Many writers in these column are confused about Nuclear and Renewable Energy. You can’t generate Wind and Solar everywhere in a reliable way. Renewable Energy can only supplement but not replace conventional energy like,coal,petroleum etc., The wind Installations account for 8757 MW at the end of March 2008;Bio power(agro residues and plantations) 606MW;Bagasse cogeneration 800MW;Small Hydropower(Up to 25 MW) 2180 MW;Energy recovery from waste 55.25MW;Solar Photovoltaic power 2.12 MW,Biomass/cogeneration(non bagasse) 95MW;Biomass gasifier 100 MW;Energy recovery from waste 26.7 MW.Nuclear power 4,120 MW (3.1% of total installed base).But wise and more efficient way of demand size management is through energy conservation on a massive scale. According to experts 40%energy can be saved. One watt saved at the point of consumption is more than 1.5 watts generated. It costs about Rs 4 crore to create 1MW of new generation capacity. But the same Rs 4 crore spent on energy conservation methods by and large a one time expenditure can provide 2-3 MWs of avoidable generation capacity and yield results in under two years as against four to five years in setting up a power plant and transmission and distribution system. Scope for energy saving is tremendous in agriculture sector. It accounts for over 120 lakh electric pumps and about 60 lakh diesel pumps mainly for irrigation purpose. It consumes 6,000 crore kwh of electricity.
