The gap between power generation from fossil fuel and other sources will narrow down with increased focus on renewable energy sources. In order to have a sustained and reliable growth, there has to be a proper energy mix, and generation of coal-based and renewable energy sources has to grow in tandem in the country, according to Shaji John, Director (Power), NLC India, here on Saturday.
Speaking at the inaugural of 34th national convention of production engineers and a conference on ‘Emerging technologies in power sector manufacturing,’ organised by the Tiruchi Local Centre of The Institution of Engineers (IEI) at National Institute of Technology here, Mr. John observed that a nation’s prosperity was judged by its per capita consumption of electricity. India's per capita consumption of electricity was below the world average. If the country’s GDP has to grow at 7 to 8%, the infrastructure, and in turn, the power sector has to grow at a compounded rate of 12%, he said.
Mr. John pointed out that many power utilities had already started implementing advanced ultra-super critical technology which translated into higher boiler efficiency, lesser turbine heat rate and consequentially lesser fuel and lesser emissions.
NLC India, he said, was spreading its wings and venturing into new horizons in energy sector such as coal mining, coal-based power plants, renewable energy and power trading.
T.M. Gunaraja, president, IEI, said major technical events were being planned during the centenary year of the institution, which starts from September 2019. The IEI has tied up with leading institutes towards improving learning platforms.
S.K. Banerjee, IEI’s immediate past president; Dev Kumar Tripathy, Chairman, Production Engineering Division Board, IEI; R. Selvaraj, convenor; N. Kumaresan, chairman; and A. Anand, honorary secretary, IEI, Tiruchi, spoke.
The IEI’s Eminent Engineer Awards 2019 were presented to A.S. Lamba, Wholetime Director and Group Chief Executive, L&T-MHPS Boilers, Faridabad, and A. Noorul Haq, Visiting Professor, Department of Production Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchi, during the event.
K Jayakrishna, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), and Ankur Gupta, Faculty, School of Mechanical Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology- Bhubaneswar, were presented the Young Engineers award given to upcoming engineers below 35 years of age, according to an IEI press release.