Go Electric –Go Green

The usage of electricity as a source of energy comes to 6th place in India. It is non-polluted, applicable to meet most energy demands. Consequent to the reduction of the price of electricity from renewables, the role of electricity in society has got wider acceptance. More and more Usage of electricity from renewables has led to the reduction of global warming also. To extend its use in all spectrums of life, the technology associated with the types of equipment has to be more developed to reach its benefit to the lowest stratum of society. Transportation and electric cooking have been identified as two fields that help to increase the wide-ranging use of electricity. To attain control over global warming, electricity generation using fossil fuel has to be minimised and there should be a paradigm shift to generate electricity from RE sources. This should be supported by the increased use of electricity for transportation and cooking. India has set a target to generate 60% electricity from RE sources by 2040 and by 2030,30% of private vehicles,70% public vehicles and 80% of2-3 wheelers use electricity as fuel for operation. Major sources of RE energy are solar and wind. The incessant fluctuations in the generation of electricity from these RE sources have created a challenge before scientists. To hedge this situation to a large extent, the development of battery storage at an economic rate should be commenced on a large scale which is applicable to e-vehicles also.
Another challenge is the development of components for charging battery vehicles. This has put the scientific world in a catch 22 situation. To make electric vehicles popular among the public, facility for charging the vehicle has to be developed across the country. At the same time, developers may go for establishing charging stations more and more, only if more electric vehicles are brought to the road. Battery swapping is another method that can be applied. However, this may not get prime attention as it stands against the profit-making policy of manufacturers. Hence public sector has a major role to play in bringing consumers, policy initiators and developers under one umbrella for which appropriate perception and planning are necessary.
Hitherto efforts have been made to discourage the use of electricity as cooking fuel. The low efficiency of electric heaters and scarcity of electricity itself is the major reason for this. Now that availability of electricity has been increased, R&D in the technology of electrically operated cooking equipment resulted in improved efficiency; there is a shift in mindset regarding the use of electricity. Electrically operated machines are causing less pollution and more convenience for use. The shift of cooking fuel from wood to cooking gas is also based on this concept. However, gas-operated cooking ranges are better than electrically operated ones. As the generation of electricity from RE sources has been increased, the price rise on cooking gas occurs almost every week, more usage of electricity for cooking is observed. A coordinated work of RE equipment producers, network experts and all stakeholders are important to achieve Go Green aim in India.
Battery swapping and e-vehicles
The three basic issues of e-vehicles are
1. Limited scope of range for travel
2. Long charging time
3. Cost of battery
Honda Powerpack Energy India (P) Ltd, a newly formed company will undertake Battery Swapping of two-wheelers in the forthcoming Japanese Brands in India. The initial investment would be around 1350 million INR (18 Million USD) and located in Bangalore. Vehicle owners can exchange used batteries with a fully charged one and the service can be utilized by the vehicle owners within the city limit. The swapping battery is termed as ‘Honda Mobile Powerpack (MPP)e. There would be no waste of time by availing this system of service. Meanwhile, the Delhi based electric Cruiser Motor vehicle will be launched by a start-up Komaki Electric Vehicle. This company has promised a range of 250 Kms and claimed to have invested 1 Million USD (75million INR). This electric vehicle is suitable for long-distance journeys and the battery range is the highest in India.
To achieve the goals described above, a campaign named ‘’Go Electric’ has been launched by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) an agency to develop programs that will increase the conservation and efficient use of energy in India. BEE is the central Nodal Agency (CNA) and there would be state-designated agencies also in each State. As part of this campaign and for developing infrastructure for charging e-vehicle is required extensively. The government of India has announced various programs. It is essential to disseminate to the public the direct and indirect benefits of shifting to electric vehicles and electric cooking. Enhanced usage of electric vehicles and cooking with electricity will help to reduce global warming and reduce the import of petroleum products to the Republic of India, and directly improve the lifestyle of the citizen. This situation has opened up a challenge to develop various business models by the power utilities.

If consumption of electricity is increased on account of the transformations narrated above and countries still depend heavily on fossil fuels, there is no prudence in undertaking such a campaign. The campaign would be complete if ‘Go Electric’ is coupled with ‘Go Green’ both for campaign and policy decisions.