Tap the sun to create jobs

• India's power shortage is the main reason why manufacturing is not taking off. We know manufacturing is where the jobs are.


• So, what is the solution for India's energy deficit?


• Nuclear always comes with risks: Forty years after Pokhran nuclear tests, villagers complain of frequent cancer deaths.


• Oil? The future of the Indian Rupee is tied to oil imports. We should rather explore ways to reduce oil imports. (Bike lanes?)


• Solar? It is still not cost effective. Coal? We know there is no such thing as clean coal. 


• The solution?


• Hybrid Solar+Coal:  Concentrated sun's rays are used to preheat water that will be fed into the coal plant’s boilers, where coal is burned to turn the water into steam.


• Best of both worlds:  This could effectively make solar-thermal power about 30 to 50 percent cheaper. Augmenting coal with sun's energy can help burn less coal. What's not to like?


• Economic Synergies: Less coal, less emissions, less cost, more power. Perfect for India.. bijli, sadak, paani..


• Not really new technology. Not limited to power plants. Wherever steam turbines are employed, sun can augment the energy and reduce hydro-carbon usage. Here is a paper from Australia. And one from China




• Also read
  T.N.Ninan: Five Things to Do: The central subsidy bill (equal to a third of tax revenue) can be trimmed by a third, through three steps: free pricing of diesel, reduced leakages during delivery, and excluding the top 30 per cent income category from all subsidies, including on cooking fuel and foodgrain. This will create the fiscal space for a big step-up of government investment in the infrastructure - to pay for the equivalent of a six-lane highway from Kashmir to Kanyakumari plus one 5,000 MW super-thermal power station, every year.