Energy: Books, Reports & Newsletters

PostedonApr. 27, 2014in Energy

Resources Home

Resources for Energy: Books, Reports & Newsletters

Books:

  1. छत्तीसगढ़ राज्य  के स्वास्थ्य संसाधन केंद्र (और दो अन्य संस्था) द्वारा प्रकाशित पुस्तिका बताती है कि कम लकड़ी इस्तेमाल करनेवाला नया चूल्हा कैसे बनाया जाए. ऐसा चूल्हा कम धुंआ देते हुए खाना भी जल्दी पका देता है. Chhattisgarh’s Rajya Svasthya Sansaadhan Kendra (in collaboration with others) has published a booklet in Hindi that describes how to build an efficient wood-burning stove that consumes less fuel wood, gives off less smoke and cooks food faster. (checked on 28 Dec. 2017)
  2. The STORY OF SOLAR ENERGY by Arvind Gupta is a simple comic book giving a panaoramic view of the historical development of solar energy. (checked on 25 Jun. 2015)
  3. Many sparks but little light: The Rhetoric and Practice of Electricity Sector Reforms in India has been published by Prayas Energy Group. To a policy planner, this publication can provide useful insights on the direction in which they should proceed in the coming years. To a researcher, it opens up new areas for academic investigation. To those involved in promoting consumer interest, it points to gaps which need to be bridged through consumer activism. (checked on 15 Feb. 2017)
  4. Energy and Global Climate Change: Bridging the Sustainable Development Divide by Anilla Cherian presents compelling evidence about an often neglected aspec of the energy-climate change-development nexus faced by millions of poor: problems caused by the use of enefficient and pollluting energy sources, and the lack of access to sustainable energy services.
  5.  अरविंद गुप्ता लिखित सौर ऊर्जा की कहानी एक ऐसी कॉमिक किताब है जिस में सौर ऊर्जा के ऐतिहासिक विकास के बारे में हिंदी में लिखा गया है. (checked on 25 Jun. 2015)
  6. Demanding Electricity Service: A Guide for the Community Activist, a booklet published by Prayas Energy Group attempts to de-mystify the electricity sector by introducing its key actors, policies and programs with specific focus on avenues for intervention. It suggests ideas to the activist to engage with the sector to improve electricity service to the community, primarily the rural and poor households. (checked on 25 Jun. 2015)
  7. Cartoon Booklet on EIA Process (English) by Thermal Watch (also available in Kannada, in Tamil and in Telugu). The book aims to demystify and educate communities and general public on the administrative and environmental regulations and laws on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Process, with specific reference to Thermal Power Plants (TPPs). (checked on 8 Mar. 2017)

Articles, Essays & Reports:

  1. Choosing Green: the status and challenges of renewable energy based open access by Jatin Sarode, Ashwin Gambhir, Nikita Das, Shantanu Dixit and published by Prayas (Energy Group) critically analyses a new energy banking framework which appropriately values banked and unbanked energy in monetary terms. Such a banking framework coupled with the forecasting, scheduling and deviation settlement mechanism regulations will address renewable energy’s seasonal and day-ahead variation respectively to a large extent. (checked on 26 Dec. 2017)

  2. Gujarat Man Helps Tribal Women Make Solar Cookers That Cost Just Rs 100! He made a viable model of Sharon Clausson’s Copenhagen Solar Cooker and through Gujarat Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network, began to help tribal women make a similar version of their own using affordable materials. (checked on 4 Oct. 2019)
  3. State pulls up green energy socks – news report by Dev Raj on the Bihar Policy for Promotion of New and Renewable Energy Sources – 2017 aiming to build a capacity to generate 2,969MW solar power, 244MW bio-fuel energy and 220MW hydel power in the state by 2022. (checked on May 26, 2017)
  4. The Dirty Truth about Clean Energy by Carlos Zorillo.  A single mining project can easily impact thousands of hectares of land – land that can be covered in primary tropical forest harboring dozens of endangered species of animals and plants, as well as protecting key watersheds, and mitigating the effects of climate change.   If mining companies were forced to put a real price tag on ecosystem services and all other kinds of wealth within a proposed mining project that would be negatively affected, the balance would be invariably tilt in favor of protecting these areas. (checked on 25 May 2022)
  5. Is Alternative Energy the Best Solution to Climate Catastrophe? by Don Fitz. Few techniques are more powerful at reducing energy demand than a passive house design or use of passive solar for existing homes. It is even possible to run a website via low tech solar without destroying farmland for gargantuan solar arrays. New wood production technology and design make the manufacturing of wind turbines largely independent of fossil fuels and mined materials. (checked on 30 July 2021)

  6. In Multi-criteria sustainability assessment of coal and solar power generation in India (published by Current Science) authors Mitavachan and Srinivasan compare coal and solar power generation with respect to a set of seven sustainability criteria in Indian context in their recently published work in Current Science. The analysis shows that electrical power from solar is less expensive than power from coal. Further, solar power is far better than power from coal when environmental issues such as global warming, air pollution and water footprint are considered. (checked on 22 Dec. 2017)

  7. Renewables Global Status Report (GSR) provides a comprehensive and timely overview of renewable energy market, industry, investment and policy developments worldwide. It enables policymakers, industry, investors and civil society to make informed decisions. Published by the Renewable Energy Network for 21st century, it relies on up-to-date renewable energy data, provided by an international network of more than 500 contributors, researchers, and authors. (checked on 25 Jun. 2015)
  8. In the opinion piece India Should Halt Further Expansion of its Nuclear Power Program, Dr. A. Gopalakrishnan (the former Chairman of the India’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Board,) discusses why it is best to freeze all plans for the further expansion of this sector until Parliament and the public are provided full details of the government’s intentions and rationale and a national consensus is reached. (checked on 20 Nov. 2017)
  9. Haryana makes solar power plants mandatory for housing societies, industries – by Prashant Krar. (checked on 4 Apr. 2016)
  10. India and China led developing countries in investments made in renewable energy in 2015, a UN-backed report says. According to it, for the first time commitments in solar, wind and other renewables capacity by emerging economies surpassed those by wealthy nations. (checked on 26 Mar. 2016)
  11. Towards Energy Democracy: A Vision Statement (Adopted at Bijli Vikalp Sangam at Bodh Gaya, Bihar, March 2016) by a group of Civil Society Organisations who met to reflect upon and explore sustainable equitable practices on energy, with a focus on electricity.  This was aimed at building a continuing critical dialogue with the state and other stakeholders in order to build a just and equitable energy future.  Watch video Toward Energy Democracy: Vision Statement (checked on 7 Mar. 2016)
  12. Energy Revolution scenario 2015 – 100% Renewable Energy for All: The report summarised here shows we could transform our energy supply, switching to renewables, which would mean a stabilization of global CO2 emissions by 2020, and bringing down emissions towards near zero emissions in 2050. (checked on 11 Mar. 2016)
  13. A ‘Dashboard’ for the Indian Energy Sector, by Ashok Sreenivas, Rakesh K Iyer. This is a refinement and simplification of a larger report (‘A comprehensive, multi-dimensional energy index for India’ described in the following entry) published in 2014. (checked on 25 Jun. 2015)
  14. 100% Renewable Energy Is Possible, Here’s How by Richard Heinberg is an asessment and analysis of plans and makes very interesting and implementable recommendations. (checked on 14 Mar. 2016)
  15. Michael T. Klare: The Renewable Revolution – Four Reasons Why the Transition From Fossil Fuels to a Green Energy Era Is Gaining Traction. (checked on 25 Jun. 2015)

  16. Transparent solar panels created by Michigan State University can be efficiently deployed in a wide range of settings, from “tall buildings with lots of windows or any kind of mobile device that demands high aesthetic quality like a phone or e-reader.” (checked on 25 Jun. 2015)
  17. Can solar micro-grids deliver basic electricity access in Indian villages? By Michaёl Aklin (University of Pittsburgh), Patrick Bayer (Washington University), S.P. Harish (New York University) & Johannes Urpelainen (Columbia University). (checked on 25 Jun. 2015)
  18. Power plan maps out route to follow for 100% renewable energy future – A plan to transform Australia’s energy use to 100% renewables, published by GetUp! and SolarCitizens, spells out dozens of policy ideas that would achieve a switch to 100% renewable energy while delivering more equitable access to electricity and a fair transition for workers in the fossil-fuel industry. (checked on 22 Apr. 2016)
  19. A comprehensive, multi-dimensional energy index for India: This report develops a comprehensive energy sector assessment index for an assessment of India’s energy sector, by considering not only energy demand and supply but also the relationship and impacts of the energy sector on society, environment and the economy. It presents the energy sector assessment index for India for 2011-12. (checked on 25 Jun. 2015)

  20. Decentralised Renewable Energy (DRE) Microgrids in India : A review of recent literature: While decentralised renewable energy (DRE) has had a long history in India, there is now renewed interest in remote rural electrification through DRE micro-grids, given the political commitment to provide electricity to all, the continuing electricity shortages, the fall in DRE equipment prices, especially solar PV, and the growing threat of climate change. There is a significant amount of existing literature which captures the technical, social, economic, institutional, and policy aspects of DRE micro-grids in India. This literature review attempts to present the distilled knowledge from these studies to a broader audience. (Supplementary Material) (checked on 25 Jun. 2015)

  21. Intellectually, we may be aware of issues like ‘peak oil’ or the energy crises, but our world view is often distorted by myths. The article Energy Myths: Challenging Paradigms throws light on some of these. (checked on 25 Jun. 2015)
  22. Thinking Outside the Grid by Steven Gorelick discusses why, as the planet heats up and critical resources run low, people will need to adapt in a number of ways. For those used to high standards of living, one of the most important will be to replace the sense of entitlement with a sense of limits. (checked on 6 Nov. 2019)
  23. Amulya Kumar N. Reddy, in his paper “Development, Energy and Environment: Alternative Paradigms” reckons that India requires an increase in energy services – the essential basis of development through a ”mix of efficiency improvements, decentralized renewable sources and centralized sources”, by adopting technologies of energy production, distribution and use that together make the economy even less energy intensive than the most recently developed countries. (checked on 25 Jun. 2015)
  24. Papers presented at a National Conference on Rethinking Development: Emerging Issues and Contemporary Debates organised by Kishinchand Chellaram College, Mumbai, have been compiled in a volume published by Excel India Publishers. (checked on 28 Sep. 2015)
  25. The paper “Least-Cost Power Planning: Case Study of Maharashtra State“, by Girish Sant and Shantanu Dixit, is based on the exercise of drawing up a detailed least cost power sector plan (LCP) carried out between 1992-94 for the state of Maharashtra. (checked on 25 Jun. 2015)
  26. In the Dec. 2013 article Realities of renewable energy in India, the authors Ashwin Gambhir, Vishal Toro and Shantanu Dixit observe that data for a few major states reveals that barring utilities in states such as Karnataka, most others have failed to meet their Renewable Purchase Obligation targets (set by the ministry of power). (checked on 25 Jun. 2015)

  27. In Give renewable energy a chance, Vishal Toro, Ashwin Gambhir and Shantanu Dixit recommend that all existing and new Decentralised Renewable Energy projects must possess the ability to integrate with the centralised grid and feed in surplus electricity into it, import during higher demand, or isolate and supply the micro-grid when the main grid is down. (checked on 25 Jun. 2015)

  28. Solar Rooftop PV in India: Need to prioritize in-situ generation for self consumption with a net-metering approach (November 2012). Through this Policy Discussion Paper authors Ashwin Gambhir, Shantanu Dixit, Vishal Toro and Vijaypal Singh of Prayas Energy Group recommend that with grid-connected solar Rooftop PV (RTPV) systems becoming increasingly viable economically, a net-metering approach to RTPV promotion be adopted. (checked on 25 Jun. 2015)
  29. New water-based battery to store solar, wind energy Stanford scientists have developed a water-based battery that could provide a cheap way to store wind or solar energy, which can be fed back into the electric grid and redistributed on high demand. (checked on 2 May 2018)
  30. How Much Energy Do We Need:Towards End-Use Based Estimation For Decent Living  by Shripad Dharmadhikary and Rutuja Bhalerao of Prayas Energy Group, reviews various methods of energy demand estimations, looking particularly at some bottom up, disaggregated approaches, and discusses their implications. Apart from providing better estimates of the quantity of energy needed, the power of such approaches lies in making a direct link between energy and its end-use and end-user, thus promoting equity, and providing a framework of better monitoring of how energy is used.  (checked on 25 Jun. 2015)
  31. Taking Charge: Case studies of decentralised renewable energy projects by Greenpeace. (checked on 31 Jan. 2018)
  32. Chhattisgarh bags Award in Renewable Energy (checked on 29 Mar. 2018)
  33. How renewables are powering, empowering Germany’s rural economy Solar and wind energy have now become irreplaceable sources of electricity in this area of western Germany. (checked on 1 May 2018)
  34. How to Make Wind Power Sustainable Again by Kris De Decker. If windmill blades are built of wood, large wind turbines could become a textbook example of the circular economy. (checked on 30 July 2021)

Newsletters:

  1. Low-Tech Magazine Interesting possibilities arise when you combine old technology with new knowledge and new materials, or when you apply old concepts and traditional knowledge to modern technology. (checked on 30 July 2021)
Story Tags:

Loading...