Economic Significance Of Renewable Energy Policy

The state government of Gujarat proposed a massive project to the central government of India in the year 2010. The project was to build the biggest solar park in Asia. The project was approved and the project is in commission from the year 2012. This project is part of many planned projects that would help the country achieve its 2020 green goal.

Global climate change has fundamentally transformed the way civilization views the energy of the future. As evidence of the drastic consequences of nonrenewable energy has become more widely accepted, society has embarked on developing innovative solutions to the energy crisis. In areas that experience prolonged periods of sunlight, solar panels have become a sustainable and cost-effective form of renewable energy. The Mojave Desert, located in California and Nevada, has proven to be one of the most promising areas for solar development (The Nature Conservancy). Fortunately, BrightSource Energy has invested $2.2 billion in the construction of a solar farm in the Mojave Desert region (Cart, 2012). The development of solar projects creates a

Recent doubt in country’s energy supply as a result of political concerns in the Middle East nations, and other foreign oil generating nations, also volatility in the prices of oil, and natural gas have contributed to increase country’s energy independence through a greater local energy supply and to minimize the greater effects of the economy from any prices fluctuation in the fossil fuel markets, including the natural gas price hike in 2004 and 2005 cyclone

Continued investment should be encouraged in order to develop the best technology in energy for the future. Continued investment will allow for new and exciting developments that will improve the energy industry in the long run. It will assist the industry in satisfying the growing demand and need for sustainability. There are a number of political and legal factors that are significant to the energy industry. For example, laws and government regulation on energy use could potentially affect the demand for domestic energy and thus lead to a shift in prices. However, with an increase of clean energy use, the demand for energy will not change dramatically due to laws and regulations, instead, the future prosperity of the globe will improve.

Solar energy and its use isn’t new to the world. It has been used by various societies beginning from 7thCentury B.C, when the sun’s heat was concentrated by glass and mirrors to light fires. Today, we have everything from solar-powered buildings to solar-powered vehicles. By and large solar technology has some environmental, economic, psychological and ethical implications for our society. Actions taken by companies and individuals to increase the use of solar technology will create good local jobs, improve our environment and reduce our dependence on foreign oil while doing what’s ethical and moral for our society.

As the world delves deeper into the 21st century and as more and more countries develop into industrialized or post-industrialized nations, global society is dependent on reliable and steady sources of energy now more than ever. This reliance on energy will most certainly continue into the future as the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) has projected the world’s energy consumption to increase by 56% by the year 2040 (“EIA Projects World Energy Consumption”). Such a substantial surge in demand of energy in what is a relatively short period of time has disquieting implications. According to the British Petroleum Statistical Review, oil, natural gas, and coal consumption accounted for approximately 86% of the energy market in 2015 (“Statistical Review of World Energy”). With current oil prices being at record lows, a booming natural gas “renaissance” in the process of going on, and political pressures in the United States calling for an increase in “clean coal” output, nonrenewable fossil fuels may be the primary options for our society to fuel its future (Sontakke). However, these options come with adverse drawbacks such as dependency on dubious foreign petro-states and various forms of ecological degradation, which includes climate change. Due to these factors, as well as burgeoning cost-competitiveness, the renewable energy industry is poised to gain a sizable share of the energy market.

Energy sector is one of the target sectors of Green Technology under the National Green Technology Policy. Various attractive incentives are given to businesses to encourage the generation of renewable

India’s power market is the fifth largest in the world. Coal fuels about 55 % of India’s power generation, and if current positions are accurate, the proportion will grow substantially in the next 20 years. To this point, India has met its burgeoning demand for electricity primarily with the development of conventional thermal power generation with coal representing the lion’s share of generating fuel. The power sector is high on India’s priority as it offers tremendous potential for investing companies based on the sheer size of the market and the returns available on investment capital. But of late Coal based Power Projects are facing various challenges or threats in order to get accomplished and commissioned in due time.

Today, India is the fifth largest energy consumer in the world. While the world consumes 12000 million tons of oil equivalents (mtoe) of energy resources, India consumes 4.4% of the world total (524.2 mtoe). Global consumption of primary commercial energy (coal, oil & natural gas, nuclear and major hydro) has grown at a rate of 2.6% over the last decade. In India, the growth rate of demand is around 6.8%, while the supply is expected to increase at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of only 1%.

This section will focus on the motivators of oil rich countries in the renewable energy field. Renewable energy can be defined simply as energy that comes from resources which are continually replenished by a period of time. From this simple definition it could be expected that use and introduction of renewable energy projects emerge and are promoted by countries with shortage of non-renewable sources and/or under a high risk of environmental degradation caused by those sources. Also it could be said that environmental awareness is higher in democratic countries with the accountability of the governing bodies, freedom of speech, press and etc. But especially in the last decade investments in the renewable energy projects significantly increased in oil rich countries.

Strategies to meet India’s energy requirement are constrained by country’s energy resources and import possibilities. Unfortunately, India is not well endowed with natural energy resources. Reserves of oil, gas and Uranium are meager though India has large reserves of thorium. While coal is abundant, it is regionally concentrated and is of low calorie and high ash content, though it has the advantage of low sulphur content. The extractable reserves, based on current extraction technology, remain limited. Hydro potential is significant, but small compared to India’s needs and its contribution in terms of energy is likely to remain small. Further, the need to mitigate environmental and social impacts of storage schemes often delays hydro development thereby causing huge cost overruns.

Energy is a critical component for every economy and society around the world. Energy is divided into two groups, nonrenewable (coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear) with a finite amount found around the globe and renewable (hydro, tidal, solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass) that are constantly being replenished so that they will never run out (Green Energy Choice, 2011). The international economic impact of renewable energy is explored by examining subsidies, strategic policies, and comparative advantage of renewable energy.

This chapter will examine the available literature on policies used to encourage the growth of renewable energy sources and technologies. A wide variety of policies have been introduced around the world with differing levels of success. This chapter will look at some of them and discuss whether Scotland should adopt, intensify or even abandon each one.

Current Prime Minister Modi has called for the development of renewable and nuclear energy along with gas and coal. He believes that increased use of renewable energy will help the environment while also providing electricity to rural areas. Future policies show that India’s primary focus is the economy. India is open to setting a peak emission year in the future but refuses to do so until its emissions match China’s emissions. This is projected to be sometime between 2030 and 2050. India has several other policies that are currently being discussed. The Super-Efficient Equipment Program encourages the production of equipment that is 30-50% more efficient than current energy efficient products. The Strategic Plan for the New and Renewable

In addition, solar energy operational costs are manageable. It is free from monthly charges compared to conventional sources of energy. Solar energy does not require raw materials such as oil and coal, and once the panels are built, there will be no monthly charges. In addition, the prices of fossil fuels are increasing day by day, and this means conventional energy will be very expensive. Solar energy will remain the most capable world’s future power supply because, it is cost effective once the plants are built, and there will be no transport costs like for conventional energy sources. Therefore, solar energy is cost-effective, and will help in future energy supply, as the maintenance cost is affordable, as long as they are installed properly, and are working efficiently ( Hans, 2012). Furthermore, with the improvement and advancement of technology, it will increase its efficiency, and cost of production thus, making it more cost effective and the world’s best