NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Theme : Renewable Energy, Energy Security ,Growth & Development
Paper:GS - 3
To mitigate the continued risks to energy security, accelerating a shift to renewable sources and hastening the end of the dominance of fossil fuels should be a keystone of India’s Energy Security.
TABLE OF CONTENT
- Context
- What is Energy Security and Status of India’s Oil Imports
- Major Concerns Related to India’s Energy Security
- Policies & Schemes for Energy Sector
- Road Ahead
Context : To mitigate the continued risks to energy security, accelerating a shift to renewable sources and hastening the end of the dominance of fossil fuels should be a keystone of India’s Energy Security.
What is Energy Security and Status of India’s Oil Imports :
- Energy security means access to energy resources and fuel in the required quantity and quality at reasonable prices. Energy security aims for adequate amount of energy resources in terms of-
- Accessibility
- Affordability
- Availability
- India imports 80% of its oil needs and is the third largest oil consumer in the entire world. Also, India’s energy consumption is expected to grow 4.5% every year for the next 25 years.
- Recently due to high International Crude Oil Prices, Current Account Deficit (CAD) inflated because of higher cost of oil import, raising concerns about long term economic stability in India.
Major Concerns Related to India’s Energy Security :
- Climate Change Induced Demand Surge: Stockpiles at the coal-based thermal power plants fell short despite this increase in domestic coal production, as the utilities were not prepared for the unprecedented heat wave caused by climate change in the country and the sharp surge in demand, which touched 201 gigawatts in April 2022.
- Common Coal Pool and Price Hike: The growing demand for coal was further exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict that resulted in diverting Europe’s attention to procure coal from Indonesia, Australia and South Africa which so far had been major coal suppliers for China and India.
- Risk to Health: The burning of traditional energy fuels, including wood, dung, and crop residue, causes indoor air pollution, which is detrimental to human health.There are approximately 1 out of every 4 premature deaths caused by household air pollution (HAP) in India each year.
- Concern Over Affordability and Retail Inflation: Despite high subsidies to oil, India ranks low in affordability of petrol and diesel
- Petrol prices directly affect retail inflation. Diesel prices account for 60-70% of India's freight costs. High freight costs due to rise in diesel prices increase prices for products across the board.
- Import Dependence and Geopolitical Disruptions: In the first half of 2022-23, India's crude oil import bill increased by 76% to USD 90.3 billion and total import quantity increased by 15%.
Policies & Schemes for Energy Sector :
- Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA)
- Green Energy Corridor (GEC)
- National Solar Mission (NSM)
- National Biofuels Policy and SATAT
- Small Hydro Power (SHP)
- Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)
- International Solar Alliance (ISA)
Road Ahead :
- Diversifying India’s Energy Mix: India needs to gradually, but significantly, diversify its sources of energy generation, including more renewable sources of energy (solar, biogas, etc.) that are cleaner, greener, and more sustainable.
- The use of renewable energy can contribute to the development of low-carbon development strategies and generate employment opportunities for the country's working population.
- Energy Planning to Curb Energy Inequality: Increasing power demand and recurrent coal crises require advance planning that enables the entire power generation and supply chain to withstand these shocks.
- In order to facilitate this, policy makers and other stakeholders should collect data that reveals intra-family and collective differences in energy, income, and gender disparity in order to bridge the energy gap between different social groups and protect them from any geopolitical shocks.
- Making Sustainable Development Goals a Reality: To achieve sustainable development goals like zero hunger, zero malnutrition, zero poverty, and universal well-being, energy security will be crucial.
- Tackling these issues under a common umbrella with stringent monitoring mechanisms at the local level to oversee implementation of policies can help India realize the goal of Energy Security.
FAQs :
-
What is Energy Security ?
ANS. Energy security means access to energy resources and fuel in the required quantity and quality at reasonable prices. Energy security aims for adequate amount of energy resources in terms of :
- Accessibility
- Affordability
- Availability
-
What is the Impact of Oil Prices on the CAD ?
ANS. Recently due to high International Crude Oil Prices, Current Account Deficit (CAD) inflated because of higher cost of oil import, raising concerns about long term economic stability in India