Finding alternative energy for a better environment
- Part 1 -

N Munal Meitei *

A solar heater installed at a private residence :: Pix - TSE

Human civilization is synonymous with Energy. It is an inevitable question that will mankind be getting the required energy forever. The answer is no, and hence the term 'Alternative energy' comes up.

This question is more related to our poor and hilly State, Manipur where the social, economic and political establishments much depend upon the green Environment.

Alternative energy may be defined as the energy that does not use up the Natural Resources or harm the Environment. In general sense, alternative energy is the energy which is produced without the undesirable consequences of burning fossil fuels, with high carbon dioxide emissions, which is considered to be the major contributing factor for present day global warming.

Typically, alternative energy is used interchangeably for renewable energy.

Examples include: Wind, Solar, Geothermal, Biomass, Wave and Tidal energy.

In Manipur we have seen how indiscriminately our forests are cut for use of fuelwood, timber and charcoal. We have seen a number of firewood loaded trucks in lines on Dingku road daily. It makes me a remembrance the historians of economies who studied the key transitions to alternative energies and regarded it as a pivotal in bringing about significant economic change.

In an article, historian Norman F. Cantor describes how in the late medieval period, coal was the new alternative fuel to save the society from overuse of the dominant fuel, the firewood. Europeans had lived in the midst of vast forests throughout the earlier medieval centuries.

After 1250 they became so skilled at deforestation that by 1500 AD they were running short of wood for heating and cooking. At the time, Europe was on the edge of a fuel and nutritional disaster, from which it was saved in the sixteenth century only by the burning of soft coal and the cultivation of potatoes and maize.

Whale oil was also the dominant form of lubrication and fuel for lamps in the early 19th century, but the depletion of the world whale population by mid century caused whale oil prices to skyrocket setting the stage for the adoption of petroleum which was first commercialized in Pennsylvania in 1859.

Alcohol as an alternative energy

In 1917, Alexander Graham Bell advocated ethanol from corn, wheat and other foodstuffs as an alternative to coal and oil, stating that the world was in a measurable distance from depleting these fossil fuels. For Bell, the problem requiring an alternative was lack of renewability of orthodox energy sources.

Since the 1970s, Brazil has had an ethanol fuel program which has allowed the country to become the world's second largest producer of ethanol after the United States and the world's largest exporter.

Brazil's ethanol fuel program uses modern equipment and cheap sugar cane as feedstock, and the residual cane-waste i. e. bagasse is used to process heat and power. There are no longer light vehicles in Brazil running on pure gasoline. As of last year, there were about 35,000 filling stations throughout Brazil with ethanol pump.

Second-generation (2G) biofuels technologies are able to manufacture biofuels from inedible biomass and could hence prevent conversion of food into fuel and reduce the carbon footprint.

President Jimmy Carter's administration (1970s) advocated coal gasification as an alternative to expensive imported oil. But the carbon footprint and environmental impact of coal gasification are very high.

Types of alternative energy

Solar energy is the most potential form of alternate energy. If the total sunlight receive by earth is converted into electrical energy, it would be 1.74x1017x1024 watts per second.

Solar PV is currently generating electricity in over 100 countries around the world and continues to be the fastest growing power-generation technology. In fact research shows that by the year 2030, PV systems could be generating enough electricity for 14% of the world's energy.

According to Asian Photovoltaic Industry Asso- ciation, (APVIA), in Asia only, solar energy production reached 8 gigawatt by 2012 and Powertech, the largest producer in PV in the world is the pioneer.

Wind energy shares about 2.5% of whole world energy. If we tap the whole wind energy of the earth, then about 2200 Terawatt of energy can be produced from wind alone. Geothermal energy which was first started at Larderello, Italy in 1904 produces about 7000 megawatt. The process of producing oil, coal, or natural gas fuel is a difficult and demanding process that requires a great deal of time, complex equipment, physical and chemical processes thereby doubling the carbon footprint.

On the other hand, alternative energy can be widely produced with basic equipment and naturally basic processes. Renewable energy sources such as biomass are sometimes regarded as an alternative to ecologically harmful fossil fuels. Though geothermal energy is quite site specific, in Manipur, Wind energy and Solar energy can be harvested successfully as a future hope.

Algae fuel

Algae fuel is a biofuel which is derived from algae. During photosynthesis, algae and other photosynthetic organisms capture carbon dioxide and sunlight to convert it into oxygen and biomass.

The benefits of algal biofuel is that it can be produced industrially, thereby obviating the use of arable land and food crops such as soy, palm, and canola, and Algae fuel has got a high oil yield as compared to all other sources of biofuel.

Biomass briquettes

Biomass briquettes are developed as an alternative to charcoal. It will be most reliable for our State. The technique involves the conversion of almost any plant matter into compressed briquettes that typically have about 70% the calorific value of charcoal.

In North Kivu, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where forest clearance for charcoal production is considered to be the biggest threat to existing Mountain Gorilla habitat.

The staff of Virunga National Park have successfully trained and equipped over 3500 people to produce biomass briquettes, thereby replacing charcoal produced illegally inside the National park, and creating significant employment for people living in extreme poverty in conflict affected areas.

(To be contd)