186
5 Fourth Industrial Revolution and India
100 smart cities, 175 gigawatts renewable energy, as well as 6–7 million electrical
vehicles.
2. LED revolution—Light emitting diode bulb, first manufactured in India in 2009
to replace incandescent and CFL bulbs, has several advantages. It generates less
heat and contains no mercury, has more longevity, and are eight times more
energy-efficient than incandescent and twice that of CFL. Introduction of LED
bulbs is expected to save around 16 billion tons of CO 2 release in next 25 years.
3. Energy-efficient air conditioners—On average, air conditioners consume a
third of power consumption in Indian households due to repeated cycles of
compressing gas to liquid for cooling hot outside air. Initially, CFCs were used
as refrigerant, but they were found to be depleting ozone in the atmosphere. The
CFCs have been replaced with halogenated chlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons. These new refrigerants cause faster cooling and can save energy up
to 20%.
4. Biodiesel—This is one of the most efficient alternative fuels and emits 78.5%
less CO 2 in comparison with petroleum diesel. There are more than a dozen
companies in India producing biodiesel and blending of petroleum diesel with
biodiesel is allowed by the government.
5. Hybrid cars—These are fuel-efficient and eco-friendly vehicles that use energy
from two different sources—an electric motor and petrol/diesel engine. These
cars enhance fuel efficiency by 30% and reduce GHG emission by 30%. India’s
plan is to have six million cars on road by 2020.
6. Advanced ultra-super-critical technology for thermal power plants—This is a
state-of-the-art technology that generates 30–40% more energy from the same
amount of coal through high temperature and pressure. A 4000 megawatts
advanced ultra-mega power project can save 4000 million tons of coal per year.
India intends to set up such plants in near future.
7. Wind turbines—These convert kinetic energy from wind into electrical energy
and is the cleanest source of renewable energy. The blades of wind turbines,
made of steel and glass, make 10–22 revolutions per minute to generate electricity. Efforts are on to have light-weight blades of carbon fiber to increase its
revolutions.
8. Concentrated solar thermal power—Solar power has two major technologies:
solar photovoltaic systems and concentrated solar power. Solar photovoltaic
systems convert solar energy directly into electricity. Concentrated solar power
uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight and generates steam to drive turbine for
generating electricity. A collaborative project at Mount Abu has been set up
by World Renewable Trust and Ministry of New and Renewable energy with
German Collaboration to meet the energy requirement of 20,000 people.
5 Fourth Industrial Revolution and India
100 smart cities, 175 gigawatts renewable energy, as well as 6–7 million electrical
vehicles.
2. LED revolution—Light emitting diode bulb, first manufactured in India in 2009
to replace incandescent and CFL bulbs, has several advantages. It generates less
heat and contains no mercury, has more longevity, and are eight times more
energy-efficient than incandescent and twice that of CFL. Introduction of LED
bulbs is expected to save around 16 billion tons of CO 2 release in next 25 years.
3. Energy-efficient air conditioners—On average, air conditioners consume a
third of power consumption in Indian households due to repeated cycles of
compressing gas to liquid for cooling hot outside air. Initially, CFCs were used
as refrigerant, but they were found to be depleting ozone in the atmosphere. The
CFCs have been replaced with halogenated chlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons. These new refrigerants cause faster cooling and can save energy up
to 20%.
4. Biodiesel—This is one of the most efficient alternative fuels and emits 78.5%
less CO 2 in comparison with petroleum diesel. There are more than a dozen
companies in India producing biodiesel and blending of petroleum diesel with
biodiesel is allowed by the government.
5. Hybrid cars—These are fuel-efficient and eco-friendly vehicles that use energy
from two different sources—an electric motor and petrol/diesel engine. These
cars enhance fuel efficiency by 30% and reduce GHG emission by 30%. India’s
plan is to have six million cars on road by 2020.
6. Advanced ultra-super-critical technology for thermal power plants—This is a
state-of-the-art technology that generates 30–40% more energy from the same
amount of coal through high temperature and pressure. A 4000 megawatts
advanced ultra-mega power project can save 4000 million tons of coal per year.
India intends to set up such plants in near future.
7. Wind turbines—These convert kinetic energy from wind into electrical energy
and is the cleanest source of renewable energy. The blades of wind turbines,
made of steel and glass, make 10–22 revolutions per minute to generate electricity. Efforts are on to have light-weight blades of carbon fiber to increase its
revolutions.
8. Concentrated solar thermal power—Solar power has two major technologies:
solar photovoltaic systems and concentrated solar power. Solar photovoltaic
systems convert solar energy directly into electricity. Concentrated solar power
uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight and generates steam to drive turbine for
generating electricity. A collaborative project at Mount Abu has been set up
by World Renewable Trust and Ministry of New and Renewable energy with
German Collaboration to meet the energy requirement of 20,000 people.