Roadblocks on the power highway

Clean energy is the much-bandied term today. Much as its proponents are an excited lot, they are also worried about some lacunae. One is that of interface technologies for converting AC to DC seamlessly, to achieve inter-operability. When talking of smart grids, etc the control and monitoring of the same is not easy, especially as a sizeable energy is lost in delivery.

Storage is yet another problem. Research keeps throwing up an occasional ‘new generation of lithium ion batteries that provide high-power, high energy and extended life-cycles.’ But while promises of high performance and low carbon emissions sound attractive, there is a long way to go.

But one thing above all is the lack of skilled manpower. Even in the US a large gap exists in the requirement and availability of power engineers. This is especially so in India, where a recent Crisil-Ficci study spoke of the need for over 20 lakh engineers for the power sector.

Achieving such numbers would be a challenge, the study said. "Although Indian educational institutions generate a large number of engineers, it is a challenge to attract them to the power generation sector given the multiple options available in other lucrative areas," it said.

Meeting manpower requirement of this magnitude, the study said, would require creation of more specialised training institutes. Specialised training programmes for generation, transmission and distribution also need to be introduced along with a programme on IT-enabled applications.

If there is to be a significant renewable energy contribution, even more will there be a need for specialized manpower. Are we ready for that? What kind of institutes are providing that kind of courses, and to how many? What about the existing specialized personnel?