Category : Climate Change | Location : International | Posted on 2022-07-14 02:03:25
The 26th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow saw the participation of over 120 world leaders, 40,000 participants, 22,744 political party members and over 3,800 media representatives.
The conference promoted discussions on climate change issues and solutions that resulted in the Glasgow Climate Pact, including commitments to strengthen efforts to build climate resilience and curb the emission of greenhouse gases.
The conference called for participating nations to accelerate their transition from fossil fuels to clean power. This was significant since the energy sector accounts for more than a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Challenges & opportunities
Being a thermal energy-dependent country, India faces severe electricity shortages in many areas due to heatwaves (when demand increases) and coal shortages. GGI can transform the traditional energy system by replacing thermal power plants with solar energy, making India more resilient against extreme weather conditions and less dependent on fossil fuels.
Lately, solar energy has been improving the lives of millions of people in rural India, enabling them to carry out activities and improving their standard of living in an environmentally friendly manner.
An example of this is the implementation of solar-powered agriculture pumps to extract groundwater, which are more environmentally friendly than traditional diesel ones. The number of diesel pumps in India is 10 million.
It is estimated that the replacement of 1 million diesel pumps with solar-powered pumps can improve agricultural output by Rs 30,000 crore, while also mitigating diesel usage.
The implementation of GGI can enhance the quality of life of rural communities in many other areas like access to electronic gadgets, clean drinking water, among others.
However, certain obstacles need to be considered during the implementation of the initiative. Its documentation does not comment on improving the efficiency of the existing solar energy infrastructure in the country.
Furthermore, a majority of the solar energy infrastructure is located in desert regions, which brings dust deposits on panels. A layer of dust decreases solar power conversion efficiency by 40 per cent.
There are also hidden environmental costs of setting up solar energy infrastructure. Solar energy technologies such as batteries and panels use energy-intensive raw materials and several chemicals and heavy metals that need to be handled and disposed of correctly.
In India, the problem of e-waste and industrial discharge in rivers is at an all-time high. This makes proper waste management mechanisms necessary to reduce the environmental stress, primarily caused by an increase in solar energy infrastructure.
The initiative also does not define strategies to recycle and repurpose existing infrastructure, which can be an exciting avenue to view through the circular economy lens.
Since 2011, solar power capacity worldwide has been growing by 70 gigawatts per year. Solar panels generally have a lifespan of 25 years, after which they have to be retired since they lose their efficiency.
According to these trends, it is estimated that 28 million panels will have to be decommissioned every year, starting 2026. Most of these panels will be disposed of in landfills, drawing severe environmental repercussions. Therefore, developing a system that encourages the repair, reuse and recycling of existing solar panels is essential.
Source: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/energy/taking-off-from-cop26-is-green-grids-initiative-the-way-forward-for-india--83706
