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This paper describes the monitoring and evaluation of three improved cookstove dissemination projects implemented between 2004 and 2006 by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in India and Mexico. The projects assessed stove performance using lab-based water boiling tests (WBTs), which yield a number of performance indicators including time to boil water, specific fuel consumption, and energy efficiency when the stove is operated at both high and low power output. They also conducted field-based kitchen performance tests (KPTs), which yield daily per capita fuel consumption in real cooking conditions. In addition, one NGO utilized a controlled cooking test, which combined elements of lab- and field-based tests. In all cases, improved cookstoves (ICSs) were compared to local traditional cookstoves (TCSs). The results of the WBTs were mixed. Although the improved stoves generally showed some improvement in efficiency for the low-power simmering phases, the stoves were less efficient than traditional stoves in high-power water-boiling phases. The results from the KPTs were much less ambiguous. Three ICS models were tested for fuel consumption during real household use. All ICSs showed statistically significant reductions (p < 0.05) in average daily per capita fuel use ranging from 19 to 67%. We also explore the correlations between the outcomes in lab-based tests and field-based tests in order to understand the relationships between the two assessment methods. Only fuel consumption in the low-power phase of the WBT showed a strong correlation with fuel consumption in the field (r2 = 0.83, p = 0.01). We discuss the implications of this association as well as the other outcomes and present some policy recommendations for monitoring and evaluation of large-scale stove interventions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The women-energy nexus involves the challenge of engendering energy and the challenge of empowering women through energy. The first challenge arises from the gender disaggregation of energy consumption patterns. A quantitative account of the share of women in these patterns is presented through a description of the rural energy consumption pattern of the village of Pura in South India. The results indicate that women work more hours than men. Women also perform the back-breaking tasks and are displaced by agricultural mechanisation. The energy output-input imbalance is aggravated by the fact that, in developing countries, women traditionally eat last and least in a family – women therefore take in less food energy than men. The gender distribution of labour results in negative health impacts. The scarcity of energy services in rural areas has serious social and gender impacts. Tackling them requires energy interventions to improve the quality of life for women. Examples of such energy interventions are the community biogas plant at the village of Pura and the multi-purpose platforms of the Mali project. Since technological opportunities exist for such energy interventions, attention is turned to the second challenge of empowering women through energy entrepreneur ship. This requires a change of mind-set on the part of energy planners and activists – they must promote the notion of women as managers and entrepreneurs, and not just beneficiaries, of improved energy services. The idea is to push the following sequence: women as deprived in energy consumption patterns → women as beneficiaries of energy interventions → women as managers of enterprises → women as energy entrepreneurs. This is nothing short of a paradigm shift – but once achieved and implemented, the results will speak for themselves. Such an approach will engender energy by converting it into a force for improving the quality of life as well as enhancing productive capacities – a virtuous circle of energy for women and women for energy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The main objective of this project is to find out the boiler capacity and its development. The thermal industry is considered to be the major source of conventional energy in India. The chemical energy of coal is converted into electricity in a thermal power plant. It is now the most in demand industry due to high energy demand. The boiler is a very important part of the power plant. Running the plant with maximum result we need high boiler efficiency. Calculating boiler efficiency as one of the most important types of performance measurement in any power plant. For calculation of Boiler efficiency basically we use Direct and Indirect method. It is a measure of how effectively chemical energy in fuel is converted into heat energy in steam going to the turbine. We also improve boiler efficiency by using coal activator. The art of converting plastics into useful fuels was scaled up a few decades ago, but this side is far less likely. Plastic contains most of the organic polymers made up of carbon and other elements. Various processes such as gasification and pyrolysis are used to convert plastics into smaller hydrocarbon units such as naphtha. This is named as a "COAL ACTIVATOR". This paper aims to provide the best options that will help reduce fuel (Coal) prices in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Advanced clean coal technologies and CCS could provide promising solutions for reducing CO 2 emissions up to 45% in comparison to BAU by 2050. • Coal demand changes to 1100-1400 Mt in 2030 and 1132-2200 Mt in 2050 under alternate future scenarios • CO 2 emissions from coal changes to 45-69% in 2030 and 34-67% of the total emissions in 2050 under alternate future scenarios. • Mitigation measures first decarbonize the power sector due to availability of flexible choices. Simultaneously it decarbonizes the other economic sectors. • Analysis shows that energy security and deep GHG emission mitigation is possible. Rapid shift from traditional energy intensive pathways is required to pace-up economic growth before exhausting remaining carbon budget under 2 °C global stabilization target. Within this larger context, in this paper we have used AIM/End-use, a bottom-up, techno-economic model to analyze India's energy security and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the year 2000 to 2050 with a focus on possibilities of coal continuance in India. Our analysis shows that by adopting advanced coal technologies and carbon dioxide capture and sequestration (CCS) options, up to 45% CO 2 emission reduction can be achieved over business-as-usual scenario (BAU) by 2050. This is possible even when coal use would increase to nearly 2200 Mt in 2050 as against 870 Mt in 2017-18. Without CCS, coal use could peak at 1200 Mt with 22% CO 2 reduction over BAU in 2050 but in that case nuclear and renewable energy would become pivotal in meeting energy demand. The paper concludes that a win-win integration of energy security and deep GHG emission mitigation is possible through a large-scale integration of advanced coal technologies and CCS in Indian energy systems. We have also provided a brief PESTLE analysis for finding the enabling environment necessary for achieving the results discussed in various scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper investigates the clean cooking fuel transition in India and the role of socio-economic factors, in determining the primary cooking fuel choices among Indian households during the last seven years. Our empirical finding suggests that there has been a sharp increase in clean cooking fuel consumption from 2015–16 to 2019–21 across the socio-economic groups, castes, religions and rural-urban areas. Our logit regression estimates based on NFHS fourth and fifth-round data on a sample of 664,543 and 685,337 households suggest that socioeconomic status is imperative in the clean cooking fuel consumption process. We further demonstrate that, as the household's size and age increase, they prefer less clean cooking fuels; however, households living in urban areas, especially female-headed, are more likely to use clean cooking fuels than their counterparts. Our finding also indicates that lower caste households are less likely to use clean cooking fuel than their upper caste counterparts, even though there has been a sharp improvement for the SC caste from 2015–16 to 2019–21. A comparatively contrasting result for religion suggests that Muslims and Christians are more likely to use clean cooking fuels than Hindus. Similarly, households with higher educational attainment, better wealth status, and female financial decision-makers with the availability of piped water sources are more likely to use clean cooking fuels. Further, to understand the effectiveness of PMUY policies on overall LPG use, a Difference In Difference (DID) technique has been applied, and the result indicates a positive impact of PMUY on the overall use of clean cooking fuel for the BPL households. • There has been a sharp increase in clean cooking fuel consumption from 2015-16 to 2019-21 across the socio-economic groups, castes, religions and rural-urban areas. • Socioeconomic status is imperative in the clean cooking fuel consumption process. • Households with higher educational attainment, better wealth status, and female financial decision-makers with the availability of piped water sources are more likely to use clean cooking fuels. • A positive impact of PMUY on the overall use of clean cooking fuel for BPL households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines 718 dye sensitised solar cell (DSSC) research articles published by Indian scientists during 2011-15, which were indexed in Web of Science. It looked into the entire gamut of research performance by performing sectors, institutions, multifarious collaborative aspects, co-authorship and citations etc. Private universities figure among top performing institutions and nano-related aspects dominated DSSC research. DSSC research by Indian researchers was found to be in tune with the mainstream science in the area as about 90 per cent of the research found place in international journals published from USA, the UK and other advanced countries of Europe with respectable impact factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This primary objective of this paper is to examine the causes for the change in energy consumption in the transport sector in India. The pattern of energy consumption and their causes for change are benchmarked against select countries. A mathematical model that decomposes changes in energy consumption to various factors has been used. The changes in the energy consumption are attributed to growth in transport volume, structural change or modal shift, and energy intensity. The analysis is conducted for passenger and freight transport separately. Results indicate that the growth in transport volume has been the main cause for increase in energy consumption for both passenger and freight transport in India despite the decline in energy intensity of various transport modes. Though not surprising for a growing economy like India, this poses a challenge for the future. Currently, India is a low carbon economy. However, the choices that the economy is making, as it is growing, are towards energy intensive options particularly in transportation and building sectors. There is a need for policy framework to steer the economy towards making appropriate choices that are environmentally sustainable and also do not jeopardize economic growth aspirations. In case of passenger transport, the trend is comparable with other countries studied in this paper (US, Canada, China, Japan, UK) except France. For freight transport, the contribution of the increase in transport volume to changes in energy consumption is far higher in India than that amongst the countries compared, though all countries except Japan have shown a positive contribution of increase in volume to the changes in energy consumption. The large contribution of the transport volume to the changes in passenger transport energy consumption is due to increasing shift towards personalized modes of transport (such as cars, two wheelers) in India and decrease in passenger occupancy per vehicle. The growth in freight transport energy consumption is a reflection of the high growth of the economy. The problem, however, is that a large part of freight is transported using road unlike that in some other benchmarked countries. Future policies aimed at containing energy consumption in the transport sector would need to focus on the modal structure which would require more use of rail for transportation of freight and public transportation systems for passenger transport. This would, however, require huge inefficiencies to be overcome before consumer choice shifts towards rail or public transportation system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Per capita energy consumption is high in urban locations of any country. In this context, this article explores the deployment of standalone photovoltaic (PV) water pumping units in every household of a sustainable city. The various photovoltaic water pumping schemes and the domestic pumping requirements of a city in India are given in this paper. The peak shaving of load and reduction in line losses due to PV pump deployment on a secondary distribution transformer in a residential locality of the same city is investigated to bring out the advantages of the above policy initiative. The need for a legislation to install PV water pumps is thus brought out in this paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In most developing countries, at the household level, traditional burning of biomass or use of inefficient technologies for domestic applications like lighting is common, triggering concerns related to fuel or technology switching. The paper focuses on opportunities to promote cleaner energy options through development of value chains delivering improved energy efficiency and access in developing countries. We discuss the example of Uttam Urja, a field project involving the dissemination of photovoltaic lighting technologies in rural areas of India. We focus on the challenges of introducing radical innovations into the residential energy sector in developing countries. For the purpose of this paper the Uttam Urja project is conceptualized as an ‘experiment’ and analysed using the Strategic Niche Management (SNM) framework. The paper emphasizes that to effect socio-technical transitions to clean energy options on the ground, it is desirable to focus on technology customization and innovative financing to cater to the needs and concerns of end users. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the relationships between sustainable building design and occupant well-being. It starts with a definition of sustainable design and well-being, and focuses on the relationships between energy performance and occupant feedback. Methodologically it draws on detailed monitoring and surveys of 12 case study office buildings in the UK and India, and the paper uses the data to explore whether energy use and associated CO2 emissions are correlated to occupant satisfaction and comfort. The results demonstrate that increased energy use in the case study buildings is associated with increased mechanisation (e.g. centralised air conditioning) and reduced occupant control. This reduced control in turn is shown to relate to reduced occupant comfort and satisfaction. Finally, the paper reveals that the reported health conditions of occupants correlates strongly with their levels of satisfaction. The overall conclusion is that energy use in typical office buildings is inversely correlated with the well-being of the occupants: more energy use does not improve well-being. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper performs end-use energy analysis and estimates the benefits to India of a proposed efficiency improvement measure in three-phase induction motors. It was found that in a 3.7 kW motor, widely used in agriculture and industry, typical rewinding practice is associated with reduction in either winding conductor size by 1 SWG or reduction in number of turns per coil by one turn from the winding specification. This improper rewinding practice results in efficiency reduction by over 5 percentage points. Moreover, torque per ampere is decreased and higher temperature rise ensues. This is applicable to motors of all efficiency categories including energy-efficient designs. A method has been proposed to non-destructively determine the winding details without damaging the winding. This paper proposes a measure for efficiency improvement in improperly rewound motors of “standard” and energy-efficient designs as well as on “standard” motors that have not been rewound. The efficiency improvement measure essentially involves rewinding the motor taken up for efficiency improvement. The reduction in efficiency due to not-so-proper rewinding practices is also taken into account for the analysis. By means of this measure, the aforementioned performance deterioration can be reduced, if not removed entirely. The method will be of significance to India, where more than 50% of the operational motors are rewound motors and the majority of the rewinders are not well informed. Best practices to be followed during rewinding are also recommended. The conservation potential of the measure has been explored and economic analysis for implementation of the measure is provided. The payback period for the investment towards the proposed efficiency improvement measure by the industrial end-user for the 3.7 kW (5 HP) case is 1.3 years, if the motor is to operate for 24 hours continuously for 300 days. Suggestions have been made for the implementation of the efficiency improvement measure on an all-India level. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Energy has a major economical and political role as an important resource traded worldwide. Energy consumption in the developed countries has been more or less stabilized whereas in developing countries like India it is increasing at a high rate. The Government is looking forward to Biomethanation Technology (BT) as a secondary source of energy by utilizing industrial, agricultural and municipal wastes. A large amount of money is being invested in this direction with various projects under implementation and many to follow them. Hence the long-term sustainability of the technology needs to be judged. In this paper the prevailing situation is analyzed in keeping with the prospects and problems associated with BT in India. The paper discusses the technical feasibility, operational stability and commercial viability of BT in India. Various potential merits of BT like reduction in land requirement for disposal, preservation of environmental quality, etc. are also reviewed. A comparative study of researches related to the performance of various anaerobic digesters in different developed countries has been carried out wherein various fractions of municipal solid waste (MSW) have been utilized. To understand the technical feasibility in the Indian context, a comparison is made between the characteristics of Indian waste and the wastes under study. Further problems of the operational stability and commercial viability of BT in India have also been discussed. Against this background, developmental plans covering issues in the formulation of national policy, improvements in collection and transportation systems, marketing strategy, funds allocation, etc. have been outlined to establish BT in India. With the growing energy crisis supplemented by environmental concerns, BT can serve as a potential waste-to-energy generation alternative. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Use of stone and brick wall as high thermal mass is a common strategy in residential and commercial buildings in a hot tropical country like India for thermal comfort and energy savings. In this paper, thermal monitoring of high thermal mass residential buildings is performed in the composite climate of India for the summer and winter season. Separate mathematical correlations are developed to predict the indoor temperatures, as the functionality of high mass buildings is different for the summer and winter season. Statistical significance of developed correlations is further analyzed and found good correlation coefficient with field measurement. Finally, based on the thermal performance of these high thermal mass monitored buildings to produce thermal comfort indoors, the bio-climatic boundary of ambient conditions for the use of high thermal mass in buildings is developed for one climatic zone of India. The new bio-climatic boundary extends up to an average monthly maximum ambient temperature of about 38.4 °C at 2 g/kg specific humidity and follows a tilted line up to 35 °C at 20 g/kg specific humidity for indoor thermal comfort in the composite climate of India. Also, the high mass comfort zone extends to a limit of 40.9 °C when the airspeed is up to 1 m/s using a ceiling fan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable biomass resource has been receiving much attention worldwide due to the depletion of raw material for fossil fuels. However, for proper and optimal exploitation of the available biomass, there is a need to quantify the district-wise availability of biomass in our Country and to prepare a zone-wise recommendation for adopting appropriate technologies for converting the biomass into biofuels. Earlier in 2007-08, TIFAC had carried out an in-depth nationwide survey on biomass generation, consumption, costing patterns and surplus availability from select agro & forest residues. Subsequently, a ‘Centre for Biofuels’ has been set up at National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science & Technology (NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram towards undertaking cutting edge research activities in bio-refinery related technologies. Six biomass feedstock were identified for their abundant availability in India. The Lignocellulosic (LC) ethanol pilot plant with a biomass processing capacity of 80 kg/ day has been completed, wherein the first phase focused on detailed laboratory scale studies for select Indian biomass. The second phase would primarily deal with the validation of laboratory scale data at pilot plant for techno-economic analysis of LC ethanol. TIFAC has recently taken up the task of mapping the current biomass availability and also to assess the technologies for their conversion to biofuel before coming up with zone-wise recommendations. TIFAC would source inputs from both secondary as well as primary research including those from GIS and remote sensing. Automated updation of biomass availability based on current data is also being planned. The paper presents TIFAC initiatives in the biofuel sector – past and present besides recapitulating the technology trend in biofuels sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents results of three United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) sponsored field studies which assessed the fuel consumption impacts of household energy programs in Benin, Uganda, and Gujarat, India. These studies expand on a previous round of U.S. EPA supported efforts to build field testing capacity and collect stove performance data in Peru, Nepal, and Maharashtra, India. Daily fuel consumption estimates of traditional and intervention technologies were made using the Kitchen Performance Test (KPT) protocol to determine the potential fuel savings associated with the respective programs. The programs in Benin and Gujarat, India resulted in significant fuel savings of approximately 29% and 61%, respectively. In Uganda, the homes using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumed approximately 31% less charcoal than those not using LPG, although the total energy consumption per household was similar between the baseline and LPG user groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Published data from quantitative assessments of in-home fuel use in developing countries are sparse, yet this information is important for understanding the basic daily energy consumption of half the world's population as well as the effectiveness of programs seeking to reduce the health, environmental, and socioeconomic impacts of using inefficient cooking technologies and fuels. This paper presents results from a coordinated training and field study program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Projections Agency, with the goal of increasing our understanding of household energy use by building capacity of stove implementing organizations. The programs were conducted with stove organizations in India, Nepal, and Peru, with results from Nepal and Peru indicating the respective stove interventions resulted in significant fuel savings (~27–66%), and in India the energy consumption from combined usage of a pellet stove and liquefied petroleum gas was 59% lower than use of traditional biomass stoves. The fuel savings in Peru were highly dependent on the level of stove maintenance and user training with the largest savings (66% per capita) achieved in homes where the stoves were maintained and users were provided additional training, indicating that these are critical factors for realizing maximum stove performance in homes. Combining these results with previously published KPT results showed patterns of higher baseline fuelwood consumption in Latin America (2.1–3.4kg per capita per day) in comparison to Nepal and India (1.0–1.4kg per capita per day). The fuel savings estimates from the KPT studies were generally similar to savings estimates for controlled testing (Water Boiling Tests and Controlled Cooking Tests) of the respective program stoves, showing promise for better linking stove performance in the laboratory with field performance. Finally, variability of fuel consumption and fuel savings estimates are examined to inform on study design and monitoring for carbon offset methodologies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The total installed capacity of electric power generating in India is170288MW. The maximum demand during summer is 8000MW, during winter is 5500MW and during monsoon is 7000MW. The power generation is always less than the required demand. The power shortage varies from 2000MW to 4000MW. The gap between the generation and demand is to increase the generation capacity. But in developing country like India, it is not possible to install more capacity instantly. So the other important way to reduce the gap is energy conservation. In this paper it was proposed to implement energy conservation through energy efficiency and energy management. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The energy intensity of Indian manufacturing has declined signifi cantly since 1992. Between 1992–93 and 2007–08, it fell by about 50 per cent. However, it seems, there is scope for further substantial decline in energy intensity, since industrial energy consumption data across states indicate signifi cant inter-plant variation in the energy intensity of energy-intensive industries. The paper examines the factors that infl uence energy intensity in Indian industries. The results of the analysis indicate that the post-1992 decline in energy intensity of Indian manufacturing is attributable mostly to an improvement in energy use efficiency of energy-intensive industries, which in turn may be traced in part to hikes in the real price of energy paid by manufacturing fi rms. The results also show a signifi cant impact of technological change on energy intensity and presence of energy efficiency spillover effects from foreign fi rms to local firms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Presently the installed capacity of electricity generation in India is 160 GWe. The integrated ene rgy policy aims at an installed capacity of 778 GWe by 2031-32 to achieve per capita electricity consumption of 2700 kWh/year as against the 700 kWh/year. The share of nuclear power in India is around 3% presently. The increase in installed capacity is possible by increasing the share of nuclear power. India has opted for a unique three-stage power programme based on closed nuclear fuel cycle, which provides a multiplier effect through breeding. Consequent to the 123 agreement and clearance from Nuclear Supplier‟s Group (NSG) for international cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, the reactor technology options are wide open. Some of the technologies which are being pursued are: Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) fueled with domestic Natural Uranium (NU), PHWRs fueled with imported Natural Uranium/Slightly Enriched Uranium (SEU), Light Water Reactors (LWRs) procured from abroad using imported Lightly Enriched Uranium (LEU) fuel, PHWRs with Reprocessed Uranium (RU) obtained from reprocessing spent fuel of LWRs, indigenous Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs) and Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) using MOX/metallic fuel. The increase in the share of nuclear power through above technologies require setting up of fuel fabrication facilities such as: new PHWR Fuel Fabrication with indigenous sources, joint collaboration with foreign countries for fabricating fuel for imported LWRs, setting up PHWR fuel fabrication facilities with SEU/RU under international safeguards, setting up of enrichment and fuel fab rication facilities for indigenous PWRs and a series of fast reactor fuel fabrication facilities for fabricating fuel for FBRs. In addition to fuel fabrication facilities, facilities for manufacturing zirconium alloy and stainless steel structurals, tubes and components are also required to be set up. The paper gives in detail the emerging nuclear fuel fabrication activities in India. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The three stage Indian nuclear power programme envisages efficient use of its modest uranium resources and full exploitation of its vast Thorium resources. Indian economy is on a fast growth track. The growth in population and economy is creating huge demand for energy which has to be met with environmentally benign technologies. Nuclear Energy is best suited to meet this demand without causing undue environmental impact. In view of limited resources of Uranium and vast resources of Thorium, a closed fuel cycle to fully exploit the potential of the two resources is co nsidered essential. In conformity with such a strategy, Recycle fuel fabrication technologies have been under development in India for over three decades. Some of the activities such as (i) Fabrication and development of MOX fuels for LWRs/PHWRS (ii) Fabrication of mixed carbide and mixed oxide fuels for Fast Reactors (iii) Research and development in Metallic Fuels for Fast Reactors and (iv) Development of fuels for Thorium utilization - are briefly discussed in the paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The dairy sector is known to have significant local and global environmental impacts; but it also has proven renewable-energy generation potential. This paper analyzes a specific niche experiment in the Indian dairy industry, wherein cattle waste management is carried out by a multitude of stakeholders. These include the waste collectors, local technology adopters, research institutions, multilateral donor agencies, the Indian government, technology suppliers and operation and maintenance teams who have managed an uninterrupted 1MWe energy production over the past 4 years. This analysis uses the sociotechnical regime framework to study the interaction of social, technological, economic and policy-related aspects relevant to the niche experiment. The analysis shows a potential to contribute to the development of two complementing regimes—one related to cooperative waste management and the other related to grid-connected renewable-energy-based electricity generation. Key factors for a successful development are not only a long-term financing protection through government subsidies to cover higher capital cost and a preferential tariff related to energy throughput, but also the adaptation of technology, the embedding in the local cooperative structure and the removal of regulatory barriers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Implementation of the strict environmental rules, emphasis on the development of zero waste technologies and depletion of metal rich primary ores are the main driving forces for the scientific community to develop new processes for the reuse/recycle the industrial wastes and byproducts to recover metal values and other value added products. This review focuses on the status of copper in India. Since the cost of Cu production from primary sources is very high due to the involvement of a number of tedious steps, recovery from secondary sources such as various types of solid wastes, scraps and copper electrorefining bleed streams, byproducts from other processes containing appreciable amount of Cu, Ni, Co is gaining importance day by day. Besides the reduced cost of production of copper by secondary processing other advantages are: energy saving, conservation of natural resources and saving the environmental degradation. This paper highlights various aspects of copper industries in India, viz. present and future scenario of copper production, demand and supply, sources of waste generation and their treatment/disposal methods, status on recycling of copper, etc. A brief discussion on the attempts made at National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur, to develop several ecofriendly processes for the recovery of copper from various solid and liquid wastes is also described. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Of the total final energy consumption in India, the industrial sector accounts for about 36%, of which the manufacturing sector consumes about 66% (2004–2005 figures) with iron and steel, chemicals and petrochemicals, pulp and paper and cement industries being the largest energy users. In the recent past, energy intensity has been decreasing in the manufacturing sector, mainly due to fuel substitution away from coal in some sectors, most notably cement. Industrial output in developing countries like India continues to expand owing to rising populations and catching up on economic growth. This can result in higher energy use—energy provided primarily by the combustion of fossil fuels—and thereby to higher carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Using decomposition analysis, we show that most of the intensity reductions are driven purely by structural effect rather than actual improvement in energy efficiency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Four out of five people without electricity live in rural areas of developing countries, mainly in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Most of these households use kerosene lamps for lighting. The light outputs of these devices are very poor and vary from about 10 to 100 lumens, depending on the type of lamps and wicks. The paper compares the technology, economics and CO2 emissions of kerosene-based lamps with modern bio-energy systems and solar photovoltaics. Light output, luminous efficacy and energy consumption are used for comparing the technical parameters. Economics is expressed in terms of the cost of useful energy (cost per 1000 lumen hours), determined from the annualized life cycle cost of the systems. Fuel consumption rates are used to determine CO2 emissions of all the devices. This study reveals that efficient electric lighting provides higher light levels and low energy consumption as well as low CO2 emissions. In the absence of grid electricity, distributed renewable energy systems such as solar photovoltaics (at individual house level) and modern bio-energy systems are better options for providing good quality and reliable lighting in rural areas compared to traditional kerosene-based lighting. Moreover, these renewable energy systems as well as grid-based electricity systems also reduce CO2 emissions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• This article provides an optimization approach to determine the optimal wind power plant sizes for selected districts in Madhya Pradesh, India. • It utilises a multi-objective genetic algorithm to estimate wind power plant size. • The selected plant installation sites have a minimum capacity utilisation factor (CUF) of 19%. • Minimization of demand generation gap, unit cost of energy generated, and transmission and distribution losses in chosen districts are the objectives. • Calculations indicate that the suggested algorithm can handle both basic and complex real-world scenarios with accurate and valid representation. Wind speed forecasting is primary to the dispatching and controllability of the power grid. This paper presents an optimization technique to estimate the optimal size of wind power plants required to fulfill the varying load demand of different districts in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The districts were selected based on the wind Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) and land availability. This article proposes construction of small wind power plants in each district in order to satisfy local energy needs and, if necessary, serve the neighboring districts, thus reducing the dependence on the grid. The losses caused during transmission and distribution are substantially reduced. This article highlights the issue of estimating the size of wind power plants as an objective problem of optimization. The estimate of the energy plant size is considered a multi-objective optimising issue, and three scenarios are chosen as objectives. The first case is to reduce the monthly difference between energy demand and production in every area. In the second case, the cost of each unit generated is minimised. The third case involves reducing the power supply from one district to the other's losses in transmission and distribution. This multi-objective problem is solved via the genetic algorithm. The aim is to minimise the RMS value of demand inaccuracy by considering the cost of power generated, which was reduced at least to INR 3.60. The simulation of the optimization approach suggested indicates that the algorithm's plant size closely follows the targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small-scale industry (SSI) is a crucial component of the Indian economy with strategic importance. SSIs exist mostly in geographical clusters and many of them are highly energy-intensive. Their survival and growth needs efficient use of energy, a key input in their operations. Empirical studies on energy use and related issues like environmental impact, energy conservation potential, and the consequences of higher energy efficiency on SSIs are rare. This paper analyses energy consumption and associated issues in the textile dyeing cluster of Tirupur in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The energy consumption pattern showed dominance of biomass. Air pollution and CO2 emissions were estimated using standard, international emission factors by fuel and technology used. The importance of energy among the inputs was established by estimating the Cobb-Douglas production function which indicated energy as the second most important input. There was a statistically significant association of energy efficiency with all the economic performance indicators adopted in the study. Overall, it appears that energy-efficient firms are also likely to perform better on the economic front and hence experience higher returns to scale. The outcome of this study underscores the value of enhancing energy efficiency in SSI clusters, providing multiple benefits and ultimately contributing to sustainable development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Eco-efficiency composite indicators are widely accepted as the ratio of environmental impact to created economic value. These indicators are realistic measures for assessing sustainability performance considering the economy and environment. The weights reflect the importance of indicators to the aggregated environmental impacts. Estimating the relative weight of indicators is highly subjective, and therefore the search for a single unique weighting method has been going on for years. The regression-based weights are one of the most recent trends in sustainability modeling. Since these methods are designed initially to investigate the impact of multiple variables on a response variable rather than to estimate weights, some drawbacks are associated with their potential to provide proper weights. This paper presents a novel weighting approach integrating linear mixed-effect models with Johnson's relative weights to address these drawbacks and provide meaningful relative weights for eco-efficiency composite indicators. The proposed approach's operational and computational procedures are illustrated using a real example, and the eco-efficiency of food consumption of 38 countries is estimated for the period between 1990 and 2012 using a consumption-based sustainability accounting method. The findings have shown that energy use and GHG indicators are the most critical contributor to global food consumption's environmental impacts. The country-based eco-efficiency performance in this work has shown that China, India, and Russia are located in the low eco-efficiency score class. The Spatio-temporal analysis downgraded the geographical location's significance on the trends of eco-efficiency behavior in time and space. On the other hand, it revealed the different types of emerging hot spots over the world. • Consumption-based environmental footprint analysis is conducted. • Dynamic ecoefficiency of food consumption is estimated for 38 countries. • A novel weighting approach integrating Johnson's relative weights is proposed. • China, India, and Russia are located in the low ecoefficiency-score cluster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]