Cement, Energy and Environment

l GREEN ENERGY IS ENVIRONMENT- A STUDY Solar and wind power projects too harm the environment. We must generate renewable energy in a responsible way. Solar and wind energy are considered environment-friendly, with zero carbon emissions. These sources of energy are going to be the main elements of India's proposed march towards a low-carbon-economy. But doubts have begun to be expressed over long-term ecological and social fallout of rolling out wind and solar energy on a large scale. Going by the warming issued in a recent government sponsored study of select green power projects may lead to a conflict situation in years to come if corrective steps are not taken to minimize their ecological and social impact. While wind and solar generation does not result in direct greenhouse gas emissions unlike coal-fired power stations it has other serious implications. Land and water are key issues in conventional power projects. Now the same issues may plague renewable energy projects as well. These projects required large tracts of land which is a scarce resource. "There is a possibility that resource demand by solar and wind projects may rake up several socio-economic conflicts in near future. Such projects will have to compete with other sectors for land. This will either impede the growth of renewable energy development or create direct conflict between projects and communities residing in vicinity of such projects,'' the report from the Ministry of New and renewable Energy (MNRE) has said. Another cause of possible conflict would be water requirements of green power projects, particularly solar energy farms. Solar panels need to be cleaned with water everyday, since dust gathered on them could reduce their efficiency. Typically, a large solar photovoltaic plant could have several hundred panels. Water requirement of a large solar projects for maintenance purpose may be cause of concern for the communities residing close to such projects and sharing same resources, according to the report. This is a serious issue because solar farms are usually set up in raid and semi-arid areas, which are already water-stressed as they lie in low rainfall regions. The sites visiting during the course of the study included wind farms in Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, Satara and Pune districts in Maharashtra as well as a solar farm in Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh. India is currently fifth largest wind power producer in the world. The potential for solar energy production is also very high as about 58 per cent of the total land areas receives sufficient solar radiation for sustainable harnessing of solar power. The total installed capacity of grid-connected renewable energy in the country is over 28,000 MW while off-grid power capacity is about 880 MW. About 70 per cent of total renewable energy comes from wind and about 4.5 per cent from solar photovoltaic. Besides land and water issues, renewable energy production also damages the environment. An earlier assessment by the Centre for Science and Environment has pointed out that erection of turbines on hilltops and in forest areas is harmful to local ecology. This requires building access roads which involves tree felling and blasting of rocks. Soil erosion results in silting of streams and water bodies. Construction of roads also result in linear fragmentation of habitat and scares away animals. In addition, wind farms could cause health impact due to shadow flicker and noise pollution. Care needs to be taken to ensure the wind mills are not located in the path of migratory birds. The Madhav Gadgil committee report on Western Ghats had pointed out that wind mills being set up in large number in this ecologically fragile area is leading to substantial negative impact on ecology and water resources. Eco Impact Assessment At present, it is not mandatory to conduct and Environment impact Assessment (EIA) for wind or solar power projects under the Environment Protection Act. Approval from the Ministry of Environment and Forests is required only if location of a wind power projects is in a forest area or wildlife Sanctuary. An assessment by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) had found that about 45 per cent of total wind power generated in India comes from turbines located in forest areas. Small hydro projects below 25 MW capacity also do not need and EIA though it has been observed in 9