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Saturday, September 01, 2012

Nitish Kumar, Broadband And Clean Energy

English: Nitish Kumar (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Besides broadband (Could Nitish Kumar Do Broadband?), another thing the Chief Minister has to be cognizant of to compete globally is clean energy.

Bihar is lucky to be right south of Nepal, a country second only to Brazil when it comes to hydroelectric potential. Bringing goodwill to Nepal India relations is as important, as critical to bringing goodwill to India Pakistan relations. That might be a surprising thing to say because, officially speaking, India is on better terms with Nepal than with any other country in the world. But it is a false peace and a false sense of goodwill. There is much mistrust, and there is very little meaningful cooperation.

There is a need to build a South Asian common power grid, and to harness Nepal's hydro potential so as to meet South Asia's electricity needs, and to bring about flood control in Bihar. Floods during monsoon season should be history.

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South Asia's energy crisis demands collective action

it is not just India that is struggling with a massive gap in power demand and supply..... Crippling power cuts and shortage of energy supply are hurting growth in other South Asian nations such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.... India's annual energy demand is growing at a rate of nearly 4%...... shortages of about 10% during peak hours...... Pakistan's power crisis is going from bad to worse, with demand projected to reach 50,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030 - three times more than the supply currently available in its system........ Nepal has up to 20 hours of power cuts per day during the dry season, which is when most snow-fed rivers run at their lowest. ...... more than half of Bangladesh's total population still have no access to electricity. .... the solution may actually lie in them pooling together their resources and supplies through a cross-border network. ..... South Asia lags significantly behind most, if not all, the regions in the world in energy trade and regional integration ...... Nepal, Bhutan, India and Pakistan have huge hydropower potential, while Bangladesh holds significant gas reserves. .... India's coal deposits have been the engine for the country's economic growth, while those of Pakistan are yet to be mined. ..... Some Pakistani coastal areas have also been identified as having the potential to harness wind power. ..... all these resources pooled together through an interconnected grid could help South Asia secure its energy supplies .... "Nepal alone has 200,000 MW of hydropower potential, India's is around 150,000 MW and Bhutan and Myanmar [the official name for Burma] have 30,000 MW each" ....... the region's abundant solar and wind power .... the idea of combining resources has not gained traction in the region. .... "the issue of cross-border trading was a complex one involving market, technology and, most importantly, geopolitical issues". .... Hydropower development entails using water resources, a sensitive subject in South Asia's national and regional politics...... Neighbouring countries often look at each other suspiciously. The classic case has been that of Nepal and India. ...... controversies on water-sharing, the environment and population displacement .... Three Bhutanese hydro-electric projects contribute a significant chunk of power to India's national grid. ... The Himalayan kingdom has also begun work on new hydropower projects totalling more than 11,000 MW. Most of it is said to be meant for the Indian market. ...... India and Nepal are also working on cross-border power transmission lines. And officials say India and Pakistan have been holding talks for grid inter-connectivity. .... a painfully slow and long journey