Global Efforts to Utilize Renewable Energy in Transport Sector

By Prof. Dr. P. K. Jena

The green house gas emissions causing global warming come mostly from energy sector which accounts about 61% of total carbon dioxide equivalent emissions mostly due to burning of fossil fuels. Out of these about 50% from electric supply, 20% from industrial fuel combustion and around 11% from transport. Road transport accounts for nearly 90% of transport emission and the rest 10% comes from rail, aviation and shipping. The global warming, which causes a lot of harm to human beings and other living beings on this earth, has to be reduce drastically by using renewal energy in place of fossil fuels. In this regard, an account of some steps taken by different countries in using some important renewable energies in transport sector, are given.

 

Bio-fuels

Bio-fuels which are being produced using advance technology have got a promising future as fuel in place of coal, oil etc., in transport sector. The following benefits can be derived by using bio-fuels.

 

1. While oil price is rising and is increasingly volatile ,bio-fuels (produced from biomass including agricultural wastes) can have a relatively steady pricing;
2. Global transport fuel demand is growing rapidly and bio-fuels can replace fossil fuels to any extent,
3. Bio-fuels can create additional opportunities for income in rural areas,
4. Bio-fuels can reduce carbon dioxide and other green house gas emission compared to gasoline or diesel, and
5. Bio-fuels are only low carbon fuel which is suitable for heavy transport models like plane, truck, marine vehicles etc.

 

Bio-fuels production in the world with 22% annual growth between 2000 – 2010, has reached 110 billion litres in 2012. Bio fuels provide around 3% of total road transport till today. Most of the countries in the world support policies for development and use of bio-fuels which is the main drive behind bio-fuel development.

 

It is encouraging to note that, bio-fuels mainly ethanol, biodiesel, other liquid bio-fuels and biogas are being produced and used increasingly in road transport. Within a period of a decade between 2000 and 2010, the use of bio-fuels has increased from 417 PJ to 2410 PJ (one PJ = 10¹⁵ Joules). During this period, ethanol consumption grew from 272 PJ in 2000 to 1 426 PJ in 2010, whereas biodiesel grew in a more impressive manner from 18 PJ to 616 PJ.

 

However, the production of ethanol and bio diesel is  much less compared to their demand in  transport sector. While United States  produced 69% of ethanol of the global total in 2010, Brazil produced about 25% and the rest were produced in mostly Europe, China and Canada. Production of ethanol in United States is mostly from corn, while in Brazil it is mostly from sugar cane. The global bio-diesel production grew to nearly 29 times more from 2000 to 2012. In 2012, 83 billion litres of ethanol and 26 billion litres of bio diesel were produced in the world. By the beginning of 2013, global advanced bio-fuel production capacity reached to 230 million litres per year. It was estimated that by 2015, global advanced cellulosic bio-fuels capcity could reach 1.5 billion litres per year out of which nearly 75% in the United States.

 

Solar Energy

In recent years, through intense R & D studies, it has been possible to make solar energy a viable alternative for power generation and has the highest global warming mitigation potential amongst the available clean energy sources. The recent technological developments have been able to materialize the application of solar energy in small scale in form of concentrated solar power and on large scale as photovoltaic (PV) system which is able to feed electricity into grids. It has been estimated that, solar PV would contribute about 20% of world’s energy by 2050 and over 60% in 2100. The world photovoltaic market has grown more than 60% by 2007. The cumulative global capacity of PV system is expected to reach 1600 to 2000 GW (1GW = 10⁹ watt) by 2030. It is suggested that, in order to make solar energy more attractive, the development of high performer flat plate PV and concentrator PV models with efficiency of 25% and 40% respectively, is necessary.

 

In view of recent technological developments, it is possible to harness solar energy economically in large quantity and use in place of fossil fuels in the electric transport system. In this regard, all countries in the world particularly those in tropic regions like India with large number of sunny days in a year, should give due importance for harnessing solar energy and utilize those in transport and other sectors. It is felt that, further developments in technology and their application for harnessing solar energy with necessary incentives from respective governments, should be given high priority.

 

Wind Energy

Energy from wind is the fastest growing sector in the world with an average annual growth of 25%. The installed capacity has increased from 60 GW to 160 GW during 2002 to 2010. It was estimated to go up to 460 GW by the end of 2015. Both from technical and economic points of view, harnessing large amounts of wind energy to produce electricity is very promising. The total global capacity of wind energy in 2013, was 296065 MW. There is a great scope to use wind energy for producing electricity and using in transport sector. In recent years, battery electric vehicles powered by regenerating energy, are considered to be the best option, in view of increasing price of fossil fuels and their polluting effect on environment. The small wind mill system can be utilized to charge battery. Generally, for two wheeler, battery requirement is 12V, 2amp (24 watts). By using 304mm rotor diameter wind mill, one can generate the required wattage i.e.24 watts power at 30 km/ph speed of the vehicle.

 

Electric Vehicles

In recent years, electric vehicles have gone through various technical developments. It is claimed that, the new electric vehicles are environmentally attractive and these can contribute immensely to minimize global warming. At present, mostly in USA, Europe and Japan, the use of electric vehicles is becoming more promising due to many technical developments, favourable legislations etc. The leading car manufacturers are also making efforts in direction of bringing efficient electric vehicles. National time targeted development programmes for electric vehicles using battery technology, have been taken up in different advance countries like USA, Japan and Europe. However, it has got certain limitations and problems too. For example, in electric vehicles recharging, the batteries during the peak load periods can cause complication for power supply. Therefore, the problem can be solved if recharging is done during low pick period or at night. The electric vehicles hybrid with wind or solar power can solve the problem of energy in transport system considerably.

 

Efforts are being made to use battery electric vehicles (BEV) and fuel cell vehicles based on hydrogen (HFCV), in order to gradually replace the conventional internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV). The BEV technology is considered to be more energy efficient among the technologies considered in the transport system. Efforts are being made to have 1 million BEV by the year 2030. In place of ICEV, the direct HFCV is expected to offer better energy efficiency and carbon dioxide emission gains. Similarly, by 2030, HFCV is expected to be on the road. In order to decrease the green house gas emission by 50% by the year 2030, it is highly beneficial to use combined BEV and HFCV. This is the programme for Danish Road Directorate, Ministry of Road, Denmark.

 

The transport system is essential for our socio- economic development and in general for a better living. At present the benefits we derive from transport system using mostly fossil fuels, are being annulled to a great extent due to liberation of green house gases which is highly detrimental for us and other living beings on this planet. Therefore, all over the world efforts are being made to utilize the clean renewable energy particularly from sun, wind, small hydro power and biomass in the transport sector. International Energy Agency (IEA) has suggested to substitute significantly the fossil fuels by renewable energy by 2030. In view of this, the transport system should run as much as possible by electric energy produced from renewable sources or can be in hybrid with fossil fuels. It is also suggested that, all transport systems should be equipped with facilities like photovoltaic cells and wind turbines to harness solar and wind energy respectively and using these for charging batteries. The energy thus stored, can be utilized for providing necessary fuel for transport system as such or in a hybrid form with fossil fuel. India like China and other developed countries should undertake electric vehicle programmes on high priority. India having large resources of solar and wind energy should harness these and produce electricity for providing energy for transport sector particularly for road and rail transport. In addition, the government should give various incentives to use increasing amounts of renewable energy in transport sector.

Padmashree Prof. Dr. P. K. Jena

(Former Director General, CSIR, India)

Chairman

Institute of Advance Technology & Environmental Studies (IATES),

80A – 81A, Lewis Road, Bhubaneswar – 751 002,

Email: [email protected]