India's Green Energy Transition

Nuclear power is a crucial source of clean energy for India. In the near-term, India is focusing on thermal reactors using natural and enriched uranium. In the long-term, India is exploring various options to use its large thorium reserves. India’s present nuclear installed capacity is 5680 MW, which contributes to about 3.4% of the annual electricity generation. However, nuclear power is an important source of energy in India’s aspirations for energy security and also in achieving its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC), of 40% fossil free electricity, by 2030.

A detailed methodology to design the size of solar field for a parabolic trough plant is not explicitly available in open literature, particularly if thermal storage and hybridization are also considered, as most of the papers present a gross overview.

Solar Tower technology has gained considerable momentum over the past decade .Unlike the parabolic trough, Solar Tower has a lot of variants in terms of type of receivers, working fluids, power cycles, size of heliostats, etc .Most of the literature available on this technology does not address in great depths, details of various parameters associated with tower technology.The role and significance of this technology is brought out in the context of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) in order to achieve grid-connected solar power.

In 2010, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy proposed a 20% subsidy for electric vehicles through a scheme called the Alternate Fuels for Surface Transportation Programme. This resulted in a big leap in sales of electric vehicles, mostly in the e-bikes segment. However, this initial spurt in sales was followed by a slump. This article analyses why electrical vehicles have not taken off in India, and suggests alternatives.

A novel approach to determine the non-dimensional heliostat field boundary for solar tower plants.Solar tower technology has gained considerable momentum over the past decade. In a solar tower plant, the power collected by the heliostat field is strongly coupled to the height of the tower and its location with respect to the field. This paper provides a methodology to fix the boundary of the field (non-dimensionalised with respect to the tower height). 

An explicit J–V model of a solar cell using equivalent rational function form for simple estimation of maximum power point voltage

India is targeting an ambitious GDP growth rate of 8 per cent and for that the power sector needs to grow in tandem.This paper makes an assessment of the potential for capacity addition from various energy sources such as coal,natural gas, hydro, wind and biomass and concludes that these sources will be found wanting in closing the gap between desired growth and business as usual growth. In this background, the recent India-US declaration on cooperation in nuclear power provides an opportunity for accelerated growth.

Crude oil prices recently crossed US$ 75/bbl, fuelling serious concerns whether India’s rapidly expanding economy can sustain a high and growing level of crude imports There are also serious concerns of global warming from burning of fossil fuels .It may be time for India to explore options which can substitute petrol and diesel and are climate-friendly In a series of two articles, we examine a few such technology and policy options Part I focus on options for substituting petrol by ethanol from sugarcane: molasses, sugarcane juice and cellulose (bagasse) Part II analyses options for diesel

The Global Energy Landscape and Materials Innovation

The policy note examines the existing status of Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) technology in Karnataka and potential uptake in near future. As the fifth most industrialized Indian state, Karnataka's cement, iron and steel sectors consume 28% of the state's total power (as of 2016) and is expected to be in the same range by 2030 as well.