Indian Energy Research Articles

Categorising the existing irradiance based blind control occupant behavior models (BC-OBMs) using unsupervised machine learning approach: A case of office building in India

This study aims to categorise the existing irradiance-based blind control occupant behaviour models (BC-OBMs) into distinct clusters of the same characteristics using an unsupervised machine learning approach. Fourteen BC-OBMs, including two base case models (blinds always opened – AL1 and always closed – AL2), have been simulated for an office building in Tiruchirappalli, India and categorised into three distinct clusters named: Passive open (C1), Passive close (C2), and Active (C3). C1 and C2 performed similarly to the base case models, AL1 and AL2, respectively. In contrast, C3 performed as an active cluster with a high number of blind movements (NBMs). This study also quantifies the degree of absolute error between the identified clusters and the base case model AL1 (as per the practice followed in Indian building energy codes) and emphasises the need to incorporate the BC-OBMs into the building energy codes to predict the artificial lighting consumption and lighting levels accurately. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is a novel attempt to categorise the existing irradiance-based BC-OBMs into distinct clusters. The research methodology adopted for this study can also be used in future research to categorise the window, artificial light, fan, and thermostat use OBMs into distinctive categories.

Pathways to low carbon energy transition through multi criteria assessment of offshore wind energy barriers

A decrease in energy resources has motivated nations around the world to shift their focus to low carbon energy transition through renewable sources of energy. Offshore wind farms have emerged as a viable resource due to their many advantages. Wind energy boasts a positive image globally but does possess certain challenges. With this consideration, this study examines the challenges and barriers involved in the implementation of offshore wind energy through multi criteria assessment. Beginning with an examination of the common barriers identified from current literature resources, this study then consults a focus group and analyzes the barriers through a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approach known as DEMATEL. This study considers both technical and functional barriers and it offers a particular focus on the developing nation of India, because India's energy demands are significant. The role of employing an Indian context is primarily due to the significant decrease in non-renewable energy resources. Further, developing nations like India are often hampered by the challenges of initial installation of vital clean energy sources. Few existing studies offer empirical case studies for India. Our study finds that a lack of awareness is the most influential barrier, and if that barrier can be eradicated, offshore wind energy systems may contribute to easing India's energy burdens. Hence, this study assists offshore wind engineers in exploring the technology's barriers and limitations and in securing appropriate eradication strategies. Among five different challenge dimensions, this study finds governance (D1) is the key influential dimension and Lack of awareness (B4) is the most influential factor among 25 considered factors. With these results, this study bridges the gap between engineers and top-level management to explain the some of the core issues related to the implementation of offshore wind farms. Finally, this study presents useful insights considering future enhancements and recommendations for an effective implementation of offshore wind farms with the assistance of identified influential barriers for achieving effective low carbon energy alternatives.

Assessing possibilities for coal continuance in India under climate constraints

Rapid shift from traditional energy intensive pathways is required to pace-up economic growth before exhausting remaining carbon budget under 2 °C global stabilization target. Within this larger context, in this paper we have used AIM/End-use, a bottom-up, techno-economic model to analyze India's energy security and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the year 2000 to 2050 with a focus on possibilities of coal continuance in India. Our analysis shows that by adopting advanced coal technologies and carbon dioxide capture and sequestration (CCS) options, up to 45% CO2 emission reduction can be achieved over business-as-usual scenario (BAU) by 2050. This is possible even when coal use would increase to nearly 2200 Mt in 2050 as against 870 Mt in 2017-18. Without CCS, coal use could peak at 1200 Mt with 22% CO2 reduction over BAU in 2050 but in that case nuclear and renewable energy would become pivotal in meeting energy demand. The paper concludes that a win-win integration of energy security and deep GHG emission mitigation is possible through a large-scale integration of advanced coal technologies and CCS in Indian energy systems. We have also provided a brief PESTLE analysis for finding the enabling environment necessary for achieving the results discussed in various scenarios.

Weak states, fast transitions? Exploring the role of actors, governance capacity, and tensions in Indian energy politics

There has been a substantial growth in the Sustainability Transitions literature in the last few years. However, most of it has come from, and has analyzed, the Global North with less attention to the Global South countries, where institutions and governance mechanisms are weaker. This paper explores the unfolding of transition dynamics through two case studies from India. It finds that because of weak governance capacity, the role of state is complex and not limited to nurturing niches, the dynamics of political conflict are not confined to niche vs. regime but happen at novel spaces like niche-regime, and the role of non-state actors like judiciary, driven by their own political vision, assumes importance. The study thus argues for more attention to the complex and multi-faceted transition politics in the Global South countries, particularly elaborating upon the role of state and its interaction with non-state actors.

Value Change, Value Conflict, and Policy Innovation: Understanding the Opposition to the Market-Based Economic Dispatch of Electricity Scheme in India Using the Multiple Streams Framework

As policy innovation is essential for upscaling responsible innovation, understanding its relationship to value change(s) occurring or sought in sociotechnical systems is imperative. In this study, we ask: what are the different types of values in the policy process? And, how does value change influence policy innovation? We propose a disaggregation of values and value change based on a four-stream variant of the multiple streams framework (MSF), a conceptual lens increasingly used for explaining policy innovation in sociotechnical transitions. Specifically, we posit that the values that ‘govern’ problem framing, policy design, political decision making, and technological diffusion can evolve relatively independently, potentially leading to value conflict. We apply this framework to the ongoing case of the market-based economic dispatch of electricity (MBED) policy in the Indian energy transition using content analysis. We find that the MBED scheme—with its emphasis on efficiency (problem), economic principles (policy), low-cost dispatch (technology), and centralization (politics)—attempts value change in each stream. Each instance of value change is, however, widely contested, with the ensuing value conflicts resulting in significant opposition to this policy innovation. We conclude that a disaggregation of values based on the MSF can facilitate an analysis of value change and value conflict in sociotechnical transitions and lay the foundation for systematically studying the relationships among technological change, value change, and policy change.

Global sensitivity analysis and optimisation of design parameters for low GHG emission lifecycle of multifamily buildings in India

In India, nearly 25% of citizens live in slums, unfit for a decent living. Replacing the existing residential building stock and the rapid development of the economy will significantly increase energy consumption and related greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions in the coming decades. Consequently, there is a high need of developing low lifecycle GHG emission, affordable and comfortable multifamily building designs, which can be widely implemented in the Indian construction market.The objective of this article is first to explore the most influential design parameters of the multifamily building located in the in: warm and humid (Bhubaneswar), hot and dry (Jodhpur), and composite (New-Delhi) climate zones of India on life cycle GHG emissions and indoor thermal comfort, and secondly, to perform a multi-objective optimisation considering the life cycle GHG emissions, life cycle cost and initial material investment cost based on the set of the most sensitive design parameters. The study combines a two-step global sensitivity analysis based on the Morris and Fast method with a multi-objective genetic algorithm integrated into one framework based on the parametric multifamily building model with extensive building performance simulations.The global sensitivity analysis results indicated that for all investigated locations: the apartment’s floor area, equipment load, windows-to floor ratio, mechanical ventilation airflow, and cooling temperature setpoint were the most influential design parameters in relation to the lifecycle GHG emissions. Finally, based on the multi-objective optimization, significant reductions in the range of 62–75% in terms of life cycle GHG emissions and 40–54% in terms of life cycle cost were achieved compared to the baseline 7-storey multifamily design scenario based on the minimum requirements of the Indian energy conservation code. At the same time, the initial material investment cost was 25–34% higher. The optimal set of the design strategies, resulting in the lowest life cycle GHG emissions and life cycle cost was found to be minimisation of the apartment’s floor area and windows to floor ratio, maximisation of the on-site renewable energy use, and design of a mechanical ventilation system combined with ceiling fans thus enabling the energy-efficient and thermally comfortable operation of the multifamily building with a high cooling temperature setpoint.

A numerical simulation-based method to predict floor wise distribution of cooling loads in Indian residences using Tukey honest significant difference test

ABSTRACT India's energy security scenario (IESS 2047) projects a mammoth increase in residential air conditioners, from 21.8 million units in 2017 to 154.4 million in 2038. This increased demand for space cooling accounts for an equal responsibility from architects and energy engineers to research building design-related cooling load nexus. This paper studies the pattern of cooling load dispersion between floors for 25 dominant residential typologies in Navi Mumbai that vary in heights, shapes, footprint areas, and densities. Simulation for cooling loads is done using Rhinoceros 6 tool with energy plus plugin. Tukey Honest Significant Difference (HSD) Post Hoc Test is done after ANOVA to group floors with similar cooling load profiles. The results show a strict increase in cooling load till the top floor for low rise and mid-rise. However, for high-rise buildings, most intermediate floors fall under a single subset category; thereby, the increase in cooling load among floors is not similar. This shows that as building height increases, the difference between cooling loads of intermediate floors decreases significantly. Also, an increase in height with a decrease in footprint area reduces the overall cooling load of the building.

India’s Solar Energy Transition: a perspective of an accountability crisis

India’s announcement at the Glasgow Climate Conclave in 2021, regarding the nation’s short- and long-term climate actions portrayed an ambition of becoming a green leader in the years to come. The article discusses how accountability has broad horizons which in turn is linked with legitimacy, often neglected in research and when incorporated, in relevance to India’s solar energy transition will revolve around accountability crisis. An accountability–legitimacy framework is created in which the Indian solar energy paradigm is tested where the major findings are solar uptake discrepancies, pertinent to four typologies of legitimacy—technocratic, bureaucratic, financial, and discursive.

The oil price uncertainty effect on stock returns of the Indian renewable energy firms under different market conditions

AbstractThis study investigates the oil price uncertainty effect on stock return of the Indian renewable energy firms under different market conditions. We use the Oil Volatility Index (OVX) as a proxy of oil price uncertainty. All renewable energy companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India are considered. Monthly data are analysed from January 2009 to December 2019 using panel quantile regression. In the whole sample of the renewable energy firms, we find that the impact of oil price volatility on stock return is negative only in extreme market conditions. In subgroups of renewable energy firms, oil price volatility has negative coefficients in most quantiles. The oil price volatility change is decomposed into positive and negative changes to investigate the asymmetric effect. In subgroups of renewable energy firms' analysis, most of the asymmetric effects of oil price volatility are seen in the bearish market condition. The policymakers can use the findings to formulate policies as per the oil price volatility movement to ensure the growth of the renewable energy sector. Investors and portfolio managers can make appropriate strategies based on oil price volatility to maximise the investment return across market conditions.

Modeling wind energy development barriers: implications for promoting green energy sector

ABSTRACT Since a variety of barriers pose challenges to the Indian wind energy sector, the extent to which these barriers hamper this sector and the alternative solutions are largely unknown. We identify several barriers using existing literature, and then using the modified Delphi approach, refine 25 barriers and classify them into five significant dimensions. Later, the Analytical Hierarchical Process determined the ranking of barriers using pairwise comparison matrices. The Grey Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution method ranked alternative solutions to these barriers. Results indicate that “financial barrier” is the most important barrier among all dimensions, while “limited government subsidy” is most influential among all sub-barriers. “Availability of adequate funds” is the best alternative to overcome these barriers. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is performed to validate the study findings. The study findings may assist practitioners and policymakers in boosting the current sluggish growth of the Indian wind sector.

India's Energy Strategy for Sustainable Development: Move towards Clean Energy

India's Energy Strategy for Sustainable Development: Move towards Clean Energy

Achievements and challenges of energy poverty alleviation policies: Evidence from the select states in India

Indian energy sector has undergone a tremendous transformation with consistent government policy interventions since 2000. Against this backdrop, we examine the extent to which energy poverty has decreased due to the expansion of energy services and the significant determinants of energy poverty in select six states in India. Overall, results reveal that absolute multidimensional energy poverty has substantially decreased across all states examined in the study as well as across all income and social groups between 2015 and 2018. Specifically, acute multidimensional energy poverty has reduced by an average of 30% between 2015 and 2018 in six states. At the same time, dependency on biomass remains more or less the same between 2015 and 2018. Results also show that inequality in the access to energy across income and social groups exists, and education is negatively related to energy poverty. Energy poverty has declined by a similar percentage among most employment groups, except for people practicing cattle rearing. Finally, culture is a significant determinant of energy poverty as households with the elderly and more land owned have higher energy poverty, probably due to the easy access to biomass and preference of such households to use it.

Experimental Study on Installation of Solar Panel above Industrial Junction House

Abstract: For promoting Renewable Energy (RE) sources, Government (state and / or central) has set targets of Renewable Power called as RPO (Renewable Power Obligations) to be fulfilled by all obligated entities. Steel industry is also an obligated entity as it consumes power from its own captive sources. To meet the RPO set targets as per Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) Gazette circular (2015), obligated entities will be required to generate and consume RE power from solar source and non-solar renewable sources a fixed percentage of total annual consumption in kilowatt-hours (kWh) generated from captive power sources (CPP). In case, they are not able to meet this requirement, they have to purchase Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) as traded open in the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) with floor price of solar REC, Rs. 3.5 per kWh.

"Role of Information in Shaping Energy Efficiency Attitude: Case of Indian Urban Households"

With the recent announcement by the Indian Government to replace energy meters with smart meters, the study attempts to assess if the information provided by the smart meters to residential urban Indian energy consumers nudge them towards being energy efficient. For this purpose, we assess two types of information. First, innovative billing is provided by smart energy meters which provide information regarding consumers’ ‘own’ energy consumption and energy consumption by neighbors. Second, the information is provided through awareness programs by the government. By surveying 1751 urban Indian households and analyzing the data using two factorial ANOVA, the study finds that consumption-related information feedback through smart devices shall favorably shape the attitude towards energy efficiency. The paper also looks into the impact of various factors that affect the energy efficiency attitude of urban Indian households. The study has implications not only for the government but also for the marketers of smart meters.

Energy justice in post-Paris India: Unpacking consensus and conflict through storylines and discourse coalitions

The paper investigates the discursive consensus and conflict that unfolded in the first five years after the Paris Agreement while making decisions on the pivotal justice principles in Indian energy policy. It employs discourse network analysis and draws on the concepts of storylines and discourse coalitions to analyze media discourse as well as the prominent state and non-state actors that frame it. Our findings identify three major themes in the discourse: first, a strong consensus on the intersection of energy poverty with other intra-generational injustices and renewables as a solution for ensuring energy justice; second, a mild conflictual narrative resulting in three discourse coalitions that underscores the lack of affordability, appreciation of inter-generational justice, and due process in the policies targeted to improve energy availability; and third, a strong conflict between availability and sustainability in the discussion around fossil fuel, non-fossil fuel, and renewables, resulting in three coalitions in favour of each. The paper concludes by highlighting the need to strengthen the due process component for an inclusive policy directed towards enhanced and renewable-based energy access.

IEDL: Indian Energy Dataset with Low frequency for NILM

Energy conservation has received a lot of attention in recent ten years. Adoption of sustainable energy is important for meeting energy demand, to address this Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) technology is now being developed all over the world. Several energy consumption datasets have been released; each dataset has different properties, uses, and limitations. Thus, a solid comprehension of the relevant datasets will help to improve NILM system. This work is dedicated to detailed study of low frequency (data sampling rate lower than Alternating Current (AC) fundamental frequency) residential datasets, a total eighteen datasets are compared according to their measurement features, collected location, nature of sampling, data collection duration, data development platform etc. Furthermore, datasets are classified depending upon the appliance level and aggregated level data. To full fill the literature gap a new low-cost Indian Energy Dataset with Low frequency (IEDL) has been developed with detailed system deployment. This low frequency dataset collects data from aged appliances (older than ten years), which is allowed to adopt NILM applications in energy saving, recommendation system, appliance behavior, demand prediction area.

Studies on the Role of Knowledge Management in Performance Enhancement and Promotion of Renewable Energy Industries in India

Energy industries are the pioneers in exploiting the knowledge management (KM) for meeting the challenges. Renewable energy industries are emerging to meet the energy security and climate changes and challenges. Therefore, it was of interest to study how the Indian renewable energy (RE) industries are able to exploit the KM practices to boost their organisation performance. Pilot study was undertaken to study the prevalence of the knowledge management (KM) practices in Indian renewable energy industries through the questionnaire and the measurement of Knowledge Management Performance Index (KMPI) value. The questionnaire was modified based on the outcomes of pilot study. The same qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis were done for the pilot study, and the KMPI value was also determined. The relation of all KM concepts, viz. KM creation, KM storage, KM transfer, KM exploitation and KM dissemination was the construct. This study provides one of first insights of KM performance in promoting new and renewable energy technologies. The clarity on the knowledge and technological gap, process of extracting and disseminating information, difficulty in accessing skilled labour, lack of collaborative R and D and research activities and storage of knowledge were found to be major issues in the exploitation of KM in RE industries in India.

Delineating energy consumption behaviour: A household-level assessment from India's energy NEXUS strategy

The UN's seventh Sustainable Development Goal aims to ensure everyone affordable and reliable modern energy services by 2030. Despite government efforts, 660 million Indians are still found to be using solid fuels. Exposure to indoor air pollution results in numerous health complications and premature deaths. Against this backdrop, the present study aims to (a) provide an inclusive assessment of cooking energy consumption behaviour and (b) analyse household energy use perception and the scope of LPG as a clean energy source. The study uses 2018 Access to Clean Cooking Energy and Electricity – Survey of States data. It is found that while government schemes are effective in improving penetration, refilling cost of LPG and accessibility remain the principal hurdles. While fear attached with safety issues is found to be a dominant-negative determinants of LPG adoption, better health outcomes and user convenience are found to be major positive determinants associated with LPG use. Free availability, easy accessibility, and other benefits of solid biomass make it even impossible to eliminate fuel-stacking. It is suggested that provision of instant subsidies along with availablity of alternative income-generating opportunitie can reduce the burden of LPG refilling costs on households. Further, making provisions for the users to refill cylinders from the nearest authorised distributors could be a step forward to enhance LPG use. Effort towards promoting energy-efficient alternative technologies (e.g. solar cookers, kettles, etc.) and education, organisation of training programs with the help of local dealers and public institutions, and empowering women can go a long way to boost LPG use.

Impacts of international trade on global inequality of energy and water use

We are not on track to meet the SDGs by 2030 despite considerable efforts. Sino-US trade war and the COVID-19 pandemic raise the tide of trade protection that may also go against SDGs. To explore how international trade affects SDGs, this study quantifies the impacts of international trade on global energy and water inequality by constructing resource-Gini-coefficients in terms of reserve, production, and consumption. We find that international trade alleviates global inequality in energy use, in which direct energy trade reduces the inequality significantly while nonenergy commodity trade aggravates it slightly. However, international trade has a pretty minor impact on improving global water inequality. The developing economies suffer a large amount of embodied energy and water outflows. For example, BRICS exported 712.3 Mtoe of embodied energy and 130.5 billion m3 of virtual water to the rest of the world, exceeding the sum of energy/water use in Germany and France. The developed economies, especially the USA and EU, outsource energy- and water-intensive commodities to reduce domestic energy shortage and water stress, roughly corresponding to India's energy use and two times of water use of South Africa.

A Review of the Global Current Scenario, Trends, and Challenges of Hybrid District Heating System

India's energy consumption is considerable, yet its energy supplies are limited because of the climatic conditions in the northern Himalayas. During the winter, the northern region faces an absence of sources. A feasibility study on the DHS has to be conducted to help remedy the situation to overcome this situation. The major goal of this article is to derive heat from solar and biomass energy sources. Biomass in the forest reduces CO2 emissions by using solar energy in our atmosphere. This hybrid district heating system makes effective use of this energy. It is possible to deal with the problem of freezing temperatures in the northern area with hybrid district heating systems. As a result of this technology, a comfortable interior atmosphere may be created. The study examines the future directions of the Hybrid DHS in northern India. The approach is a theoretical model to determine whether or not there are viable sources for hybrid district heating systems.