CoverStory

A macro view
It is only when we have a power failure that we become acutely aware of the utmost importance of having electricity whenever needed, i.e. always. 40 years ago, in the early 1970s, 90% of global energy production was based on fossil fuels. Today, it remains at 85%. Is there some way of possibly lowering that percentage to zero during the coming 40 years? Unfortunately, even without the additional demands set by population growth and expanding economies, a technical solution to totally substitute fossil fuels with other sources of energy does not exist today. This is a fact, regardless of how crucial the environmental issues may be, especially the global climate change. Limiting climate change, therefore, calls for finding means to diminish the effects of emissions from fossil fuels, and to decrease the amount of carbon dioxide entering the Earths atmosphere. One way of doing this is to increase the use of renewable energy sources, which has been on the agenda for some time now. Another way is to make the use of fossil fuels carbon-free - or at least as carbon-free as possible. Since coal accounts for about 40% of current global electricity generation and emits the highest amount of CO2 among fossil fuels, the emphasis must lie on reducing carbon dioxide emissions from coal power plants.

In todays world, reliable, affordable and sustainable power should be treated as a fundamental right of all the citizens. The modern energy infrastructure is changing in a big way. While in the 1990s, the industry had not even heard of 20 GW of solar or 10,000MW of wind turbine, but today the energy infrastructure is changing in a big way. The Ministry of Power sets an ambitious target of adding 1,00,000 MW of capacity in the 12th Plan, the sector still reels under severe problems of fuel availability, land acquisition, T&D losses, etc And, the four elements of smart power generation can help in bringing reliability, affordability and sustainability to the Indian energy sector. For India to take its rightful place in the group of developed nations, electrical energy availability to each and every section of the population in stable and adequate quantity is a must. Sustainable, Reliable and Affordable 24/7 power availability is a key enabler to meet the countrys growth aspirations.

Renewables
The significance of renewable energy sources, for example wind power, is rapidly increasing. From an environmental point of view, this is good news, but, unfortunately, there are limits to this development. Because of the nature of wind as an energy source, the average output is, at best, only 25-35 percent of the installed capacity. The same applies

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to solar power, but with an even lower percentage. Since the average output is so low, using wind power to generate 20 percent of all the energy, for example, the installed capacity would need to be more than half of the systems peak load. Wind power output is heavily variable - changing at times almost instantly from zero to full capacity, or vice versa. Therefore, relying heavily on wind poses totally new and severe challenges for other, traditional methods of electricity generation. As contradictory as it may sound, during windy conditions, when the output is approaching the maximum installed capacity, the amount of electricity produced could, especially in the night, be larger than the total power needed in the State grid system.

In this context, the estimation and magnitude of peaking power in a system characterised with high growth in industrial, commercial & domestic sectors become important as the diversity between lowest and highest demand in a day increases substantially. The planners globally are looking at ways to meet the stable baseload demand and fluctuating peaking and intermediate load demand with unique approaches. Renewable, Nuclear, Coal, Natural Gas generation, Demand Side management and Smart Grids have their role to play, but no single technology is a solution in isolation. An integrated approach to look at the Power Sector is of vital importance. There has to be a set of alternative solutions from which to choose according to the local conditions. This is where Smart Power Generation comes in. It provides the set of solutions needed now, and even more so in the low-carbon future. The key issue with Smart Power Generation is flexibility.

Challenges posed by such renewable for the Utilities

Energy demand fluctuates during the course of 24 hours in a day, during passage of different seasons and also sees substantial unpredictability over the years based on climatic condition, political and social expressions and many other factors specific to that year. Introduction of renewable power feed such as wind and solar etc., though extremely desirable from environment and sustainability point of view, adds more unpredictability and challenges for the system operators in managing the supply-demand situation in the grid. Responses to these challenges are being debated, but one fact is clear: facing the energy challenge of the coming years will require fresh approaches, new technologies, and a mindset of greater flexibility in the power sector.

Smart Power Generation the solution

Thus an integrated approach to look at the Power Sector is of vital importance. Smart Power Generation is an important part of the equation to get sustainable, reliable and affordable power to all. Smart Power Generation is a highly efficient, flexible and economic solution for optimizing power systems and it is time to integrate such a solution in the countrys energy mix. In addition, implementation of this concept as peaking power plants in India can lead to a substantial saving in carbon generation. The savings will be equivalent to the benefit of installing 80,000MW of Solar Power generation capacity, thereby enhancing the objectives of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission on sustainability front. A study conducted in association with IIT Delhi, indicates that Smart Power Generation can provide solution for some of the major issues confronting the Power Sector, such as: a) Environment: Optimization of power generation mix with base load generation and peak load generation plants can result in CO2 (Carbon) savings of about 100 million tonnes by end of 12th five year plan, valued at about ` 9,700 Crore in the Carbon market. This amounts to almost 10% reduction in overall CO2 generation in power

Dynamic grid stabillity power plant of 250 MW

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Energy Efficiency

Affordable

Smart Power Generation

Enables

Fuel Flexibility

Operational Flexibility

Smart Power System

Reliable

Sustainable

sector in 2017 time frame. The reduction achieved through optimization of a generation mix would be equivalent to the savings which can be achieved through 80,000MW of Solar power plants or a mix of 20,000 MW of Solar and 35,000 MW of wind power plant operations. b) Wind and Solar power integration: Supports wind and solar plants infirm nature of energy which leads to grid disturbance, with firm power through its quick response plants. c) Coal and Natural Gas availability: Smart Power Generation brings 6.9% efficiency in over all fuel mix of the country which in turn also reduces problems in coal availability and saves ` 4,500 Crore/annum in primary fuel cost. 6.9% of overall saving would mean a substantial plugging of the supply demand gap envisaged for new coal based plants. Further, the concept would provide almost 4 times the MW addition for gas based plants to run as Peaking Plants with the same quantity of gas. This would be an important dimension looking at the peak power deficit in the country and also natural gas availability constraints and its relatively high price. d) T&D Losses: Local generation for peak demand for 6 to 8 hrs a day at load centre and local consumption gives a saving of ~0,25% of total energy consumption valued at ` 675 Crore/ annum. e) Transmission de-bottleneck: Local generation for peak demand at load centers & local consumption releases over 20% of the HT transmission capacity, valued at ` 15,900 Crore investment which can be saved. f) Land acquisition and water crisis: Land requirement for such generation is less than 1/10th of a coal based power plant thus saving of over 24000 acres of land ( approx ` 6000 Crore) and negligible water consumption in this technology saves 410 million Cu m water, which is equivalent to the annual need of a city like Mumbai.

g) Load shedding: An independent study shows that ` 1,00,000 Crore has been invested on power back-up equipment so far, while an additional ` 30,000 Crore is spent every year as operational expense on generating back-up power. The value of lost load costs significant amount of money & brings inefficiencies in the country. For India it is assessed at ` 289,000 Crore for 2008-2009 which is around 6% of GDP . h) Time to the market for capacity addition: With the modular design of SPG capacity, it takes only 12 to 15 months power out from financial closure. In overall terms, introduction of Smart Power Generation concept in the countrys power generation mix to handle peak load management has a potential to save to the tune of ` 47,000 Crore capex in the 12th Five Year Plan period and ` 14,000 Crore per annum of operating costs. The Countrys demand for uninterrupted power supply presents a great opportunity for growth. The transition to a sustainable energy infrastructure requires a judicial mix of Base Load with Coal and Nuclear, Renewables and Load Centre based natural gas Peaking Power Plants. It is highly recommended to plan and segregate the MWs coming from these three categories of generation for progressively optimizing the generation mix. Smart Power Generation offers an affordable and simultaneously sustainable solution for optimizing the total power system. Nothing is more difficult than predicting the future, but this new technology enables decisions to be made based on the economic and technological development having the potential to surprise even the most sceptical. Smart Power generation is the road to the Future.
MD, Wartsila, India

Rakesh Sarin

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