T he Economic Survey 2005 estimates that the electricity problems in India cause an annual approximate GDP loss of Rs.3,000 billion! For India to be positioned permanently into the double digit growth league, it needs an additional 0.1 million MW of power generation capacity annually. Beyond the conventional sectors then, the non-conventional sources of energy generation (solar, wind, biomass & tidal among others) need thorough deliberation and implementation.
These environment friendly energy generation processes can meet the energy crisis and come very cheap as the cost of generation per unit ranges from Rs. 1.50 to 3.00 only. Annual output of approximately 1.6 TWh and 15.0 TWh alone are predicted from the tidal ranges of the Gulf of Kutch and the Gulf of Khambat respectively. Bio-masses can similarly be exploited judiciously to generate electricity and also to support cultivation and the irrigation processes.
The problem of energy needs to be solved keeping into account not only households and industries but also the socio-economic development in rural areas, which includes rural electrification. And one hasn't even started talking about the transmission and distribution losses that plague India's energy distribution system without respite.