Studies Confirm It Is Time for Indian Cities To Think Sustainable
Using renewable sources of energy is vital in the current scenario wherein environment is getting degraded in the name of advancement and modernisation. Creating cities that use renewable source of energy will boost the livability factor of the area. Use of renewable sources of energy means putting a check on issues such as power shortage. It also means that residents will enjoy cleaner air and would have access to safer, sustainable living zones. A city that adopts eco-friendly ways has more sustainability compared to cities that do not.
Kerala turned to solar and wind energy to efficiently manage its power woes. Recently, the Ministry of Shipping started Green Port Initiative. As a part of this initiative, the ministry planned to install 91.50 MW of solar energy capacity at twelve major ports of the country. Along with this, 45 MW of wind energy capacity is planned at Kandla and V. O. Chidambaranar.
India has the renewable energy potential of approximately 900GW. Taking a step in this direction, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay researchers studied six cities of India. The results of the study were published in the journal, Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics. It showed that Mumbai and Chennai have the highest potential to use wind energy during the monsoon period when the wind energy potential is high. In comparison to these two cities, the potential to harvest wind energy is less in Ahmedabad, Indore and Kolkata. Out of the six cities, Delhi has the least potential.
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For this, the researchers took the period of monsoon and studied the strength of southwest wind during that time.
Chennai and Mumbai have high wind energy potential because of its coastal location. "Being coastline cities, the surface drag exerted in the wind flow is the least. Also, these two cities are predominantly closer to the onset locations of southwest monsoon winds. So the prospects at these two cities are brighter," says Sumeet Kulkarni from the Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay, was quoted by the Hindu. Thus, these cities are more capable of meeting the demand-supply crisis experienced during the dry spells in monsoon. Delhi, Indore and Ahmedabad do not enjoy this advantage. The presence of a large number of high-rise buildings is the main reason that reduces the potential of Delhi to harvest wind energy.
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As the city is well-developed, it is difficult to alter the housing demand and supply in the Delhi market. But regions such as Bhiwadi and Noida that are part of NCR can be planned to promote the concept of eco-friendly cities. This could be the foundation for a better tomorrow.
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