Today’s Editorial in
Hindustan Times reads :
“ All charged up and nowhere to
go / The electric car in India is a novel idea , but getting clean energy will
be tough “
India plans to drive the internal combustion engine to extinction.
The Narendra Modi government has set a sales target of six million electric
vehicles by 2020 with an even more ambitious goal of having sales of new
oil-driven vehicles ceasing by 2030.
The benefits for a country
whose cities are choking on air pollution and one that is considered among the
most vulnerable to climate change are obvious.
Finally, if India can develop a suitable technological lead and
manufacturing base for such vehicles, it could allow the country to leapfrog
ahead of others in the automotive sector.
In most electric vehicles the battery is the most expensive
item, sometimes as much as two-thirds of the cost.
Pricing will be crucial.
China, which sells more electric battery and plug-in vehicles than the rest of
the world combined, took the path of direct subsidies for electric car
vehicles.
While the number of such cars grew dramatically, petrol and diesel
vehicles still dominate in China and are still relatively cheaper.
Worse, the
subsidy bill has become swollen by corruption and leakages and has cost Beijing
a cumulative $12 billion.
The other concern will be the
fuel source of the electrical power.
An electric car transfers the carbon
emissions from under the bonnet into the power plant.
If the power plant is
burning coal, then driving an electric car accomplishes nothing as far as the
climate is concerned – and the pollution is merely moved from the city centre
to the exurbs.
The
Modi government deserves praise for the sheer ambition of the idea and its
continuing commitment to greening India. However, given how the renewable
energy sector is still not self-sustaining, the real challenge will be the
actual implementation of something that will be created almost from scratch.
It seems the Editors of Hindustan Times are unaware of the ISRO designed Electric Car , whose Li-ion battery gets
charged through solar panels mounted on car roof top and , therefore :
·
Do not need the expensive infrastructure of millions of charging
stations , which draw their own power from coal-based power stations ,
addressing the very real concern of the Editors ( “ An electric car transfers the carbon emissions
from under the bonnet into the power plant “ )
I strongly urge the Media, to create an all-round awareness about ISRO’s singular achievement ( - far ahead of the Electric Car Industry
of the World )
I am appalled at the “ deafening
silence “ ( re: this remarkable
breakthrough ) on the part of :
·
Scientists and Academicians
·
R&D Managers of the Car
Manufacturers
·
PV Solar Panel manufacturers
·
Policy Makers in Road
Transport and Energy Ministries
·
NITI Aayog
I urge them to read :
09 May 2017
www.hemenparekh.in
/ blogs
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