2.8 India’s three-stage nuclear power programme
Indian Nuclear Power Generation : Envisages A Three Stage Programme
 STAGE 1 » Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor using
 STAGE 2 » Fast Breeder Reactor

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 STAGE 3 » Breeder Reactor

STAGE 1 » Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor using
 Natural UO2 as fuel matrix
 Heavy water as moderator and coolant

In the reactor
 India achieved complete self- reliance in this technology and this stage of
the programme is in the industrial domain.
The future plan includes
 Setting up of VVER type plants based on Russian Technology is under
progress to augment power generation .
 MOX fuel (Mixed oxide) is developed and introduced at Tarapur To
conserve fuel and to develop new fuel technology.
STAGE 2 » Fast Breeder Reactor
India’s second stage of nuclear power generation envisages the use of Pu-239
obtained from the first stage reactor operation, as the fuel core in fast breeder
reactors (FBR). The main features of FBTR are
 Pu-239 serves as the main fissile element in the FBR
 A blanket of U-238 surrounding the fuel core will undergo nuclear
transmutation to produce fresh Pu-239 as more and more Pu-239 is
consumed during the operation.
 Besides a blanket of Th-232 around the FBR core also undergoes neutron
capture reactions leading to the formation of U-233.
 U-233 is the nuclear reactor fuel for the third stage of India’s Nuclear Power
Programme.
STAGE 3 » Breeder Reactor
The third phase of India’s Nuclear Power Generation programme is, breeder
reactors using U-233 fuel. India’s vast thorium deposits permit design and
operation of U-233 fuelled breeder reactors.
 U-233 is obtained from the nuclear transmutation of Th-232 used as a
blanket in the second phase Pu-239 fuelled FBR.
 Besides, U-233 fuelled breeder reactors will have a Th-232 blanket around
the U-233 reactor core which will generate more U-233.
 These U-233/Th-232 based breeder reactors are under development and
would serve as the mainstay of the final thorium utilization stage of the
Indian nuclear programme.

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2.9 Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) in India

 Fast reactors generally have an excess of neutrons that can breed more fuel
from otherwise non-fissionable isotopes.
 The most common breeding reaction is that on uranium-238 to produce
plutonium-239 .
 Breeder reactors could, in principle, extract almost all of the energy
contained in uranium or thorium, decreasing fuel requirements.
India’s three stage nuclear programme envisages, construction of Fast Breeder
Reactors (FBRs) in Stage-II, fuelled by Plutonium produced in stage-I.
KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini reactor) was the first reactor in the world designed
specifically to use uranium-233 fuel.
What is the progress now?
 India has designed an Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) which would
breed U-233 from Thorium.

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 Construction of the pilot AHWR was envisaged in the 12th plan period.
2018 is now the target dates.
2.10 Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL)
 It is a Public Sector Enterprise under the administrative control of the
Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India.
 NPCIL also has equity participation in BHAVINI, another PSU of Department
of Atomic Energy (DAE) which implements Fast Breeder Reactors
programme in the country.
Functions
 NPCIL is responsible for design, construction, commissioning and operation
of nuclear power reactors.

3. FOSSIL FUELS

3.1 Oil & Gas

3.1.1. Methanol - A clean fuel

Advantages of Methanol
 It is clean, cheaper than fossil fuels and a good substitute for heavy fuels.
 Will help India use its vast reserves of coal, Can reduce the petroleum
imports.
 Methanol can be produced from municipal waste as well
 It can be made from natural gas
How Methonol is produced?
Methanol can be produced from natural gas, coal and renewable sources such as
municipal waste, biomass and recycled carbon dioxide.
Role of NITI Aayog
NITI Aayog is working on a roadmap for conversion from coal to by studying
Chinese model
Property Methanol Ethanol

appearance colorless colorless

physical very poisonous and fatal when ingested feel intoxicated when
effect ingested

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uses used in solvents and fuels, it is primarily for alcohol, cleaning,

used to make other chemicals. solvents, and fuels

3.1.2 LPG (Cooking gas)

 The central government has asked oil companies to raise domestic LPG
prices by Rs.4 per cylinder every month until the entire subsidy is wiped
out.
 The government had earlier asked the LPG retailers to revise prices by Rs2
per month, to gradually remove the subsidy involved. The move now is to
fast-track the price revision, so as to better allocate scarce resources.
Need for reducing the subsidy?
 The upfront subsidy (subsidy payment in advance) distorts the market,
breeds corruption and comes in the way of efficiency improvement.
 Following the implementation of direct benefits transfer for LPG to below
poverty line (BPL) households, it makes no sense to provide such
consumption subsidies for the non-poor.
 Subsidised kerosene needs to be promptly replaced with aids like solar
lanterns. It should hugely improve public health.
 Piped supply of gas in towns would be cheaper than distribution via
cylinders.
 Composite cylinders would lower costs, as compared to steel ones.

Properties Compressed Natural Liquified Petroleum Gas(Auto gas)

Gas(CNG)

Constituents Consists mostly of Consists mainly of Propane and

methane Butane

Source Obtained from natural Automatically generated from gas

gas-and-condensate fields when natural gas is extracted
wells, oil wells, coal bed from the reservoir. By-product of
methane wells. cracking process during crude-oil
refining.

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Properties It is lighter than air and Highly inflammable. It is heavier than

hence disperses quickly air and on leakage will settle to
in the event of spillage. ground and accumulate in low lying
areas.

Uses Substitute for gasoline in Heating and cooking in homes,

automobiles. refrigeration, industrial, agricultural,
catering and automobile fuel.

Environmental Releases less greenhouse Releases CO2 which is a greenhouse

effects gas. gas but is cleaner when compared to
gasoline.

3.1.3 Coalbed Methane

Coalbed methane (CBM or coal-bed methane), coalbed gas, coal seam gas (CSG),
or coal-mine methane (CMM) is an unconventional source of natural gas is now
considered as an alternative source for augmenting India’s energy resource.
Riding upon Make-in-India, SMEs(Small and Medium Enterprises) can play a
pivotal role in the national agenda by increasingly using natural gas in meeting
domestic manufacturing goals in a clean and productive manner.
What is Coalbed Methane?
 It is a natural gas found in coal seams
 It mainly consists of Methane (CH4) with minor amounts of nitrogen,
carbon dioxide and heavier hydrocarbons like ethane
 Earlier the CBM was wasted and vented out into the atmosphere during
mining but now CBM is considered as a precious energy resource
 Extraction requires drilling wells into the coal seams and removing water
contained in the seam and release absorbed (and free) gas out of the coal
Why CBM is Referred as an Unconventional Gas?
Conventional gas is found pooling within spaces of the rock formation. Because of
this, extraction of conventional gas is simple but that is not the case with
unconventional gases like CBM.
Renewed interest
 India has the third largest reserves in the world. So there is scope for CBM

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 The problem so far has been a lack of investor interest, which should now
recover due to the new Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) and HELP
(Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy) introduced by the
government.
HELP
 uniform license for exploration and production of all forms of hydrocarbon
 an open acreage policy
 easy to administer revenue sharing model and
 marketing and pricing freedom for the crude oil and natural gas produced.
3.1.4. India-Iran Gas Pipeline

A 1,300-km undersea pipeline from Iran, avoiding Pakistani waters, can bring
natural gas from the Persian Gulf to India.
Study on gas pipeline:
 Natural gas imported through the pipeline is cheaper than the rate at which
some of the domestic fields supply gas.
3.1.5 India's Farzad-B gas field deal with Iran
As India and Iran engage in a blame game, the fate of the multi-billion dollar
Farzad-B gas field contract that New Delhi has been pursuing with Tehran since
2009, seems doomed.
 Iran accuses India of inflexibility
 India charges Iran with “changing goal posts” and adopting “delay tactics”.
Background
 The Indian consortium of oil companies discovered gas reserves in the field
under an exploration contract signed in 2002.

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 The field in the Persian Gulf holds about 19 trillion cubic feet of gas,
according to Indian estimates. The contract expired in 2009.
 But the contract for development of the field first delayed by the sanctions
against Iran imposed by the U.S. between 1995 and 2016.
Significance of the deal
 Geopolitically Iran is gaining importance over Saudi Arabia.
 Geographically, Iran is the closest to India of all the countries in that region.
 On the energy front, we really need [Link] are really running short on gas
 While India bought oil from Iran even during the years of U.S. sanctions,
relations recently have seen a bit of a downturn.
 The impasse over the deal has affected the oil trade, with India recently
reducing its crude oil purchases from Iran (down 30-40% from a year ago).
3.1.6 Hydrocarbon cooperation with Kazakhstan
 India is considering to expanding hydrocarbon cooperation with resource-
rich Kazakhstan including exploration and production of hydrocarbons
 Participation of Indian companies in the oil and gas sector of Central Asia’s
biggest country.
 Kazakhstan is one the suppliers of uranium to India.

3.1.7 India to build natural gas trading platform

India will soon build a natural gas trading platform,which will help in transparent
pricing and encourage investment in the sector.
Presently, most of the gas produced in India today is governed by a government-
set price formula
Pact with Japan for setting up flexible LNG market
 Contribute to the diversification of gas supplies for India.
 Establishing reliable LNG spot price indices reflecting true LNG demand and
supply.
 Cooperate in facilitating flexibility in LNG contracts, abolition of Destination
Restriction Clause.
3.1.8 India to renegotiate LNG rate with US, Russia
After getting Qatar and Australia to lower gas price, India is seeking to renegotiate
rate of LNG (liquefied natural gas) it has contracted from the US and Russia to
reflect current market realities.

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LNG:
 Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4,
with some mixture of ethane C2H6) that has been converted to liquid form
 It is odorless, colorless, non-toxic and non-corrosive.
 The liquefaction process involves removal of certain components, such as
dust, acid gases, helium, water, and heavy hydrocarbons,
Benefits of LNG:
 Safe storage, safe transportation and safe usage
 Well-to-Wheel greenhouse gas reduction of between 11% and 20%
 NOx emissions reduced by 80%
 Particulate emissions reduced by 75%
 Least expensive transportable fuels.
LNG Terminals in India:
 RGPPL LNG Terminal, Maharashtra,
 Dahej Terminal, Petronet LNG Ltd, Gujarat
 Hazira Terminal, Shell Ltd, Gujarat
 Kochi Terminal, Petronet LNG Ltd.

3.1.9 Mega oil and gas auctions

OALP programme
 The Government has launched the Open Acreage Licensing (OALP)
Programme in June 2017
 It is as per the new Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP).
 OALP bidding mechanism allows investors to bid for oil and gas fields
throughout the year.
Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy
 Uniform license for exploration and production of all forms of hydrocarbon.
 Easy to administer revenue sharing model and
 Marketing and pricing freedom for the crude oil and natural gas produced.

3.1.10 Dynamic Fuel Pricing

 In Administered Pricing, under the cost plus formula, prices of all petroleum
products are fixed on the basis cost of procuring and refining crude oil.
 Cross subsidization among petroleum products was in existence under the
administered pricing mechanism.
 The prices of petrol and diesel subsidized the prices of liquefied petroleum
gas (LPG) and kerosene.

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 The APM ensured a 12 per cent post-tax return to the oil companies.
 This is lower than those prices determined by the free market.
The dismantling of the administered pricing mechanism means that oil companies
are free to take independent decisions based on import parity and market forces
in pricing of petroleum products rather than being governed by the dictates of the
Government.

3.1.11 World's largest combustion research facility

The National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD), was
opened at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M).

Benefits
 The intention is to make it a knowledge base in areas like gasification,
combustion, propulsion and automotive sectors.
 Provide an impetus to research in alternative energy and environmental
protection by focusing on effective utilisation of combustion
The research interests are in three major application sectors -- automotive,
thermal power and aerospace propulsion, besides fire research and microgravity
combustion.
3.1.12 Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga - First Piped Natural Gas (PNG)
project
Oil Minister launched supply of Piped Natural Gas (PNG) project under 'Pradhan
Mantri Urja Ganga' (PMUG) in Odisha.

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 Gas (India) Limited (GAIL) started supply of environment-friendly PNG to

255 houses in Nalco Nagar.
 PMUG will pass through five states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand,
Odisha and West Bengal.
 The longest stretch of the project, which is about 769 km, will be built in
Odisha
Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga:
 The gas pipeline project aims to provide piped cooking (PNG) gas to
residents of the eastern region of the country and CNG gas for the vehicles.
 The project is being implemented by state-run gas utility GAIL.

3.1.13 Clean Cooking Forum

Clean Cooking Forum was held in New Delhi earlier this month to discuss on fuel
alternatives
Alcohol as fuel
 Use of alcohol for cooking is gaining traction in African and Latin American
countries as it provides clean burning, drastically reducing household
pollution.
 It can be produced from renewable sources

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 Its flash point (the lower the flash point the more dangerous a fuel is for
kitchen use) is 170 C whereas for diesel and kerosene it is more than 500C
Indian scenario
 Since India has a good supply of natural gas, Niti Aayog is pushing for a
national programme of methanol as a substitute for diesel or gasoline for
transportation.
 There is no programme at present for its use as cooking fuel in rural
households.
 Most of the alcohol produced in India is from molasses, which is a
byproduct of the sugar industry
Pyrolysis oil
 Pyrolysis oil is a medium calorific value (CV) fuel with CV of 17 MJ/kg
 can be produced from any biomass and agricultural residues via fast
pyrolysis route (hence the name pyrolysis oil).
 It can be an efficient alternative for cooking fuel in India

3.2 Other Fossil Fuels

3.2.1. Coal as a Fuel

Coal is a “dirty fuel”, so to tackle the problem of climate change, the government
must exponentially increase the generation of renewables. But
Benefits of Coal:
 Coal offers the cheapest source of energy
 Electricity infrastructure in India is built around this fuel
 Alternatives are not competitive
Importance of coal in Power Generation
Presently 81% of power generation from the coal.
 Renewable energy sources and coal will coexist, as the availability of coal is
abundant in India
 Coal-based generation is the cheapest mode and most affordable source of
power in the country
 Absence of cost-effective storage of renewable energy
 Variable cost is far lower than that for solar power.
Problems:
 Global warming and Climate Change

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 The US-based research group, Health Effects Institute, has reported that
India will soon overtake China with the most number of deaths caused by
respiratory illness
 The bulk of our population lives in villages where 40 per cent still use
firewood and dung for cooking and lighting which affects health and
environment
The government should augment coal production but also support renewables. It
should conserve demand, improve efficiency of usage but also develop green coal
technologies like coal gasification.
3.2.2 Opening up coal mines to commercial auction
Coal mines are opened to commercial auctions. It will improve supply of the fuel,
and its quality.
Coal production in India :
 India is the third largest coal producer in the world. But it is also its third
largest importer.
 Indian coal, on average, has about 45 per cent ash, much higher than the
25-30 per cent ideally required for the efficient burning of the fuel in
thermal power stations.
 CIL(Coal India Limites)’s overwhelming dominance of commercial mining
has contributed to less private investing in technology
3.2.3 Coal India to take up clean coal technologies
Coal India would be taking up clean coal technologies like coal to liquid, coal to
poly-chemicals and coal to methanol, etc in a big way.
 Coal washing will remove unwanted minerals by mixing crushed coal with a
liquid and allowing the impurities to separate and settle.
 Wet scrubbers, or flue gas desulfurization systems, remove sulfur dioxide,
a major cause of acid rain, by spraying flue gas with limestone and water.
The mixture reacts with the sulfur dioxide to form synthetic gypsum, a
component of drywall.
 Low-NOx (nitrogen oxide) burners reduce the creation of nitrogen oxides,
a cause of ground-level ozone, by restricting oxygen and manipulating the
combustion process.
 Electrostatic precipitators remove particulates by charging particles with an
electrical field and then capturing them on collection plates.

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 Gasification avoids burning coal altogether. This process produces syngas–a

mixture consisting primarily of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2),
carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and water vapor (H2O)–from coal and
water, air and/or oxygen.

4. SAFETY OF POWER PLANTS

4.1 Disaster management drill to take place at Kudankulam power plant

The drill to keep people and officials from all departments equipped will be
conducted at a radius of up to 1.6 km, 5 km and 16 km from the nuclear power
plant.
Earlier, the Supreme Court
 asked the government to submit a disaster management plan
 directed the Tamil Nadu Government to carry out mock drills covering all
the 40 villages situated within a 16-kilometer radius of the nuclear plant.
 these drills must be repeated after every two years
Disaster management at nuclear plants
Risks associated with nuclear plants
 High-level waste, Other waste, Radioactive gases and effluents
 Accidents leading to a large scale release of radioactivity in the
environment
 Critical accidents where an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction takes place
inadvertently leading to bursts of neutrons and gamma radiations
Emergency preparedness at nuclear facilities
 Strict compliance with the regulatory framework of AERB (Atomic energy
regulatory board) is ensured
 Based on the severity of the emergencies, detailed emergency response
plans are in place at all the nuclear facilities and are functional during entire
lifetime of the facility.
 Detailed response plans are put in place by the Collector of the concerned
district in association with the plant authorities.
 Periodic mock drills/exercises involving the community are to be held to
ensure the quality of the preparedness.
 During an actual emergency at any of the DAE(Department of Atomic
Energy) facility, the Crisis Management Group (CMG) of DAE activates the
emergency response and coordinates with other agencies.

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 Monitoring and response support coverage is being enhanced through 18

numbers of Emergency Response Centers (ERCs) established by BARC.
Role of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)
 NDMA will coordinate at the national level
 Has prepared guidelines on management of nuclear and radiological
emergencies
 Assistance in establishment of emergency response centres

4.2 Safety issues in thermal power plants

Cautions:
 Stored coal must be watered and monitored frequently because coal dust is
so combustible.
 Explosions at coal-fired power plants are a real danger. Safety precautions
are critically important to prevent fires and other accidents.
 Coal dust, hydrogen, and other gases pose the highest explosion risk in coal
power plants.
 There are several causes of power boiler accidents. While low water
condition was the number one cause, operator error or poor maintenance
was a close second

5 ELECTRIFICATION

5.1 Draft National Electricity Plan

 For the period 2022-27, priority has been given to development of hydro
and nuclear-based projects for power generation.

 Coal based capacity addition will not be required in this period, as a

capacity of 50 GW is already under construction against a requirement of
44 GW.
 It has also suggested some measures to improve energy efficiency:
5.2 Apps in Electricity
The user-friendly apps of power ministry
 GARV - to know the village electrification status
 GARV-II -to know habitation-wise data down to the households
 MERIT
o to know the price being paid by your power utility for electricity

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o to know whether states are actually giving priority to cheaper

sources of power
o provides data on individual state portfolios - power generation,
demand met etc on a daily basis
 URJA Mitra - notifications about power distribution such as power cuts
o also gives information on release of connections and complaints
 TAMRA - track the status of projects and clearances
 TARANG - track the status of projects and clearances of transmission
projects
 The UJALA app - ensuring the fastest rollout of LED bulbs
 Mining Surveillance System (MSS) app - allows reporting illegal mining
 Coal Mitra - identifies the most efficient thermal power plants
 ARUN - provides a DIY (Do It Yourself) guide for solar rooftop installations,
and critical knowhow about government incentives, costs and methods of
installation
 Vidyut Pravah
o spot market prices of electricity updated on real time basis
o to check the power availability status with the utilities

5.3 Grahak Sadak Koyla Vitaran App

The customer friendly app, launched recently to help achieve transparency in
despatch operations, as a tool to monitor, whether the despatches are made on
the fair principle of ‘First in First Out’ and keeps track of all the activities from
issuance of Sale Order to physical delivery of coal by road.
Benefits:
 The main benefits of the App for the customers, against the Sale Orders
issued, include easy accessibility of the information at the click of the
button, apart from transparency in the system of loading programme and
despatch.
 The main features of the app are that it provides date-wise, truck-wise
quantity of coal delivered against the Sale Orders and information related
to Scheme-wise, Colliery-wise, Grade-wise, customer-wise details of Sale
Orders issued during a period.

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5.4 PPPs for mini power grid projects

The Rockefeller Foundation has facilitated setting up of 106 mini power grids in
many villages and the larger aim is to have 1,000 such projects in less than three
years.
About mini power grids:
 A mini grid is defined as a system that uses a renewable energy-based
generator having a capacity of 10 kilowatt or more to supply electricity
through a public distribution network
 Smart Power India is helping these companies on various fronts, including
setting up their plants and put in place an effective business model.
5.5 Open access charges in electricity distribution
High open access charges is likely to continue given the lack of progress in tariff
rationalisation.
Open access charges
 Open access charges primarily comprise Cross Subsidy Surcharge (CSS),
additional surcharge, wheeling & transmission charges and transmission &
distribution losses in kind.
 The National Tariff Policy prescribes that the amount of CSS and the
additional surcharge to be levied on large consumers procuring electricity
under open access should not be so burdensome that it eliminates
competition.
Tariff rationalisation could bring consistency in the levels of open access charges
across the states.
5.6 Ease of Doing Business – Getting Electricity
Background
World Bank “Ease of doing business” initiative ranks countries on the basis of ten
parameters. ‘Getting Electricity’ is the one of these parameters. For ‘Getting
Electricity’, World Bank measures the performance on 4 parameters:
(i) Number of procedures
(ii) Time for obtaining a commercial electricity connection;
(iii) Cost for obtaining a commercial electricity connection upto 140 KVA, and
(iv) Reliability of power supply.
India has made several reform initiatives because of which India’s ranking has
improved from 99 in the Report 2015 to 26 in the Report 2017. These reforms
include regulatory easing as well as administrative easing measures

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 Regulatory Reforms are made by Central Electricity authority and

Regulators
 Administrative easing measures
o Online application with no requirement of physical documents to be
accepted.
o Utility does external connection and installs meter
 Electrical connections (up to 150 KVA) are required be provided within 7
days
 Mumbai and Delhi have SCADA systems in place for automatic restoration
of power supply
5.7 Saubhagya Web-portal
 Saubhagya Web-portal is a Platform for Monitoring Universal Household
Electrification
 It has wider scope for ensuring transparency and accelerating household
electrification in rural as well as urban areas in the country
.

The portal can be accessed at [Link]

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 The Saubhagya Dashboard is a platform for monitoring household

electrification progress, which would disseminate information on
o Household Electrification Status (State, District, village-wise)
o Household Progress on live basis
o State-wise Target vs Achievement
o Monthly Electrification Progress, etc.
 The Saubhagya web-portal has a feature on village electrification camps
and in line with that, DISCOMs will organize camps in villages/cluster of
villages.
 All States have been asked to announce the schedules of the village
camps to be held to create awareness among the people.

SAUBHAGYA Scheme Features

 All willing households in rural areas and poor families in urban areas
are given free electricity connections.
 There are around 4 Crore un–electrified households in the country and
they are targeted for providing electricity connections by December
2018.
Why need for new scheme?
 Despite the government’s aggressive village electrification programme,
under the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana, it was realised that
the problem of electricity ‘access’ wasn’t resolved.
 With a large number of household still remaining without access to
electricity, the scheme aims at ensuring the coverage of households as
opposed to only villages.

6 ELECTRIC VEHICLES

6.1 E- Vehicles
Energy minister, GoI announced that only electric vehicles (EVs) will be sold in
India from 2030.
 The current National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) has set a sales
target of 5-7 million EVs and hybrid electric vehicles annually by 2020. But
actual demand is 23 million.
 The transition would require a battery capacity of about 400 GWh (gigawatt
hours) each year

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Bottlenecks
 Indian battery manufacturing chain is not aligned to the global value chain
 Currently, the domestic battery market is largely dominated by lead-acid
battery technologies.
 There is an increasing import bill for electronics products
Resources Shortage
 Different variants of lithium-ion batteries are predominantly used in
electric vehicles.
 Manufacturing lithium-ion batteries would require critical minerals such as
cobalt, graphite, lithium and phosphate. Among them, lithium is of
particular importance.
 The resource endowment is limited to only nine countries and 95% of
global lithium production comes from Argentina, Australia, Chile and China.
Way forward
 A recent extension of the PTA with Chile provides India some tariff
concessions for lithium carbonate imports, need PTAs with more countries
 Joint acquisition of mines in foreign lands can also be pursued
 Recycling of Lithium
Lithium
 Could become as precious as gold in this century, so can be called as new
'White Gold'
 With atomic number 3, is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal
 Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable, and is stored
in mineral oil
 It never occurs freely in nature, but only in (usually ionic) compounds, such
as pegmatite minerals
 It is present in ocean water and is commonly obtained from brines
 Lithium metal is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride
and potassium chloride
 Recycling is easy because of the low melting point (180 °C) of lithium metal
and the very low water solubility of its fluoride, carbonate and phosphate
salts
6.2 Infrastructure for the electric vehicles
NITI Aayog Vice Chairman, Dr. Rajiv Kumar, released a proposal to develop electric
vehicle charging infrastructure in Delhi.

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Salient features of the proposal

 The proposal for the quick pilot could be used to provide a structure for EV
infrastructure rollout in the Gurgaon-IGI-South Delhi-Noida corridor.
 This planning will make the actual rollout easier and faster and also save
cost on the deployment.
The planning process is based on a five-step process;
1. project kickoff
2. formation of "long list" of locations
3. streamlining and timing
4. documentation and
5. wrap-up
 This proposal for developing the pilot includes 55 locations with 135
charging stations of which 46 are DC quick charging stations and 89 are
slower AC charging stations.
 This deployment would require cooperation with state governments;
selected government authorities and companies as well as some private
enterprises (e.g. DIAL at IGI, DLF Mall).
Further expansion of this in Delhi NCR and other cities in India is something to be
considered based on the experience from this "Quick pilot".
6.3 National Electric Mobility Mission Plan
This is a comprehensive collaborative planning for promotion of hybrid and
electric mobility in India through a combination of policies aimed at gradually
ensuring a vehicle population of about 6-7 million electric/hybrid vehicles in India
by the year 2020 along with a certain level of indigenisation of technology
ensuring India’s global leadership in some vehicle segments.
It is a composite scheme using different policy-levers such as:
1. Demand side incentives to facilitate acquisition of hybrid/electric vehicles
2. Promoting R&D in technology including battery technology, power
electronics, motors, systems integration, battery management system,
testing infrastructure, and ensuring industry participation in the same
3. Promoting charging infrastructure
4. Supply side incentives
5. Encouraging retro-fitment of on-road vehicles with hybrid kit

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7 ENERGY CONSERVATION

7.1 The Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2017

 The 2017 ECBC is an update of the Code first introduced in 2007
 Compares very favourably with international best practices
 If implemented correctly, could make new buildings producers of electricity
rather than simply consuming energy, according to the Green Business
Certification Institute, USA
 The ECBC 2017 has three levels of adoption
o Basic
o ECBC Plus, and
o Super ECBC
 While the Code is primarily designed for new commercial buildings, there
are measures that existing buildings can adopt to reduce energy
consumption
 The 2017 Codes have already been adopted by 12 states

7.2 All Central Government offices to retrofit energy efficient appliances

The Ministry of Finance has issued guidelines for mandatory installation of energy
efficient appliances in all Central Government buildings across India.
 Energy Efficiency Services Limited, a joint venture of PSUs under the
Ministry of Power, to execute work
 Currently, EESL is the implementation agency for the Buildings Energy
Efficiency Programme, which was launched in May 2017 by Minister of
State (IC) FOR Power , Coal , Mines & New & Renewable Energy
Buildings Energy Efficiency Programme
 Apart from retrofitting, EESL also aims to widen its services in areas like
centralized AC system, Energy Audits, and New Generation Energy
Management System in buildings.
The National LED Programme
 To facilitate rapid adoption of LED based home and street lighting across
the country.
 The government plans to replace 77 crore incandescent bulbs and 3.5 crore
street with energy efficient LED bulbs and lights under DELP and SLNP by
March 2019.
 For this, the Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) along with Discoms, will
be distributing LED bulbs to consumers at Rs 10 per unit.

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 The programme components, Unnat Jeevan by Affordable LEDs and

Appliances for All (UJALA) and Street Lighting National Programme (SNLP)
of EESL are currently under implementation in 29 States and 7 Union
Territories.
Advantages of LED Bulbs
LED stands for light-emitting diode (LED). This specialized electronic component is
assembled into a lamp or bulb for use in light fixtures. LED bulbs have the
following advantages:
 LED bulbs are energy efficient. As compared to the incandescent bulbs,
LEDs consume up to 90% less power.
 Lesser consumption of power also means lesser emission of CO2, and thus
reduced carbon footprints.
 Use of LED bulbs naturally is indicative of a dramatic decrease in power
costs.
 LED bulbs are long lasting. A single bulb may last as long as 20 years. Thus
usage of the same also results in time-efficiency.
 Money and energy is saved in maintenance and replacement costs due to
the long LED lifespan.
7.3 Enhanced oil recovery projects
In a bid to boost oil production from mature fields ONGC is planning to increase
focus on EOR(Enhanced Oil Recovery )
EOR
 It is the implementation of various techniques for increasing the amount of
crude oil that can be extracted from an oil field.
 Is also called tertiary recovery
 Contacts to be for 15 years or longer

7.4 India is fourth largest in LEED projects

Background
 The ‘green building’ movement began in the U.S. about 25 years ago, has
gained momentum in India in the last 10 years.
 The Green Business Certification Institute (GBCI), a part of the U.S.-based
Green Business Certification Inc., commenced India operations in 2014
 India is now the fourth-largest country in the number of LEED projects after
the U.S., Canada and China.

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 The GBC, which has been organising its sustainability conference

Greenbuild in the U.S. for the last 15 years, decided to hold the event in
India this year for the first time.
Green building scenario in India
 India has shown that green buildings are not just for offices; it is into every
industry segment — manufacturing, hotels, hospitals, schools, colleges,
temples, data centres, metro stations, airports and shipping terminals.
 the metro cities have now gone for Green Buildings in a big way, and even
tier 1 cities are adopting them, the action will now shift to tier-2 and tier-3
cities.
 Maharashtra is number one because Mumbai is one of the early adopters.
It is closely followed by Delhi and Bengaluru.
LEED rating
 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the most widely used
green building rating system in the world.
 there are five pillars to it: energy, water, human experience, waste and
carbon footprint
Green Building
 we will be able to save energy and water in green buildings
 Today, possibly a green building would be 5% costlier than a normal
building but because of savings from energy and water, your payback
period very low
 health and well-being are big factors that prompts people to go for green
buildings
7.5 Energy Savings Certificates
 These are introduced in 2013 by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), have
received the regulator’s nod for being traded on a separate market
platform.
 BEE in 2013 launched tradable certificates for industries which achieved
energy efficiency standards.
 Titled ‘Perform, achieve and trade’, the scheme aimed at major sectors
such as thermal power generation, cement, fertiliser, aluminium, iron and
steel, pulp and paper.
 These cover 65 per cent of the electricity consumed by industries.

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How they work?

 These industries were given targets for reducing energy consumption.
 Over-achievement by a certain commercial unit is converted into tradable
'Energy Savings Certificate' at the end of the targeted year, which it can sell
to the ones that couldn't achieve the targets.
Value of the certificates
 The pricing of the certificates would be as per the Energy Conservation
Rules.
 The rules prescribe that one certificate shall be equal to the energy
consumed in terms of one metric tonne of oil equivalent (mtoe).

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