Power the Malls with Solar Energy

Last weekend, I was wandering in a swanky mall situated at South Delhi. Actually, it’s not one, but a cluster of three malls. There’s no clutter outside. The facade is majestic. Once inside, the cool ambience was a respite from the outer hot and sultry weather. There’s enough space for parking in the basement. The toilets are easy to locate and are clean, and the fittings in it are on the side of opulence. The mall owners and the architects have taken care to make the shopping experience comfortable. However, what the shopping complex lacks is the vision and services of a solar energy consultant and application of solar energy.

The majority of the crowd appeared to have come from the posh localities of South Delhi. I had no purpose other than walk in slow pace, and observe the brands and their interaction with the potential buyers. I could see the presence of almost all the brands in apparel and lifestyle categories, which one shopped on an overseas trip two decades ago. But I am not sure buying from these malls would carry the same snob value as shopping them in London. The stores are not only well lit but designed too—drawing power from the grid. The interesting bit was that the behaviours of the shoppers were similar in many respects as Paco Underhill has described of American shoppers in his best-selling books Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping and Call of the Mall.

The architecture and beneath it—the understanding of malls—have evolved in Delhi NCR in the past five years. The new malls are big in all aspects so that the exclusive stores have more space. There’s abundance of space for shoppers to move around comfortably without rubbing anyone’s shoulders. What remains invisible is the consumption of energy. The promoters and architects have adopted all aspects of malls as they exist in the developed countries. What they have missed out is in the use of solar energy.

It may sound utopian. But there are malls powered by solar energy. In Japan, the Aeon shopping mall near Yonago uses solar panels on its exterior to meet all its power requirements. The Oasis21 mall in Nagoya city has mini water pools on its roof, which control the environment in the shopping plaza and shopping center. Apart from saving energy, these innovative architectural designs help to reduce Japan’s carbon footprint.

Similar initiatives are taking place in the far away USA. At Jersey Gardens mall in New Jersey, which is about 1.3 million square foot in size, a single-roof solar system would soon be installed. The mall houses brands like Gap, H&M, Lord & Taylor Outlet, Neiman Marcus, Last Call, Nike and Saks Fifth Avenue. Thanks to solar energy consultants there, the mall’s roof would generate 4.8 MW of electricity, which is enough to offset 11 per cent of its electric consumption.

Why can’t our architects and developers think of solar, when we have so much benevolence of Sun?

Mine Coal Reserves, Mind the Environment

Even if you are convinced, switching to green economy is a long drawn path. Protecting the plants and animals is necessary to preserve the fragile ecosystem and more so, for the sake of future generations. But to live in the present, to feed a billion population; it’s equally necessary to exploit the natural resources—when you have abundance of coal reserves. The problem is, while doing so, without any intention of causing harm; the process may emit green house gases and contribute silently to global warming.

The environmentalists might argue that eschew everything that causes any damage to the environment. After all, the damage you inflict on nature would return to you affecting your health—and raise your medical bills unnecessarily. It could be true in some cases, as many diseases are caused by pollution and destruction of environment. But then there’s also a generation, who grew up aspiring a Western mode of life style. They would prefer to live in a high energy consumption society and face all the consequences arising from it. How can they throw all the gadgets and live a life of happiness—perhaps, by embracing renewable energy.

The wheels of our lives are driven not by fate. The evolution of human mind and its corollary—science and technology—has made us believe that a major part of our lives run on electricity. Many would aver there’s no dearth of such a commodity. Only the source and perhaps, the ways to tap energy need to be changed. The green activists would point to a World Bank report, which says switching to renewable energy could be a solution to meet India’s rising demand-supply gap in power. It says India utilizes about 10 percent of its potential and close to 150 giga watt could further be harnessed from it.

But why dump coal when India has large coal reserves too. The commercial coal mining began some 220 years ago by Sumner and Heatly of East India Company in the Raniganj coalfield along the western bank of river Damodar. It is located now in West Bengal. The coal extracted from the mines fueled steam engines of the railways. The population at that time was less. So there was literally no noise when the people living in the area were displaced as the new regions in the belt were mined.

But times have changed. The population has grown many-fold times. The open cast mining method causes irreversible damage to the adjoining vegetation and makes the soil unsuitable for cultivation. It snatches not only the livelihoods of the local people, but their culture—and everything that they accumulated over the generations. The proponents of the green economy observe that a mine producing 40 million tonnes of coal in its lifetime of 15 years degrades close to 25 kms of the neighbouring vegetation.

The renewable energy is not only expensive, but also is not free from glitches, say the analysts. Till it refines its production and distribution, and wins the trust of consumers as a reliable source of energy, it can be an add-on source of energy. Meanwhile, the coal which feeds thermal power plants could be extracted through underground coal gasification (UCG) method. It is not only environment-friendly, but also suitable for high moisture content Indian coal. Infraline Energy Research & Information Services’ report—Underground Coal Gassification in India: An alternative and viable option—discusses how it could be implemented in India. “UCG is re-evolving across the globe as a technology to replace the conventional mining methods. The process reduces the emission of greenhouse gases, and leaves residual-ash and rock inside. In addition, it is the only method to exploit the un-mineable coal reserves in the country.”

Indian Power Sector needs a shot in the arm

The spot light is on Indian power sector. The reasons are obvious. Without power, the wheels of Indian economy wouldn’t move. With expectation from every quarter rising—both national and international, the economy has to run faster. The news of India’s potential growth in the decade has attracted many multinational giants to set up their manufacturing units across the country. Each such unit requires electricity as a major input to run their machines efficiently.

The high expectation is a challenge as well as an opportunity. “Those companies engaged in the manufacture of power equipments, production and distribution of electricity with a vision and strategy could become global giants by the end of the decade,” says Yogesh Garg, CEO, Infraline Energy Research & Information Services. A number of power consultants feel that the small companies through creating technologies or innovative business models could disrupt the existing standards in the market. There’s a chance for incremental growth as well as disruptive for them.

India has a natural advantage of sunshine almost nine months in a year. Some of the Indian states are suitable for wind energy. On the top of it, there are thermal power plants powered by coal and hydro-electricity by efficient use of country’s rivers. However, the natural resources can’t be exploited beyond a point, as it may cause irreversible damage to the environment. 

Is there a way to raise the available pool of electricity without setting up new thermal or hydro power units? Possibly yes. If we improve the existing processes, the wastage would come down naturally in India’s power sector. Two pain points are the huge distribution loss and high consumption of electricity by the equipments that generate electricity.

The amount of electricity lost during the course of distribution from the centre of production is significant. It is as high as 40 per cent. A reduction in this sphere would improve the supply of electricity. The equipments used in power generation too consume electricity. Improving the quality of such equipments would also raise the share of available electricity. 

Our one-size-fit-for-all approach is an outdated strategy. We have to get away from the linear thinking that all the electricity to run our home or business should come from a centralized source called grid. We need to adopt hybrid mode of access to electricity, something similar to a city dweller traveling some distance by personal vehicle and the rest by a public transport. Many power consultants have helped big hotels and manufacturing companies to use solar as well as electricity from the grid to meet their requirement, without causing any damage to the environment.

India needs to raise its Coal Production

India has the largest reserves of coal in the world. It is estimated to be around 257 billion tonnes. Little wonder, generations of Indians have grown reading in school that coal is black diamond. After all, it feeds thermal power plants across the country, the major source of electricity for industry and individual homes.

Despite the growth of hydro, solar and wind, the dominance of coal continues. India’s appetite is mounting. It is the third largest consumer of coal in the world. About 60 percent of energy in India comes from coal production. Close to 530 million tonnes is mined annually in the country. Over 83 percent is obtained through the procedure called opencast mining. A number of power sector analysts believe that the dependency on the natural substance is likely to continue for the next two decades.

The demand for power has gone up with the rise in population and rapid urbanization in all the states. In addition, India’s growth story is attracting global giants to set up manufacturing bases in various parts of the country. It is obvious the requirement for electricity is growing exponentially. But the coal production is much less than what is required. The thermal power plants based on indigenous coal needed 434 Million Tonnes (MT) during 2010-11. But close to 388 MT was available. About 35 MT were imported to bridge the gap.

What could surprise is the scarcity amidst plenty. According to India’s premium body, Geological Survey of India, of the total reserves about 98 billion tonnes are fit for coal production. The lignite reserves are estimated to be around 38 billion tonnes. However, only about 4.2 billion tonnes could be mined.

The imported coal has one distinct advantage. The ash content in it is much low than those mined in India. However, due to limitations of boiler design in India’s thermal power plants, about 10-15 percent of imported stuff is blended with the local ones. The blending is a complimentary activity to raise the raw feed to a uniform quality.