While we breathe in heavy dirt and air full of toxins, we can take our times to remind ourselves of our own sins. For what went wrong in the history of Earth and exactly, since when?
The air to breathe is supposed to keep us alive, rather it is only taking us closer to a slow death.
The world and country have talked enough of why this happens every year in winters and how can it be curbed, alas, with no effect in reality.
But even when no authority offers us a way out, statistics depict a clear story.
The World Air Quality Report and the Water quality Index (WQI) all show India in bad light, i.e., 22 of the 30 top polluted cities are in India and it ranks 120th out of 122 in WQI, respectively.
Anyways, this indicates a deeper problem, something caused out of unchecked Urbanization, unsustainable agriculture devoid of better technology, regressive Industries, lack of necessary waste management etc.
What can we possibly eliminate first?
In the report submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on behalf of India by Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MOEFCC), power generation with a share of 44%, has emerged as the biggest culprit.
This happens to be troublesome as this is mostly sourced from fossil-fuels, in India as well. However, with proper impetus to solar and wind energy generation, this can be corrected.
In this light, Prime Minister Modi has promised half of India’s energy to be sourced from renewable by 2030, at COP26 Glasgow. However, we will need to up the ante. For that we have to change our limited approaches.
Currently, the solar companies focus on setting up solar parks or windmill farms only on degraded or less fertile lands utilizing this resource for renewable energy production.
And these tracts remain committed to solar energy for the next 25 years.
But to increase the land under use, we can stretch this model to even farmlands or the fertile lands, in close association with other crops.
For this arrangement to work well, the solar panels are to be fixed at 10 feet above the ground with an adequate spacing between them so that enough sunlight can fall over plants to grow.
Also, solar panels and shades can provide an excellent shade to plants or crops those do not need direct sunlight.
This can become a ‘third crop’ for farmers, yielding additional income as well as produce more renewable energy for the planet. With every watt generated here, there is lesser watt produced using coal, with a systematic approach therein.
What is the rush for Solar Power?
Acknowledgement of Climate crisis, the need for Energy transition and simply the fall of solar equipment prices in recent times becoming one of the cheapest sources of electricity, has provided a large impetus for Solar.
The Solar prices fell nearly 85% from $0.28 to $0.04 per kWh since 2010.
This can be attributed to the ‘economies of scale’ concept, as per researchers from MIT. Because as the world adopted and made more solar panels, their production became cheaper, affordable and more efficient.
A story to make us believe that serious strides work well:
Katara aged 34 years, has now become the face of Solar energy empowerment in India.
Married at the age of 13 years and being the previous owner of a small grocery store, this CEO of Durga Energy, has now employed over 40 women, many of whom never finished their high school like her.
This company, with an assistance from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and the Rajasthan state government, manufactures domestic solar panels (in tough competition with those of China).
Katara explains: “When we started, we never thought we would be able to achieve what we have in these four years”.
Since the company’s inception in 2017, it has manufactured and sold more than 300,000 solar panels.
In a dual effort, these women and many others residing in the Aravallis, have been saved by these panels to travel and fetch water, as these power the pump of a well nearby.
A simple solar plant, as the center of a village, has successfully drawn efforts of many helpless women from mere barren fields or empty wells towards production of greater forms of energy.
They are doing a greater bit than most of us, in tackling climate change and boosting the country’s battered real economics.
The real Democracy: Energy by locals For Locals
An expert from IIT Bombay explains how: “When solar panels are produced locally, people will buy locally and money will circulate within the local economy”.
“If anything happens to the grid, you’ll have to pay a local service engineer so that your village electricity can be kept running.”
“Solar technology—when it becomes affordable and locally produced—will allow communities to become self-sufficient in energy”, he adds.
With a 2.2 gigawatts capacity solar park in Bhadla, Rajasthan spread over 14,000 acres of desert, has become one of its kind on Earth.
India has created over 42 solar parks across its territory, producing Clean Energy and nurturing lives.
This decentralized manufacturing model can help provide electricity to people in rural, isolated, remote areas with significantly lower investments and in least amount of gestation period.
With this happening, the emissions go low and air may feel saturated with its natural constituents again. But that is just one problem at bay.
We need to look for more and this will not happen without proper implementation and healthy minds of people.
Who is the leader of Solar energy and Renewables in the World?
Though every continent has witnessed an increase in their solar power, the big power in Asia is surely the undisputed leader in this arena.
China, as per the data by International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) for 2021, accounts for over 35% of global capacity and there appears no slowing down.
It is gearing up for the next 400,000MW clean energy project.
With liberal policies like solar investment tax credit, that tends to offer 26% tax credit on residential as well as commercial solar systems, the United States has taken a second spot.
India, accounting for 5.5 per cent of the world’s solar capacity, stands at fifth position. The total installed capacity lies over 47.7 GW.
If we are to believe the World Economic Forum’s prediction on the same, India will grab the third spot in harnessing the Sun.
Another Story from Morocco:
A country small enough to alert the world graphs from its emissions, relied heavily on coal power with about two-thirds of its annual budget deficit accounting for its support to coal and allied products.
Keeping its resistible but challenging needs aside, this country decided to chalk out and announce an ambitious energy plan to source 42% of its total installed power capacity from renewable energy by 2020.
Its pledges included the renewables to electricity mix as 52% by 2030; composed of 20% from solar, 20% from wind and 12% from hydro energy.
“Plans and international financial help are needed to help vulnerable countries, islands, and poor countries,” says an Expert.
“In Morocco, we need policies to manage, recycle and reuse water. We need climate insurance for droughts and frequent fires, and we need sustainable and smart agriculture.”
Fossil fuel subsidy was ruled out and some of the world’s largest clean energy infrastructure was drawn in. This money saved from subsidies, has been diverted to impart the world-class education in the country and implement health insurance scheme.
Although this plan of Morocco received global recognition and accolade but a few have been quick to point out associated concerns and urged for reforms.
Greenpeace has urged for a reform to “make it less troublesome and bureaucratic for individuals to own and sell renewable energy”.
Humans are not known to recall one’s mistakes easily, but it feels elated to know that at least we have begun, begun to care for our planet, begun to think beyond our own selfish selves.