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NEWS  EDITORIAL

Old resources, renewed thinking

Em News Bureau ,  Thursday, August 16, 2012, 16:53 Hrs  [IST]

There is a moral story, often found in children's books, about the sun and the wind challenging each other's strength. After some verbal debate, they decide to take a practical test. They spot a man walking in an open field with a blanket around him. The two natural elements decide to make the man a test case; the one who compels the man to shun his blanket would be the winner.

The wind takes the first shot and begins blowing-at first gently. The man gathers his blanket that has now begun to flutter, but continues walking. The wind persists and now decides to turn gusty. Sensing the blanket getting a little out of control, he clutches it firmly. After some more show of strength by the wind, the man decides to roll up the blanket into a bundle, holds it and continues walking. The wind gives up.

It is now the sun's turn. It begins to scorch. The man feels the heat and gets uncomfortable. As the sun gets hotter, the blanket proves to be an unnecessary baggage. After enduring the heat and the load for some more time, the man finally throws down the blanket and walks on. The sun wins.

This story is relevant today albeit not for any morals that it might contain. We are today beginning to see competition between the wind and the sun in the context of harnessing our natural resources. Both the wind and sun can offer tremendous energy. Both have their scope and limitations. In India, wind has been the traditional favourite but the sun is slowly rising on the horizon. Unlike in the story, there is no clear winner or loser here. It is more of a complementing role that the sun and wind could play. If there were any competition, it would be between the sun and the wind on one side, and fossil fuels—primarily coal—on the other.

Recent achievements of both solar and wind energy are encouraging. India added its record highest 3 GW of wind power capacity in 2011, while cumulative grid-connected solar power capacity very recently tipped the 1 GW-mark. Fossil fuel resources are scarce and it is but natural that their prices will only inflate. The sun and wind have zero input cost; inflationary pressures simply do not exist. Furthermore, technological advancements and economies of scale are even bringing down the capital costs. All the same, investments need to be catalyzed by an enabling policy framework. Government facilitation—through supportive policies and to an extent, fiscal incentives—is necessary for growth in the renewable energy sector.

Unlike the individual competition in the story, in our case, the sun and the wind need to join forces to throw down the man's blanket. And the blanket, in the present-day world, is nothing but energy insecurity.
 
                 
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