Cement, Energy and Environment

Courtesy : Th e Bulletin on Energy Efficiency, Apr. 2002, Pp18-21. Fr~x: 91-11-4682204/6146004 Emr~il: winrock@vsnl.com Web:www.renewingindia.org POWER MINISTER SURESH PRABHU OUTLINES POWER SECTOR PROGRAMMES. Excerp ts from the le tter to va rious people on this issue. Since independence, the generating capacity has grown by <~ bout 100, 000 MW along with the associated transmi ssion and dis tribution network. The consumer cove rage has also grown exp onenti a ll y. Despite thi s very significant increase in the power infrastructure, we have not been able to contain the energy shortages, ensure uninterrupted quality power and make the sector self sustainable. Consumer satisfaction level remains quite low. Obviously, there are problems yet to be tackled in the power sector of the country. When I took ove r more than a year ago, I realised that power sector in the country is at a cross-roads and if I let this "Business as Usual" approach tocontinue, we will not be able tomeet the growing demand for power, a very critical factor for overall growth of the country. Neither shall we be able to achieve any improvement in consumer satis fac tion nor make the power sector financially sustainable. We have planned to add 100, 000 MW capacity by yeaT2012 to ensure that the economy does not suffe r fo r want of generating capacity. Similarly, a detailed plan has been drawn up fo r the deve lopment of Inter-regional transmission capability to achieve the goal of Na tional Grid by 2012. Action Plan for addition of 51,000 MW of fresh generating capaci ty by year 2007 has been formul a ted. The sha re from Cen tra l undertakings under MOP shall be around 22,000 MW, the balance to be contributed by projec ts coming under the State and Priva te sectors, Nuclear Power Corporati on and Renewab le somces. Rules are under finalisation to give effect to Energy Conserva tion Act. A deta iled Action Plan on Demand Side Management is being prepared. Be nchmarks fo r impor ta nt cos t segments of various power projects have been identi fied based on manual on Interna ti onal Good Practices. This would enable the utilities to expl ore for cost reduction and also ensure a certain degree of transparency. The objective is to reduce the cost of power delivered so as to make it affordable for the consumers. The Standing Committee on R&D is expected to submit its final report on "Perspective Plan on R~D" . The first report on draft " Training Policy for power sec tor" has already been submitted . Courtesy: BJP TODAY Apr 1-15,2002 Vol. 11 No.7, Pp 18-19. E-mail: bjpco @ del3. Vsnl .net.in COGENERATION OF POWER UTILIZING WASTE HEAT IN CEMENT MANUFACTURE: TECHNOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES Abs. No. {4868] In the dry process cement plants nearly 40% of the total heat input is rejected as was te heat from exit gases of pre-hea ter and gra te cooler. This waste heat can be effectively utilized for electric power genera ti on. Cogeneration of power, besides mitiga ting the problem of powe r shortage, also helps in energy conservation as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Co– generation sys tems have been successfully operating in cement plants in Japan, China and South-East Asian countries. In exis ting p lan ts, cogeneration technologies based on bottoming cycles have the po tential to generate up to