OpEd: What India and Pittsburgh Have In Common

3 Jun 2017

I think we all live with some level of tunnel vision. We live locally and too often are unaware of what is going on in the wider world despite our access to the reportage of world events.

I thought about my own tunnel vision of the wider world when I did my typical Saturday morning thing: got a cup of coffee from my local Starbucks and read in the New York Times the story: India, Once a Coal Goliath, Is Fast Turning Green.

The gist of the story is that India WAS planning on building a whole lot of coal-fired plants but are cancelling many of them because (a) their current plants are operating at only 60% capacity and (B) they are relying more on renewables such as solar power.

India, so says the story, is also decreasing its annual coal production from 660 million tons to 600 million tons -- down 10%.

Clearly, the world is embracing renewable energy technology. It appears to be making sense in India. It even makes sense to the mayor of Pittsburgh in the U.S. In another story, it says that Pittsburgh already has 13,000 jobs in the renewable energy industry. Says the story, "Pittsburgh today is increasingly rebuilding around greener medical complexes, research university and tech offices." Less need for coal, for sure.

I haven't been to Pittsburgh since I worked for Eaton Corp. as a field engineer about 20 years ago. And I have yet to visit India. But this morning over a cup of coffee at my local Starbucks, my world view just got a wee bit bigger.

Top Comments

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mcb1 over 8 years ago

The solar v xxx power debate will be an interesting thing in the future.

There was a very good program on National Geographic regarding an Indian based organisation Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE) using volunteers to provide 'micro grid' power to a remote monastery and village in the Himalayas that had no electricity.
The current lighting ranged from none to candles or other burning items, and the light quality was poor.
The fuel was trekked in as there were no roads.

They used solar to charge storage batteries which then provided power to LED lights, and was run in 12v for safety.

Watch IEEE Smart Village Volunteers in Action on National Geographic - IEEE - The Institute
IEEE Smart Village Helps Locals Harness the Himalayan Sun - IEEE - The Institute
Breakthrough - National Geographic Channel Power to the People

Using Solar or Wind power for generation is fine, but you still need a baseline generation system to cater for cloudy or still days.
The use of storage batteries is the current cheapest solution, but has limitations and loss of efficiency.

In the meantime these micro-grids are an alternative when there is no power infrastructure or the cost to extend it makes it uneconomic.

Mark
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mcb1 over 8 years ago

The solar v xxx power debate will be an interesting thing in the future.

There was a very good program on National Geographic regarding an Indian based organisation Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE) using volunteers to provide 'micro grid' power to a remote monastery and village in the Himalayas that had no electricity.
The current lighting ranged from none to candles or other burning items, and the light quality was poor.
The fuel was trekked in as there were no roads.

They used solar to charge storage batteries which then provided power to LED lights, and was run in 12v for safety.

Watch IEEE Smart Village Volunteers in Action on National Geographic - IEEE - The Institute
IEEE Smart Village Helps Locals Harness the Himalayan Sun - IEEE - The Institute
Breakthrough - National Geographic Channel Power to the People

Using Solar or Wind power for generation is fine, but you still need a baseline generation system to cater for cloudy or still days.
The use of storage batteries is the current cheapest solution, but has limitations and loss of efficiency.

In the meantime these micro-grids are an alternative when there is no power infrastructure or the cost to extend it makes it uneconomic.

Mark
- Cancel
- Vote Up 0 Vote Down
- Sign in to reply
- More
- Cancel

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