In 2023, earth has seen phenomenal changes in its atmosphere, producing more extreme events such as heat waves, floods, storms, wildfires, and droughts. There are visible signs of a shift in weather pattern. Advanced and developing countries of the world are working for a net zero-emission implementation by utilizing the technology at hand while pushing the envelop of green technology by targeted Research and Development. Significant efforts will be needed to keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Question one should ask what are the current capabilities of the existing green technology in power production. On this page I summarize out initial calculations (as they become available).
India is a developing economy, world’s largest democracy. India is in position to pay a very significant role is the world climate crisis.
What is the most commonly used source of Energy Production ?
- Natural Gas: Natural gas has been a significant source of energy production in the US. It has been used for electricity generation, heating, and industrial processes.
- Coal: While coal’s share has been declining over the years, it has still been a substantial contributor to electricity generation.
- Nuclear: Nuclear power has provided a significant amount of base load electricity in the US. It’s a low-carbon source of energy.
- Renewables (Wind, Solar, Hydro-power, Biomass): Renewable energy sources have been growing in importance, with wind and solar energy seeing particularly rapid growth. Hydro-power and biomass also contribute to the renewable energy mix.
- Petroleum: Petroleum products have been used mainly in transportation and industrial processes, but they also contribute to electricity generation.
- Other Sources: Some minor sources like geothermal energy and other non-renewable sources contribute to the energy mix as well.
How much energy is produces in a developed country like the United States ? What is the fraction of energy produced from each source?
The total electricity production in the United States was around 4 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year. The average electricity consumption per person in the United States was around 10,400 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year.
The energy production mix in the United States was approximately distributed as follows:
- Natural Gas: Around 32% to 34%
- Coal: Roughly 19% to 21%
- Nuclear: Approximately 19% to 20%
- Hydro-power: About 6% to 7%
- Renewables (including wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal): Around 11% to 13%
- Petroleum: Approximately 35% to 37%
The distribution of electricity consumption in the United States across different sectors was roughly as follows:
Residential Sector: Approximately 20% to 22% of the total electricity consumption was used by households for lighting, appliances, heating, cooling, and other residential needs.
Transportation Sector: The transportation sector’s electricity consumption is relatively small compared to other energy sources like gasoline and diesel. Electric vehicles (EVs) and public transportation systems use a portion of the electricity in this sector, but it’s a smaller percentage of the total.
Commercial Sector (including office buildings): About 18% to 20% of the total electricity consumption was used by commercial buildings, which include offices, retail stores, and other non-industrial establishments.
Industrial Sector: The industrial sector used the largest portion of electricity consumption, often ranging from 30% to 34% or more. This sector includes manufacturing, heavy industry, and other energy-intensive processes.
How much energy is produces in a developing country like India ? What is the fraction of energy produced from each source?
India’s total electricity production was around ~1.5 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually.On average, it was estimated to be around 1,181 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per person per year.
The approximate distribution of India’s electricity generation by energy source was as follows:
- Coal: Around 44-46% (approximately)
- Renewable Energy (excluding hydro): Around 16-18% (approximately, including solar, wind, and biomass)
- Hydroelectric: Around 13-15% (approximately)
- Biomass: Around 8-9% (approximately)
- Natural Gas: Around 6-7% (approximately)
- Oil/Petroleum: Around 27-29% (approximately)
- Nuclear: Around 2-3% (approximately)
The distribution of electricity consumption in India across different sector is estimated to be:
Residential Sector: Around 25-30% (approximately)
Industrial Sector: Around 40-45% (approximately)
Commercial Sector: Around 10-15% (approximately)
Transportation Sector: Around 5-10% (approximately)
How much Electricity can be put of Grid by existing clean power technologies ?
Solar:
India is a very large country with a total land area of 3.3 million square km. Let us assume that we are allowed to cover 0.1 % of India with solar panel. 0.1% of India’s land area is calculated as: 0.001 x 3.29 million km² = 3,290 km².
On average, the solar irradiance in India is around 5 kilowatt-hours per square meter per day (kWh/m²/day). However, this value can vary across different regions within the country. For the sake of estimation, let’s assume a conservative average solar irradiance of 4 kWh/m²/day.
Now, if we multiply the average solar irradiance by 0.1% of the total land area of India, we can calculate the potential electricity generation per day:
4 kWh/m²/day x 3,290 km² = 13,160,000 kWh/day or 13,160 MWh/day or 13 GWh/day
The actual electricity generation may be lower due to factors such as inefficiencies, variations in solar irradiance, and operational considerations.
The amount of electricity that can be efficiently put on the grid would depend on several factors, including the capacity of the power infrastructure, transmission and distribution losses, grid stability, and the overall electricity demand in the region. In general, the efficiency of grid-connected solar power systems is relatively high. Modern solar panels have an average efficiency of around 15% to 20%, meaning they can convert 15% to 20% of the sunlight they receive into usable electricity.
Taking an average efficiency of 17.5%, we can estimate the amount of electricity that can be efficiently put on the grid from the calculated potential of 13,160 MWh/day:
Efficiently generated electricity = 17.5% x 13,160 MWh/day = 2,299 MWh/day = 2.3 GWh/day
Therefore, approximately 2.3 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity per day could be efficiently put on the grid from covering 0.1% of India’s land area with solar panels.
A typical home in industrially developed countries (USA) uses about 10 MWatt-hour/year.It cost $25,000 per home to install a solar system, with no battery backup, capable of generating ~50% of the electricity needed for a home with natural gas heating in the winter. Countries electricity infrastructure is capable of handing variation in day and night and changes in the sunlight time.
Nuclear:
On average, a typical nuclear power plant has a capacity of around 1,000 megawatts (MW) or 1 gigawatt (GW). The actual electricity generated by a nuclear power plant depends on its capacity factor, which represents the percentage of time it operates at full power. A commonly used capacity factor for nuclear power plants is around 90%, although it can vary.
To calculate the daily electricity production in gigawatt-hours (GWh), we can use the following formula:
Daily electricity production (GWh) = Capacity (GW) × Capacity factor × 24 hours
Assuming a capacity of 1 GW and a capacity factor of 90%, we can calculate the daily electricity production:
Daily electricity production = 1 GW × 0.90 × 24 hours = 21.6 GWh
Therefore, on average, a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 1 GW and a 90% capacity factor would produce approximately 21.6 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity per day.
The US Clean Energy initiative includes giving significant incentives to individual home and company to go solar. Is this a viable technology that would have an impact ?
For this study we look at a typical US homes Electricity utilization over 3 years. In order City limits the installed solar unit attached to the grid to 10 kWatts to protect grid from major fluctuations. Home owner needs grid for fluctuation in sun light. This home has a solar unit with an installed capacity of 7.5 kWatts. Over 2.75 years this unit has produced 25 MWh. Which has save ~40,000 lbs of CO2 emission and/or equivalent of ~300 trees planted.
Figure 1. Energy Sold to the Grid during peak time with on average excess electricity in summer months.
This graph (Figure 1) shows excess electricity that was sold to the Grid was 12 MWh (Total Net Energy) in 2.75 years. In the same time the house purchased additional 17.5 MWh (Figure 2) in the same time window. Solar unit could provide about 40% of this 2 stories, 3500 square foot home electricity need. Augmenting with storage battery would not help much, unless city allows installation of 3 times more solar panel, which most likely will not be ideal for sun spot, or will not fit on the roof or will not look good from the front of the home.
Figure 2. Energy bought from the Grid during non-peak seasons and night with on average deficit electricity in winter months.
Considering a typical home can produce 40% of its needed electricity using clean solar energy with minimal upfront cost is significant contribution to the environment.