Simplifying Connections in Sustainability (2B)
By: Manish Agarwal
Tags: Air Quality, Public Transport, Sustainable Development, Energy, Electric Vehicles

Replacing Oil with Electricity — the challenges in affordable, modern energy

There is much excitement about the impending growth of Electric Vehicles, and the demise of internal combustion engines. This is certainly good news for local air pollution and reducing oil imports, though it may have little impact on clean energy consumption. This is because many urban poor do not use even two-wheelers, and much of rural India still consumes bio-mass.

The full articulation of Sustainable Development Goal 7 is “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”. India’s primary energy consumption comprises Coal (45%), Oil & Gas (26%) and Traditional Biomass (12%). In the last article, we discussed that “clean” energy is not “affordable”, in the context of replacing Coal with Renewable Energy.

Moving on to Oil & Gas, a large part of it is used in transport (across road and rail), which is expected to decrease with diesel and petrol being replaced by electricity. This will certainly have a positive impact on air quality in our cities, though local pollution in areas closer to coal based power plants will continue. Electric Vehicles, being essentially batteries-on-wheels, can be charged at times of surplus power. This will help in integration of Renewable Energy, as discussed in the previous article. Also, transporting energy over electric lines is more efficient and cleaner than transporting it in tankers. However, these benefits will be material only as the volume of EVs grows substantially, which can happen only over a decade at best. Alternates like bio-fuels and hydrogen will also contribute to cleaner local air quality, as they become viable.

To what extent will EVs contribute to the goal of access to affordable energy for all? It is estimated that urban poor make up a quarter of the urban population. Urban poor tend to commute to work on foot or on bicycles, which significantly restricts their work prospects to locations where they can afford to live. The continued growth of two-wheelers is not as much a sign of increasing prosperity as of failure of public transport. Metrorail has added high speed, electric powered option in many cities, stretching the boundaries of the city farther. However, affordability of metrorail for a large section of citizens is still a concern. Subsidised transport will remain a reality until income levels rise. Consider Mumbai’s suburban rail, which millions ride everyday in spite of risk to life and limb. It does not even cover its operating expenses from ticket revenues. Most bus operations also run on losses.

In this context, the expected jump in electric two-wheelers will have a limited impact. Buses are considered to be the most flexible and cheapest form of public transport. The Government of India is encouraging city governments to procure electric buses. Getting these to be affordable to service the most needy will require more subsidies.

Traditional Biomass, the third largest source of primary energy, is used largely for domestic purposes (as is a large part of Oil). Per capita consumption of oil in India is less than half of China, Brazil & Russia, and a fraction of Japan, South Korea and USA. Per capita consumption of electricity is a third of the world average. These metrics need to substantially increase for progress towards the goal of access to modern energy. Getting households to switch from biomass to LPG remains work — in — progress towards this goal, which will improve local air quality and directly impact the health of women. Electrification of public transport and clean fuel for cooking will significantly contribute to SDG 3 (Good Health & Well Being) and SDG 5 (Gender Equality).

I hope these two articles provide a better appreciation of the call to “replace fossil fuels”, and highlight the priorities for achieving SDG 7. In the next article, I will explore the role of Net Zero commitments by the private sector in meeting this goal.

For more on things that impact Air quality, see our infographic at http://www.askhowindia.org/how-can-we-tackle-the-big-killer-air-pollution/