Renewable Energy Potential: Mapping India's Transition to a Green Future


India stands at a crucial juncture in its quest for sustainable development, marked by a significant shift towards renewable energy sources. With the pressing need to mitigate climate change and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, the country is increasingly turning to solar energy and other renewables to power its future. This transition is not merely about embracing cleaner sources of energy; it represents a fundamental restructuring of India's energy landscape, with far-reaching implications for its economy, environment, and society.

Embracing Solar Power:
Solar energy has emerged as a cornerstone of India's renewable energy strategy. Blessed with abundant sunlight throughout the year, India possesses immense solar energy potential, making it an ideal candidate for large-scale solar power generation. The government's ambitious targets, such as achieving 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030, underscore its commitment to harnessing this abundant resource.

One of the most notable successes in India's solar journey has been the dramatic reduction in solar tariffs. Through competitive bidding processes and technological advancements, the cost of solar power has plummeted, making it increasingly competitive with conventional sources of energy. This cost competitiveness has not only accelerated the deployment of solar projects but has also made solar energy accessible to a wider range of consumers, including industries, commercial establishments, and households.

Beyond Solar: Diversifying the Renewable Portfolio:
While solar energy dominates discussions around India's renewable energy transition, other sources such as wind, hydro, biomass, and geothermal also play crucial roles. Wind energy, in particular, has witnessed significant growth, with India emerging as one of the world's top wind energy producers. Similarly, the untapped potential of hydroelectric power, particularly in regions like the Himalayas, presents opportunities for further expansion.

Moreover, advancements in technology and innovation are opening up new frontiers in renewable energy. From offshore wind farms to floating solar installations and innovations in energy storage, these developments are enriching India's renewable energy portfolio and enhancing its resilience against variability in weather conditions.

Policy Support and Regulatory Framework:
The success of India's energy transition hinges upon a conducive policy environment and robust regulatory frameworks. The government's flagship initiatives, such as the National Solar Mission, the Green Energy Corridor Project, and various state-level policies, provide the necessary impetus for renewable energy deployment. Furthermore, measures such as renewable purchase obligations, net metering, and fiscal incentives are incentivizing investments in clean energy projects.

However, challenges persist, including land acquisition issues, grid integration constraints, and financing hurdles. Addressing these challenges requires a coordinated effort from policymakers, industry stakeholders, and civil society to streamline processes, enhance grid infrastructure, and mobilize investments.

Socioeconomic Impacts and Opportunities:
India's transition to renewable energy is not only about reducing carbon emissions; it also holds immense socioeconomic potential. The renewable energy sector is a significant driver of job creation, offering employment opportunities across the value chain, from manufacturing and installation to operations and maintenance. Moreover, decentralized renewable energy solutions have the potential to empower rural communities by providing access to clean, reliable, and affordable energy.

Furthermore, by reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels, India's renewable energy push enhances energy security and reduces the nation's vulnerability to global energy price fluctuations. This, in turn, strengthens India's economic resilience and fosters sustainable growth.

Conclusion:
India's journey towards a green future powered by renewable energy is both promising and challenging. While significant progress has been made, much work lies ahead to realize the full potential of renewables and achieve the nation's energy transition goals. Collaboration among government, industry, academia, and civil society will be key to overcoming barriers, driving innovation, and accelerating the adoption of clean energy technologies. With steadfast commitment and collective action, India can pave the way for a sustainable, inclusive, and prosperous future powered by renewable energy.

For more information visit us @ https://www.azurepower.com/energy-transition

The sham of “NetZero”.
Of the total 176,431terrawatt hours consumption Worldwide in 2021, only around 6% (11, 087TWh) were produced by wind, solar, “modern biofuels” and “other renewables” (0.06% 2000), whilst 86% (143,243TWh) were produced by hydrocarbons and traditional biomass.
The Globalist/Climate Change/Net Zero movement has committed to massive and unrealistic reductions in traditional hydrocarbon use by 2030/2050 yet has made no realistic plans or progress to establishing large scale replacement energy sources. Just where will a reliable 1566% increase in renewables come from to replace our trusted hydrocarbons?
Whilst we are subjected to mendacious politicians (and media) grandstanding about the need to move to non-existent renewables from reliable hydrocarbons, the coming winter of enforced power cuts due to the illegal Western sanctions on Russia will perhaps provide a wake-up call to the masses that there is no plan, just pain and Oligarchy profiteering. Larry Fink head of the $10trillion hedge-fund Black Rock has talked about the potential $130trillon speculative carbon trading market; together with the ESG manipulations, this is yet another opportunity for the Globalist mega rich to profiteer, and steal private and public resources, whilst the impoverished subjugated masses freeze.

CO2 accounts for around 0.04% of our atmosphere and the influence of human activity is approximately 4% of that CO2 (~0.0016% of atmosphere). CO2 is dissolved in cold oceans and transported to warm oceans in a 300-500 year cycle and also captured and recycled by the earth which required CO2 to sustain all life forms. Man-Made Climate Change doesn’t exist.

“Energy consumption tends to rise when people get richer and population increases. This can be partially offset by improvements in energy intensity – the amount of energy consumed per dollar (per unit of GDP). Global energy consumption is still on the rise. In fact, when we look at data over the past half century, there are only a handful of years where energy consumption did not increase – 2009, the year following the financial crisis, being a key one.
Increased availability of energy is important for raising the living standards of many across the world. But it also makes the transition to low-carbon energy systems more challenging: additions of clean energy have to outpace this growth in demand and displace fossil fuels already in the energy mix.”
Source: OurWorldInData.Org

Top Gear - Bentley Flying Spur vs Iceland: can you run a £155k luxury car on water, straw and volcanos?:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpSfroNVVEM

#Iceland #Bentley #AlternativeFuel #RenewableEnergy #Straw #Biomass #FermentedBiomass #Ethanol #Coryton #Bioethanol #Biogasoline #Hydroelectric #Geothermal #AutomotiveEngineering

PUBLISHED: 09:47 EST, 16 November 2021 | UPDATED: 10:10 EST, 16 November 2021
Skyscrapers of the future? US architects reveal designs for high-rise buildings dubbed 'Urban Sequoias' that can remove up to 1,000 TONNES of carbon from the atmosphere – equivalent of 48,500 trees

* The 'Urban Sequoia' is the brainchild of the Chicago-based architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

* It would use various carbon storage approaches such as direct air capture and growth of algae for biomass

* The tower design's 'stack effect' would help draw air into the centre of the building for processing

* Over a 60 year period, each high-rise could absorb up to four times the carbon released in its construction

Designs for a green skyscraper that could remove up to 1,000 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere on an annual basis — the equivalent to growing 48,500 trees — was unveiled at the COP26 conference last week.

Named for the world's tallest trees, the 'Urban Sequoia' design is the brainchild of the Chicago-based architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and is based on technologies that are all available for use today.

Each high-rise would employ multiple approaches to sequester carbon, including construction with carbon-absorbing materials, growth of plants and algae (for fuel, energy and food), and direct air capture technology.

WATCH: Read More

The latter would be aided by the tower design's 'stack effect', which would help draw in air to the centre of the building for processing a carbon extraction while contributing to the building's net zero energy system.

In fact, the company has claimed their Urban Sequoia tower design would be capable, assuming a lifespan of at least 60 years, to absorb up to 4 times the carbon released in the atmosphere as a result of its construction.

Captured carbon could be used to produce biomaterials for roads, pavement, pipes and other items for developing urban infrastructure.

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Designs for a green skyscraper that could remove up to 1,000 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere on an annual basis — the equivalent to growing 48,500 trees — was unveiled at the COP26 conference last week Pictured: a city of Urban Sequoias

Each high-rise would employ multiple approaches to sequester carbon , including construction with carbon-absorbing materials, growth of plants and algae (for fuel, energy and food), and direct air capture technology — as depicted

'We envision a future in which the first Urban Sequoia will inspire the architecture of an entire neighborhood — feeding into the city ecosystem to capture and repurpose carbon to be used locally, with surplus distributed more widely,' said Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's senior associate principal Mina Hasman. She added: 'If every city around the world built Urban Sequoias, the built environment could remove up to 1.6 billion tons of carbon from the atmosphere every year' Pictured: modern-day Laos, left, with the firm's vision of a greener city, right

Construction's carbon footprint

According to Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 'the need to transform the built environment is clear.'

Construction presently accounts for nearly 40 per cent of all global carbon emissions — a figure that could easily rise in the future without alternative approaches.

In fact, experts have predicted that by 2060, an extra 230 billion square metres of building stock will be required in the world's urban centres.

This is where Urban Sequoia comes in, allowing the built environment to turn buildings in to solutions, rather than problems, in the growing climate crisis.

'This is a pathway to a more sustainable future that is accessible today. Imagine a world where a building helps to heal the planet,' said Skidmore, Owings & Merrill partner, Kent Jackson.

'We developed our idea so that it could be applied and adapted to meet the needs of any city in the world, with the potential for positive impact at any building scale.'

'The power of this idea is how achievable it is,' agreed Skidmore, Owings & Merrill principal Yasemin Kologlu.

'Our proposal brings together new design ideas with nature-based solutions, emerging and current carbon absorption technologies and integrates them in ways not done before in the built environment.'

While the prototype design is a skyscraper that can sequester up to 1,000 tons of carbon on an annual basis, the carbon capture approaches it uses might be applied to buildings of all types and sizes.

By constructing buildings from materials like bio-brick, biocrete, hempcrete and timber — all of which use less carbon than alternatives, and some of which continue to adsorb carbon over time — it is possible to reduce the carbon impact of construction by 50 per cent as compared to using concrete and steel.

'A progressive approach could reduce construction emissions by 95 per cent,' the firm added.

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'We are quickly evolving beyond the idea of being carbon neutral. The time has passed to talk about neutrality,' elaborated Skidmore, Owings & Merrill partner Chris Cooper.

'Our proposal for Urban Sequoia — and ultimately entire 'forests' of Sequoias — makes buildings, and therefore our cities, part of the solution by designing them to sequester carbon, changing the course of climate change.'

According to the firm, up to 120 tons of carbon could be sequestered per square kilometre (46 tons per square mile) if urban hardscapes were converted into gardens, cities were re-built as intense carbon-absorbing landscapes and streets were retrofitted with additional carbon-capture technologies.

Furthermore, they suggested, this figure could be nearly tripled if these strategies were also applied in parks and other green spaces.

Named for the world's tallest trees, the 'Urban Sequoia' design is the brainchild of the Chicago-based architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and is based on technologies that are all available for use today. Depicted: an illustration of how the tower's design would allow it to take it carbon dioxide for storage or usage, while also producing products like biofuel

The tower design's 'stack effect' would help draw in air to the centre of the building for processing a carbon extraction — while contributing to the building's net zero energy system. Pictured: an artist's impression of the 'Urban Sequoia' concept

'We are quickly evolving beyond the idea of being carbon neutral. The time has passed to talk about neutrality,' said Skidmore, Owings & Merrill partner Chris Cooper. 'Our proposal for Urban Sequoia — and ultimately entire 'forests' of Sequoias — makes buildings, and therefore our cities, part of the solution by designing them to sequester carbon'

'If the Urban Sequoia became the baseline for new buildings, we could realign our industry to become the driving force in the fight against climate change,' said Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's senior associate principal Mina Hasman — a nod to how construction presently accounts for nearly 40 per cent of all global carbon emissions.

'We envision a future in which the first Urban Sequoia will inspire the architecture of an entire neighbourhood — feeding into the city ecosystem to capture and repurpose carbon to be used locally, with surplus distributed more widely,' Ms Hasman continued.

'If every city around the world built Urban Sequoias, the built environment could remove up to 1.6 billion tons of carbon from the atmosphere every year.

'With immediate focus and investment in SOM's prototype, we can start this process now and build the first Urban Sequoia.'

The Urban Sequoia concept was presented by Mr Jackson and Ms Hason in COP26's Blue Zone on Thursday.

While Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's prototype design is a skyscraper that can sequester up to 1,000 tons of carbon on an annual basis, the carbon capture approaches it uses might be applied to buildings of all types and sizes. Pictured: two architectural cross-sections of the high-rise design, showing how each floor integrates air capture and algae systems

By constructing the buildings from materials like bio-brick, biocrete, hempcrete and timber — all of which use less carbon that conventional alternatives, and some of which continue to adsorb carbon over time — it is possible to reduce the carbon impact of construction by 50 per cent as compared to the use of concrete and steel. Pictured: two architectural cross-sections of the high-rise design, showing how each floor integrates air capture and algae systems

RESEARCHERS USE 'ARTIFICIAL' TREES CLEAN THE AIR IN CITIES

By keeping mosses in a container, such as those built by CityTrees, the conditions can be carefully controlled to ensure the plant is always thriving and therefore performing at optimum air filtration

CityTrees - also known as artificial trees - use living plants and different types of mosses to capture toxins and remove pollutants from the surrounding environment to produce clean air.

Mosses, despite being a more primitive lifeform than most trees and flowers, conduct photosynthesis.

This allows them to soak up carbon dioxide - a greenhouse gas - from the atmosphere and produce oxygen.

They can also harbour friendly bacteria which further helps trap pollutants.

By keeping mosses in a container, such as those built by CityTrees, the conditions can be carefully controlled to ensure the plant is always thriving and therefore performing at optimum air filtration.

Each self-sustaining CityTree contains a water tank, irrigation systems and sensors to monitor plant growth and ensure they are healthy. The technology is powered by a combination of on-board solar panels and internal batteries.

Each CityTree which has the pollution-reduction benefits of 275 normal trees.

Similar structures have previously been employed in other cities — including Berlin and Hong Kong — along with temporary trials across London.

Plants also help soak up air pollutants directly. Studies have found that the worst offending air pollution for human health is PM2.5 or airborne fine particulate matter.

These particulates are dangerous because they can get deep into your lungs, or even pass into your bloodstream.

Particulates are found in higher concentrations in urban areas, particularly along main roads.

One study from researchers at Beijing Forestry University in 2017 found 'foliage acts as a bio-filter of air pollution and improves air quality due to the leaves’ rough texture and large contact area'.

But the issue with relying on regular trees and plants to filter the air and remove carbon dioxide and pollutants is that they themselves are highly dependent on the environment.

If they are not thriving due to disease, drought or vandalism, they will fail to clean the air effectively.

Mosses, despite being a more primitive lifeform than most trees and flowers, conduct photosynthesis. This allows them to soak up carbon dioxide - a greenhouse gas - from the atmosphere and produce oxygen. Plants also directly soak up pollutants

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10207919/Environment-Skyscraper-design-remove-1-000-TONNES-carbon-atmosphere.html/