THRUST TOWARDS SOLAR ENERGY IS THE RIGHT STEP FOR ENERGY SECURITY OPTION FOR ONE AND ALL

Energy security through clean energy is much more than the necessity for mankind. In fact looking at the problems associated with all fuel based energy options, namely the global warming and health hazards, quest for clean energy has become the need of the hour to save our mother earth and its occupants. In this kind of a scenario and the finite quantum of all fuel resources one fails to understand as to why thrust towards clean renewable energy sources is languishing. 

Out of all clean renewable sources, solar energy occupies the pride of place for its large scale availability at almost all the places on our globe and above all the source is eternal and will last till humanity lives. The amount of energy falling on our globe is of the order of 174000 TWatts, a magnitude best understood by the fact that 1 hour of solar rays' energy is more than what mankind uses in a year. When this energy is responsible for lifting water from surface of sea to fall back down on the high mountains, drives ocean currents from tropics to poles, spins winds from pole to pole and power the green engine of life with guaranteed absolute safety, why it cannot be depended upon to provide energy security to all mankind on our globe. The powerful and mighty of this globe, the men who take pride in changing the fortunes of mankind certainly owe an explanation to the same mankind for guiding it to the brink of self destruction through their vested and motivated interests by resorting to all kind of energy security approaches likely to result in annihilation of life.
The irony of the whole game of providing energy security to the mankind on mother earth is that we are aiming at mastering more than complex and catastrophic nuclear sciences and technologies, from the finite fission energy to infinite fusion energy. It is something like an effort to reinvent wheel for the same fusion energy which has been bestowed upon mankind since ages in the form of solar energy and that too at a safe distance of millions of kilometers from earth with all the inbuilt safeties that man and his science cannot even dream of for the next thousands of years.It does not require any rocket science to conclude that we must spend all our time, energy, money and resources in harnessing what comes to us from nature and remove all small and inconsequential bottlenecks that are being talked about by those professing against the suitability of renewable energy sources for providing energy security. In fact thrust towards solar energy is the only right step for energy security option for one and all.

ENERGY SECURITY: THE MAGIC OF SOLAR ENERGY FOR CHANDIGARH

Chandigarh with its controlled and uniform skyline and vast spaces of parks is potentially one of the most suitable cities to realize its energy security through the magic of solar energy. Recently the government of India has proposed to develop it as a "Solar City". Based on the analysis of potential for demand side measures along with that of supply side augmentation through renewable energy technologies, the following targets are proposed for Chandigarh in order to develop it as a “Solar City”. The concept of Solar Cities  is being taken up all over our globe as humanity is aware of deleterious effects of global warming and fast depletion of fossil fuels. The government of India has also come up with a plan to develop 60 solar cities, Chandigarh being one of them. Looking at the potential of solar energy in a planned city like Chandigarh the targets set are minuscule and a lot more can be done and achieved in this endeavor. The targets set in the master plan are mentioned in the table below.

          Targets for energy conservation, generation and greenhouse gas emission reduction

Through Solar Power Generation

 Energy Conservation                                 Reduction in present energy consumption
                                                               
                                                                  Short Term         Medium Term               Long Term
                                                                  (till 2012)           (till 2015)                      (till 2018)
1.1 Residential sector                                    10%                  15%                            20%
1.2 Commercial sector                                  10%                  15%                            20%
1.3 a Municipal sector                                   1.5%                 3.0%                           4%
        (Water pumping)
1.3 a Municipal sector                                   1.5%                 3.0%                           4%
        (Street lighting)                                    
 2. Coverage of solar water  heating systems  10%                  25%                           45%
(as a proportion of total heating demand
in residential and commercial sectors)

Solar Power Generation

3. Roof Top solar energy based                       2.5 MW          5.0 MW                    10.0 MW
   electricity generation
4. Large solar energy based                            3.0 MW          5.0 MW                     5.0 MW
    electricity generation at Landfill site
5. Large solar energy based                             5.0 MW          15.0 MW                  25.0 MW
   electricity generation at
   Patiyala ki Rao site

Greenhouse gas emission (GHG )
reduction (tCO2/annum)                               90973               214051                   214051

Chandigarh is a city with an area of about 110 Sq. Kms with an electricity demand of about 300 MW with major demand coming from residential and commercial sector like any urban conglomerate.Architectural controls with a uniform skyline with a design concept of row houses, commercial buildings, schools and offices in a vast majority of cases make it a juicy candidate for realizing full potential of solar power through individual and community/cooperative solar power generation. In fact the city can on its own meet more than 75% of its energy needs through a solar revolution utilizing all  roof tops and non usable waste lands. In the bargain a significant GHG reduction of about 1 million tCO2/annum  will be achieved. Add to it the benefits of small transmission infrastructure accompanied by low maintenance costs and losses and solar results in a win win solution for all times to come.

ROOFTOP SOLAR THE PANACEA FOR ALL ENERGY PROBLEMS OF OUR WORLD

Rooftop solar has the potential of growing into the biggest industry in the world and can be termed as the idea of the megaannum, a harbinger of inclusive growth and an idea with ultimate contribution to the cause of humanity as much as that of invention of wheel.

Rooftop solar accounts for 1.6% to the national electricity in Australia, the world's largest producer of uranium fuel and a nation with zero nuclear power on its soil. And that too when 0.7 million of the total 8 million households have adopted rooftop solar. A country with a population of 23 million is on its way to have 10000 Megawatt of solar power as early as 2017 and a major portion will come from rooftop and residential sector. Similarly Brazil with a population of 200 million is aiming to have 1400 Megawatt of rooftop solar by 2022, up from about 11 megawatt this year.In fact all the countries on our globe are concentrating on solar power in a big way as they are realizing the benefits of energy security through clean renewables. 
If this is the quantum of rooftop solar these small nations are looking to build up in the near future, one can see what it can do to the fate of humanity in countries like India and China, each with a population of 1 billion plus.In these countries the electricity generation potential of residential roof top is colossal, of the order of thousand Gigawatts. Add to this the total rooftop available, one could easily reach a figure of 4-5 Gigawatts. Imagine when every household is a power producer and achieves self sufficiency in its electricity needs, how much it will add to the prosperity of individual as well as that of the nation. Together with other advantages of clean energy, the very thought is simply irresistible and rooftop solar juggernaut is simply unstoppable.
With each passing day the reduced costs of solar energy installations, better efficiency of solar films and revolutionizing the energy storage solutions along with the fact that humanity won't have to look beyond solar for all times to come, make the urge to adopt solar in general and rooftop in particular a very compelling option for all nations.

SOLAR ENERGY: BEST BET FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

The Indian government's thrust on inclusive growth is laudable and it is well known that growth, prosperity, healthcare, education and improvement in living conditions are all dependent on availability of power and an energy security model based on large power producing plants and a massive transmission and distribution system is neither viable nor feasible in rural areas whether remote or otherwise. A city conglomerate with a population of  about 2 million and an area of about 200 sq. kms is a concentrated pocket requiring something like 200 MW of electricity and the costs incurred on bringing in electricity from a large power plant 150 to 200 kms away can be justified but imagine a rural cluster of 5 villages in the same area with a population of  may be 5000 and an energy requirement of  5 - 10 MW can hardly justify the costs of being on a national grid system. India today needs many fold increase in its energy generation to cover all industrialization and households electrification needs. Firstly, this quantum of energy requirement cannot be met without resorting to renewable energy sources and secondly putting a national grid in place to cover all nooks and corners of the country may not materialize in the coming few decades even if the country decides to forget the cost, commercial aspects and the economy of energy production, transmission and distribution. Power engineers and policy makers anywhere must never forget that solar is simple, keep it simple to retain its edge when looking for solutions to energy security. It is because of such concerns and considerations of giving boost to rural industrialization that Brasil, Indonesia and now Zambia has opted for Solar energy to boost rural industrialization.

Of late the government of India has started realizing the importance of development of solar energy and it has proposed a target of 20000 mw by the end of 13th five year plan, though too little and too slow in view of the potential and advantages of basing India's energy security entirely on renewable energy concepts. The Indian prime minister has asked Bharat Heavy Electricals ( BHEL ) to take lead in developing solar power technology. It will be wonderful if other engineering giants are also involved in this national endeavor to make India into a global leader in the field of power from renewable energy sources. It was equally heartening to note that Dr Kakodkar, former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, one of the most vociferous advocates of nuclear energy has bracketed solar along with nuclear for the ultimate energy security of the country. Nuclear energy is debatable and a very contentious issue in the light of false safety promises and likelihood of catastrophic accidents. In comparison solar has no thorns attached to it and easily emerges as the only wise option. It is not just for nothing that many advanced countries are putting in all their eggs in the basket of renewable energy, so much so that their yearly additions to power from renewable energy sources are to the tune of 4000 mw and higher and solar power being the highest contributor.
The whole world takes cognizance of the fact that India   is  at  the  thresh  hold  of  a  huge  step forward to become one of the economic super powers of  21st century because of a huge opportunity knocking on its doors with a combination of favourable factors like vast technical and management  human  resource at much lower expense,  an  awesome demography  advantage   coupled   with   an enormous demand for all kind of consumer goods, infrastructure, housing and healthcare needs even if one talks about extending  the benefits of development to a level of reasonably good living as per the European standards to the 1 billion plus population of the country. Add to this the need and inner desire on the part of all nations to shift over to renewable energy sources for energy security because of global environmental concerns and finite nature of all fuel based energy. Total reliance and a super thrust on renewable energy is a must for India becoming a global leader and the sheer magnitude of India's additional power requirements in the coming two decades should prompt the country's leadership to find solutions which can give the country leadership in newer power technologies for all times to come.

NUCLEAR POWER - THE FUTURE FOR INDIA ????

Recently the Russian ambassador, Alexander Kadakin made a statement that Nuclear power is the future for India and contended that even if India buys all the oil in the world it will not suffice even for its energy requirements in the near future.The statement is nothing but a weak attempt to look after the interests of the nuclear cartel of nations, Russia being one of the major seller of this technology.

Yes it is a fact that even if India buys all the oil in the world it will not suffice even for its energy requirements in the near future. But will some sane person attempt to answer a simple fact if India utilizes a small fraction of all the  solar energy falling on its geographical area what will be the situation? This will never be answered by nuclear energy technology sellers and it is for the polity/policy makers of countries like India to understand who are fortunate enough to receive tremendous amounts of solar energy because of favourable geographic position.

To day the cost of building and operating a mid sized nuclear power plant ( say 500 MW ) is about 15 billion dollars and it takes about 15 years if all goes well to actually produce power from these plants. The pros and cons of going ahead with nuclear energy have been debated over the last few decades all over our globe and in fact nuclear power is our worst enemy. It is a curse that will perhaps continue to pester humanity and thrust towards renewable energy sources will keep on languishing till the world runs out of all kinds of fuels and  is left with no other alternative than to make use of renewable energy sources.

Let us for a moment forget all the thorns attached with nuclear energy. Let us buy the cost effectiveness logic given by the protagonists of nuclear power to provide weightage to their technology and logic by ignoring many aspects of cost calculation. True cost analysis of nuclear energy should cover capital cost, fuel cost, running cost, arrangements for stopping theft and pilferage of nuclear material, safety against terrorist groups, full arrangements for full compensation in case of a blow out for immediate damage/losses and losses resulting in even after two or three decades, decommissioning cost of a life expired plant and management of nuclear wastes and above all vulnerability to political and economic blackmail by the fuel suppliers and even the cost of transmission and distribution infrastructure and accompanying power losses. In fact the cost effectiveness of nuclear energy is a fraudulent myth being propagated solely by nuclear power technology sellers to get the best out of (wrong and out of sync with the realities of 21st century) investments made by them in research, technology and infrastructure development over the years. These guys are by design comparing the costs for a central mega power generation plant with huge transmission and distribution infrastructure whereas for solar the punch line is " solar is simple, keep it simple to retain its edge ".

The quick response capability of solar power should outweigh everything in a developing country like India. Compare the value addition the solar energy route will provide vis-a-vis the nuclear energy route. If a country opts for a 15 billion nuclear power plant, the money deployed annually will not yield any result for 15 years and any addition to the economy as a result of this plant will accrue from 16th year onward.  In the case of solar option, the 1 billion dollars spent will produce a capacity of 35 MW in the first year itself and 35 MW getting added to the power generation capacity each subsequent year available for use. In fact it means that the country will have on an average an additional power generation capacity of about 250 MW for all these 15 years. The impact of cumulative and snow balling effect of value addition to the industrial output or to the comforts of the citizenry as the case may be on the march to prosperity will be tremendous and cannot  be ignored by any true planner or ruler. 

HARNESSING SOLAR ENERGY FOR ENERGY SECURITY:AN ETERNAL HISTORY DEFINING IDEA

All life on our planet, be it human, animal or plant owes its very existence to the solar energy. The food chain, the carbon cycle and the hydrology or water cycle are all there because earth is lucky to have sun shining over its surface. The enormity of sun as a source of energy can be gauged by the fact that “In 14 and a half seconds, the sun provides as much energy to Earth as humanity uses in a day.” and over and above that this energy has been falling over earth's surface ever since earth came into existence and will continue to fall till eternity. Additionally solar energy is the mother of other energy sources like wind, tidal and even hydro. Compared to this all much talked about other 20th century energy sources like coal, petroleum, natural gas and nuclear fuel have started their journey towards depletion.

In the light of all this the very idea of harnessing solar energy for energy security on this globe should be the most outstanding idea that ever came to humanity. In fact this could easily qualify to be invention of the human civilization,  far too bigger and revolutionizing than the invention of wheel.

In a factual scenario as mind boggling as the one seen above, it is not difficult to understand    Why thrust towards renewable energy sources is languishing. It is only the hidden agendas and motivated vested interests of political leaders, industrial cartels/mafias, scientific and technical power groups which will keep on delaying the inevitable as long as possible.

SOLAR IS SIMPLE, KEEP IT SIMPLE TO RETAIN ITS EDGE

Solar energy is destined to play a very major role in the quest of energy security for all nations on this globe.For the man to harness this energy for the energy security, the most important thing is that our technologists and planners  have to get rid of mental block put on them by the classical concepts of energy production, transmission and  distribution. Solar is simple, keep it simple to retain its edge.

First of all, let us understand that solar energy is an inexhaustible source of energy , coupled with the advantage of resource being free of cost, available with all nations and at the sites where energy is needed.    Wind is the other natural resource with the same pedigree. Solar and wind should therefore form the very basis of energy security of all nations of this globe, India being no exception. Solar has added advantages over all other Renewable clean energy sources also because of

• Can be employed directly for heating requirements which incidentally have a huge demand. Or alternately it could be converted into electricity for household and industry uses.
• All the world over, a vast majority of population and households are scattered remotely and can be served very well by the unique adaptability of solar energy technology to stand alone uses, micro and mini grid requirements without in any way compromising the economics of production. For irrigation purpose where the watering can be done during daytime or nighttime without jeopardizing anything, the solar energy is all the more cost effective.
• Photo voltaic solar which should be the answer for all standalone uses as well as for micro and mini grid applications coupled with simple battery storage has a few unique advantages

1.  very low maintenance, down times because power production technology has no moving parts and
2. Low transmission and distribution losses and insignificant capital  investments in transmission infrastructure.

• To a country like India where a massive power generation capacity is needed, total reliance and super thrust on renewable energy is a must for its becoming a global leader.  If we analyse the future demand of electricity in India, more than 50% of the total additions of 8,00,000 mw in the next decade or so will be used for covering the basic needs and providing a comfortable life to its billion plus citizenry mostly in villages and small towns. Recently the Indian government has rolled out a policy initiative on sun kissed settlements with a renewable energy addition of 30000 mw in the next 5 years. A lot more is desired and at a much faster pace and that will come only if we understand that ' Solar is simple and has to be kept simple to retain its edge'.

ENERGY SECURITY IN INDIA : SOLAR AND WIND POWER

Whenever one talks of solar and wind energy options for achieving energy security, a lot of fuss is created over the capital cost and power generation cost of these alternates. It is always implied that huge power producing hubs using these energy sources will be part of a large grid. For a meaningful comparison solar and wind energy has to be evaluated on the basis of a standalone onsite concept applied on a village level which is their forte. This concept does away with the requirements of a grid. 

By way of example let us take a village of about 1000 households with a population of 5000. For a per capita consumption of 2000 kwh annually purely for domestic usage, 10000000 kwh or 10000mwh are required which translates into a power generation requirement of less than 1mw assuming constant loads for 24 hours all 365 days of a year. Keeping in view the vagaries of demand within 24 hours of a day, 5mw generator of wind and solar power each will more than suffice for all kind of requirements.This will require a land area of about 50 acres which every village has in the form of SHAMLAT land ( A piece of land owned by a village collectively for common use of the village ).

• The beauty of solar and wind power generators is that the power generation cost of 1mw is the same as that of 10mw or more in the same way as the traction cost of a vehicle remains the same whether we have one vehicle or more. The scale of production of vehicles lowers the cost of vehicle but cost of producing 1BHP of traction power remains the same.The scale of production will reduce the cost of solar panels or wind turbines but will not effect the cost of energy production.
• Solar and wind power when used onsite standalone mode does away with the capital cost requirements of a grid as also the major amount of 35-40% transmission and distribution losses and the overall cost becomes close to all kinds of power generators in use.

Besides being an attractive power generation option because of versatility in terms of vagaries of on site requirements depending upon size of households conglomerate, ability to be upgraded with annual  demand  increases and incurring costs as per the availability of funds keeping smallest village as a viable unit, solar and wind power option offers following additional advantages of far reaching importance to the country.

• As there is no requirement of hauling of fuels from mines to generation sites,  no additional load on road and rail transport infrastructure for production of power.
• No additions to global warming
• The nation will be free from any catastrophe through ever lingering possibility of nuclear plant accidents.
• No chance of blackmail by fuel suppliers.

New industrial hubs and Special Economic Zones can also meet their power requirements through a combination of solar, wind and emergency switch-over diesel based power. An integrated corridor of land all round will accommodate a ring road, ring railway for to and fro logistics requirements of men and material and solar panels and wind turbines for electricity generation.

TOTAL RELIANCE And SUPER THRUST On RENEWABLE ENERGY MUST For INDIA BECOMING GLOBAL LEADER

Energy security is the burning topic of the 21st century with the developed, developing and even the backward countries of this globe and everybody is clamouring for clean renewable energy sources even those who do not have them on their own territory in ample amount. Germany is a perfect example of this, even though it is not blessed with a lavish quantum of these resources, it has decided to abandon all fuel based energy sources so much so even the much touted nuclear energy in a scheduled manner. In fact it is investing heavily in Desertec Solar Energy programme across Mediterranean in Sahara desert. Japan with little renewable energy potential and a very large dependence on nuclear power finds 52 out of 54 power reactors offline and even the Japanese PM has supported a gradual phase out of nuclear power in a few decades. Simultaneously Japan has undertaken ambitious plans to harness solar energy for futuristic energy security of its nation and our globe . UK and the northern countries of European continent are pinning their hopes on 'On shore and Off shore' wind energy potential in addition to hydroelectric potential for guaranteeing energy security to their respective countries for all times to come.

In the light of all this, India with a wonderful mix of hydro, wind and solar power potential should immediately aim at total reliance and super thrust on renewable energy which will transform India into a prosperous country and is an absolute must for becoming global leaders. It all depends on Indian polity and rulers and they have to decide with their actions as to where do they stand.  The whole country expects the polity to rise to the occasion at least once at this most critical juncture by not investing in near obsolescence nuclear power choice  and not deny the country its legitimate opportunity to become a world leader in the coming few decades.Let wisdom and national interest prevail on our politicians and nuclear technocrat lobby so that we do not fall prey to US and French interests and in the bargain lose our chance of leading the world in the transition to renewable energy solutions. Let us make best use of our being backward in per capita energy consumption, for US, Europe and China combined together will not add or replace 8,00,000 mw which India is planning to add during the next decade or so.We have the opportunity of fine tuning wind and solar energy technologies and cut down their costs through development of large scale manufacturing facilities without having to bother about our earlier investments in any energy field becoming redundant and superfluous. ( excerpts from http://veekay-indiandreamsvsreality.blogspot.in/2011/04/energy-security-nuclear-energy-worst.html )

India's requirements and equitable distribution of wind, hydro and solar potential over large parts of the country require thinking outside the box on the part of technocrats and engineers to have a right kind of mix of micro, mini and Ultra Ultra Mega power plants based on renewable energy sources. Gone are the days when big was considered to be more economical in all industry and power industry was no different particularly when the available options were restricted to hydro and fuel based power generation.  To day when wind and solar energy has given a wonderful option of on site generation of power in small, medium and large quantities without affecting the cost of operation. The small to medium size power producing units with tremendous Force Multiplier Potential accruing because of redundancy of transmission costs and transmission losses as also the fuel transportation and transportation infrastructure costs .Add to this the cost of environmental damage ( green house effect ) and loss of carbon credits by fossil fuel based power industry and civil liability costs, plant dismantling cost and storage/dispensation of fuel waste costs of nuclear power industry and the capital cost reductions likely to be achieved by 100 times scaling up of solar and wind power equipment production lines, the solar and wind power options will become economically competitive to present day energy options.

India and Solar Energy:The inexhaustible Source | INDIAN DREAMS Vs REALITY

India and Solar Energy:The inexhaustible Source | INDIAN DREAMS Vs REALITY

India and Solar Energy:The inexhaustible Source

Solar and wind energy, the two major inexhaustible and eternal sources of energy are most precious nature's gifts to this world and the futuristic energy security concepts of this globe must totally evolve from them. Mankind has already woken to this realisation  and a lot of effort is being made towards harnessing them to provide permanent energy security, not withstanding the short term vested interests of some powerful industry cartels, countries and their leaders in favour of temporary, costly and havoc rendering obsolete concepts of energy security.

It has been a long and circuitous journey for the mankind to realise the true potential of these inexhaustible sources. It is mandatory and wise for the developing countries not to repeat this historical journey of providing energy to their citizens. They must straight away jump on to the technologies and sources which are eternal, for this will be the statesmanship and wisdom of their leaders.

While the present developed world countries are geographically placed north of the tropic of cancer and do not enjoy the same quantum of bliss of solar energy as countries like India,Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Mexico etc., in the northern hemisphere and Australia, South Africa, Namibia, Chile, Paraguay, Argentina etc. in the southern hemisphere. Sahara desert and Thar desert are the two major sites on this globe (with a 5-7 kWh/m^2 of radiation energy  for about 3000 hrs in a year) which have the potential of becoming the futuristic energy hubs, the former for Europe and north African countries and the latter for India because of shear vastness of scarcely inhabited areas with energy potential of more than 100 times of present world production.

The Indian energy security programs need to be tweaked primarily around solar energy and augmented by other renewable energies like wind, hydro power and futuristic sources like tidal and geothermal energy.
Advantages of Solar Energy  

• Absolutely clean energy source
• Available for total life of earth and civilisation and absolutely free of cost.
• In situ availability at most locations on this globe that means no logistics cost for producing power
• Suitability for all sizes of non grid requirements starting from smallest solar  cells for watch, torch, lantern etc to remote homes, remote villages and finally mega power plants for national grids.
• Amenable to use in houses, row of houses,large buildings,hospitals,school buildings  etc. particularly in modern planned cities with effective skyline controls. In fact all new localities and townships can have architectural controls to make effective use of standalone solar power potential of each building. In fact a small middle class home with a roof area of about 130 sq. mtrs. can produce electricity to the tune of 500-700 kWh/day in a typical central India locale.
•  In a small town of 15-16 sq. km area through a 100 metre wide integrated corridor along the periphery for installing solar panels, the requirements of the whole town can be met with a distribution network only. The high cost of transmission lines and allied losses can be totally done away with.

Drawbacks/shortcomings of solar energy

• Available only for limited time during a day and that too only on sunny days. So either we have adopt a solar thermal power station (with 30% conversion efficiency) with cost effective thermal storage or tweak the solar panel power (photo voltaic with 15% conversion efficiency) with energy storage batteries and an instantaneously switchable electricity generator.
• Large tracts of land are required for setting up of solar farms. The land resource is so very scarce in most countries. However it is not a problem in Indian Thar desert and African Sahara desert as both have very little population and are more or less barren. Additionally the land employed in the form of corridors along rail and highway network and irrigation canal system running into thousands of kilometres can be gainfully utilised with no extra burden on land resources. Incidentally the rail and highway corridors emanating from Delhi in all directions total upto 1200 Kms and if a 50 metre width can be used for collection of solar energy, a potential of about 1000 MW is available which can easily meet the requirements of area covered by200 kms radius around Delhi.

If humanity starts working in this direction with all its might, huge cost cutting in the capital outlay could be achieved in a short time. Simultaneously technologies for storing energy to cater for black out periods and cutting down transmission losses to almost zero with super conducting cables can be the harbinger of a new era. For developed nations, reasons for putting in all their resources and might behind this effort may not be that compelling immediately, but it is not understood why Indian politicians in particular and leaders of other energy starved nations are dillydallying on this front.