How Biofuels to Help Meet Rising Electricity Demand Pushed by Large-Scale EV Adoption

by Kishan Karunakaran (Buyofuel/Financial Express) The Indian government is supporting swift transformation of conventional, fossil fuel-based transportation to electric vehicles with policy support, schemes like FAME, financing options and subsidies.

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The Indian government is supporting swift transformation of conventional, fossil fuel-based transportation to electric vehicles with policy support, schemes like FAME, financing options and subsidies.

While changing the future of Indian roads to electric can definitely lower pollution and help combat climate change, it is also going to increase the electricity demand which is still largely dependent on coal. This throws light on thinking of new ways to lower dependency on coals with viable and innovative solutions like biofuels to achieve sustainable development in the truest sense.

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Similarly, a report by Brookings Institution India finds that electric vehicles will account for the most significant load capacity in the country, higher compared to industries such as steel. This growing electricity demand due to EVs is projected to increase to almost 640 TWh by 2030, according to the new policy, and 1,110 TWh in order to meet the EV30@30 goal.

With depleting coal resources and rising environmental concerns, it is critical at this stage to mandate the use of non-fossil fuels such as biomass and ethanol to address the climate crisis. It is encouraging that the Indian government is taking steps to achieve 20 percent ethanol blending by 2025 which can accrue huge benefits such as saving Rs 30,000 crore of foreign exchange per year, energy security, lower carbon emissions, better air quality, self-reliance, use of damaged foodgrains, increasing farmers’ incomes, employment generation, and greater investment opportunities.

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In India, 350 million tonnes of agricultural waste is produced annually and with effective use of new age technologies, this can be utilised to lower dependence on fuel imports and reduce pollution. As per government estimates, this waste can produce around 18 GW of energy.

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Biofuels are less polluting, cheaper and can be produced in enough quantities to cater to the country’s requirements. India’s swift transformation to a sustainable future has to be achieved in a holistic manner. While replacing conventional fuel-run vehicles with electric vehicles can create a huge impact in the long-run, meeting the rising electricity needs with biofuels should also become an important strategic requirement for all-round benefits.

Excerpt from Transport Energy Strategies: But the ambition for a full replacement of the car pool by 2050 cannot rely on EV in urban usage only. Recharging infrastructure may be built with time, and a lot of public money, but the clear prerequisite is the availability of renewable electricity, as EV running on coal-generated power does not make sense from a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions point of view, compared to ICEV running even on a minor share of low-carbon fuels, like biofuels.

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So, if electricity demand keeps on growing and a climate change consequence, like the one we saw in Europe this summer, and which could become regular, handicaps the effort of renewables to overtake fossil sources in power generation, the prerequisite for EV mass adoption will materialize way after 2035, when the EU, and California, intends to ban ICEV sales. We should worry and, reluctantly, accept that EV and ICEV may have to coexist for much longer than politically expected by climate-fighting governments. Which calls for two extra comments:

If this coexistence is not acceptable in terms of climate change consequences, will transport have to morph, downwards in terms of personal mobility or towards more public transport, quite a challenge in terms of social acceptability in our democracies?

If the social price to fight and change personal mobility present habits is too high, shouldn’t low-carbon solutions for liquid fuels, already in place and just waiting for further support to grow, take the front seat to reduce the carbon footprint of transport, rather than putting all efforts in electricity and hydrogen for future mobility? READ MORE