Changing structure of income indoor air pollution relationship in India

Bio fuels are still a major source for cooking by many households in developing countries such as India causing significant disease burden due to indoor air pollution. While household income influences the choice of fuel the policies that affect accessibility and price of fuels also have an important role in determining the fuel choice. This study analyzes the pollution–income relationship for the period 1983–2000, separately across rural and urban households in India based on unit record data on fuel consumption obtained through National Sample Surveys. While a non-monotonic relationship is observed in rural India in both the decades, in urban India a similar relationship is observed only for the initial period indicating faster transition towards ‘cleaner’ fuels mainly enabled by policies that have been pro-urban. The study also finds that the impact of household size and composition on bio fuels is more negative than for clean fuels and is increasingly negative over time possibly due to greater awareness about the ill effects of such fuels.     

Optimal mix of technologies in rural India: The cooking sector

In the paper, an attempt is made towards the development of a linear programming micromodel for determining an optimal mix of technologies for domestic cooking in the rural areas of India. A mathematical model involving common sources (including biomass, commercial and solar) and commercially available technologies is formulated along with the detailed technoeconomics of the different energy conversion routes. In order to make the developed model flexible, the cooking sector is divided into two subsectors, namely the low temperature thermal energy requirement and end uses requiring thermal energy at mediumhigh temperatures. The marginal costs of both, the different energy resources, and the possible energy conversion routes are discussed in the context of rural India. The paper forms a part of a larger exercise of formulating a micromodel for the design of a rural energy supply system involving the three major end uses of energy in rural areas of India, i.e. cooking, irrigation and lighting.     

Financial analysis of cooking energy options for India

A financial analysis of cooking energy options is attempted for India using data from a field study and real costs and prices. The fuels considered are; fuelwood, kerosene, biogas, liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and electricity. Traditional and efficient devices and different discount rates are used in the analysis. Financial analysis for rural areas shows that the efficient Astra-stove using wood is the least cost option and biogas, which is the only quality fuel option for rural areas, is the most expensive option. The subsidised kerosene option is cheaper than wood in the traditional stove. The ranking of options from low to high costs is from fuelwood to kerosene to LPG to biogas. In the urban situation, the subsidy on kerosene distorts the energy ladder. Kerosene is the low cost fuel option, and fuelwood in the traditional stove is among the most expensive options. The existing subsidies on kerosene, LPG and electricity seem to benefit middle and high income groups, particularly in urban areas. Low income households in urban and rural areas are forced to use fuelwood in traditional stoves, which is not only a low quality fuel but is also a high cost cooking energy option. The efficiency of the device is shown to be a crucial factor in determining the cost of using a fuel. Low income households are disadvantaged, as they use traditional low efficiency wood stoves. A need to alter energy policies to promote quality fuels and efficient devices in an accessible way to low income households is highlighted.     

Determinants of household energy consumption in India

Improving access to affordable modern energy is critical to improving living standards in the developing world. Rural households in India, in particular, are almost entirely reliant on traditional biomass for their basic cooking energy needs. This has adverse effects on their health and productivity, and also causes environmental degradation. This study presents a new generic modelling approach, with a focus on cooking fuel choices, and explores response strategies for energy poverty eradication in India. The modelling approach analyzes the determinants of fuel consumption choices for heterogeneous household groups, incorporating the effect of income distributions and traditionally more intangible factors such as preferences and private discount rates. The methodology is used to develop alternate future scenarios that explore how different policy mechanisms such as fuel subsidies and micro-financing can enhance the diffusion of modern, more efficient, energy sources in India.     

Evaluation of cooking energy cost,efficiency, impact on air pollution and policy in Nigeria

This study evaluated the cooking energy costs and efficiencies, the air pollution impacts of cooking energy consumption and the impact of the energy policy in the cooking energy sector in Nigeria. Water boiling and cooking experiments using the common cooking energy sources (fuel wood, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and electricity) and common food items (water, yam and beans) were carried out. Energy surveys were carried out to determine the cooking energy use patterns in the urban and rural areas. It was found that fuel wood is the least expensive cooking energy source and LPG is the most expensive. Energy use efficiencies for boiling water were estimated at 25%, 46%, 73%, 79%, 66% and 90% for fuel wood, kerosene, gas, electric immersion coil, electric heating coil and electric hot plate, respectively. Energy intensity was found to be a comparative measure of energy efficiency. The impacts of air pollution from household cooking suggested a possibility of significant air pollutants contribution to the ambient environment using any of the energy carriers considered except electricity. The cooking energy use patterns showed that fuel wood is the predominant energy source for cooking in the rural areas while kerosene is the predominant energy source in the urban areas, revealing that the energy policy in the country had made no impact in the cooking energy sector. Recommendations for improving the energy supply situation were given and for removing the barriers that prevent the implementation of the recommendations.     

Energy use in the rural areas of India: setting up a rural energy data base

Aggregating and forecasting demand are crucial parts of energy planning. While a large number of energy consumption surveys have been conducted in the past in the rural energy sector of India, the lack of sufficient data and its compilation, coupled with doubt about the quality of data, has made the task extremely difficult. This paper summarizes our recent effort to compile, computerize and analyze data from 638 village energy consumption surveys covering over 39,000 households, carried out by different organisations between 1985 and 1989. The details of the level of information provided in the survey reports, area of survey, land use pattern, asset ownership, etc., of the collated studies are presented. Results based on the analysis of the energy consumption data compiled are then discussed. The national average for rural domestic thermal energy consumption (excluding water and space heating) estimated through this work (629 kcal or 2.63 MJ per capita daily) is much similar to the rural domestic thermal energy requirement assumed in most energy planning exercises in India in the past. The useful thermal energy consumption varies from 325 to 1065 kcal/cap/d (1.36-4.46 MJ/cap/d) in the East Coast Plain and Hills and the Eastern Himalayan Regions, respectively. Reconfirming the predominance of firewood, the data reveals that the contribution of firewood to the domestic thermal energy consumption has remained at about 58% over the last three decades; dungcake and agricultural residues contribute almost equally in the remaining share. At the national level, our estimates indicate that at least 180 million tonnes of firewood, 40 million tonnes of dungcakes and 30 million tonnes of agricultural residues were consumed in the rural sector for meeting the domestic thermal energy requirement in 1991. The paper also compares the estimates with those based on other surveys in India.     

Model projections for household energy use in India

Energy use in developing countries is heterogeneous across households. Present day global energy models are mostly too aggregate to account for this heterogeneity. Here, a bottom-up model for residential energy use that starts from key dynamic concepts on energy use in developing countries is presented and applied to India. Energy use and fuel choice is determined for five end-use functions (cooking, water heating, space heating, lighting and appliances) and for five different income quintiles in rural and urban areas. The paper specifically explores the consequences of different assumptions for income distribution and rural electrification on residential sector energy use and CO₂ emissions, finding that results are clearly sensitive to variations in these parameters. As a result of population and economic growth, total Indian residential energy use is expected to increase by around 65–75% in 2050 compared to 2005, but residential carbon emissions may increase by up to 9–10 times the 2005 level. While a more equal income distribution and rural electrification enhance the transition to commercial fuels and reduce poverty, there is a trade-off in terms of higher CO₂ emissions via increased electricity use.     

Identification and characterization of trace metals in black solid materials deposited from biomass burning at the cooking stoves in Bangladesh

In this study we have reported the emissions of trace metals from biomass burning at the cooking stoves. Black solid materials deposited from two different types of biomass (rice husk coils – type 1; mixed (straw, bamboo, cow dung, leaves and plants) biomasses - type 2) burning at the cooking stoves were collected from the top of the stoves (but inside the roof of the kitchen) in Narsingdi, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Systematic chemical analysis was done for both samples. Lead, mercury, iron and calcium were identified in sample type-1, and lead, iron and magnesium were identified in sample type-2. The concentration of the trace element was determined with an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The average concentrations of lead, iron, cadmium calcium, potassium and magnesium were 95.6, 11520, 8.33, 1635, 17.1 and 443.1 mg kg⁻¹, respectively in sample type-1. The average concentration of lead, iron, cadmium calcium, potassium and magnesium were 125.2, 12360, 12.0, 1648, 21.5 and 534.2 mg kg⁻¹, respectively in sample type-2. However, the average concentrations of the determined trace elements followed the sequences, Fe > Ca > Mg > Pb > K > Cd. The emission of lead, iron, cadmium, calcium, potassium and magnesium were much higher from mixed biomass (type-2) compared than the rich husk coils (type-1). The mixed biomass produced about 31% higher lead, 44% higher cadmium, 26% higher potassium, and 21% higher magnesium compared than the rice husk coils. This is the first systematic analysis for the trace metal emissions from different types of biomass burning at the cooking stoves in Bangladesh.     

Household energy consumption pattern and socio-cultural dimensions associated with it: A case study of rural Haryana, India

A survey of household energy consumption pattern was carried out in a village of Jhajjhar district of Haryana, India in the year 2007. The households surveyed covered heterogeneous population belonging to different income, educational and social groups. There was more availability and utilization of solid biomass fuels as energy resources in domestic sector as compared to the commercial fuels. Dung cakes, crop residues and firewood were found to be the three main fuels used for cooking, though LPG was also used along with biomass fuels. But complete conversion to cleaner fuels has not taken place yet even in households that has been using LPG for many years. Income was an important factor determining the choice of fuel for cooking, but there were some socio-cultural factors which were equally important in making fuel preferences at household level.     

Cooking in West Sumatra: Interfuel substitution and the choice of cooking method

The results of a survey on energy consumption in cooking in five villages in West Sumatra, Indonesia, are used to investigate the substitution of commercial fuels for non-commercial ones in a rural community. Land-use patterns, the availability of non-commercial fuelwood and the state of socio-economic development of the villages (affecting the average income, availability of commercial fuels and the expectations of the villagers) all influenced the types and quantities of fuel use. Within each village cooking energy consumption and the type of cooking method chosen varied considerably with income and household size, and with the individual preferences of each villager.     

Linkages among energy, agriculture and environment in rural India

The interconnections between energy, agriculture and environment in rural India are analyzed in this paper using a systems perspective. Rural areas of developing countries use biomass for fuel, fodder, fertilizer and other purposes, and it is necessary to understand the fuel-fodder–fertilizer relationships for optimal biomass allocation. The allocation is explored using a linear programming model. First, the model is validated by simulating it using data for the year 1990–1991. The model is then applied for the year 2000, and several scenarios are generated to obtain answers to various policy questions. The results show that it is necessary to increase fertilizer consumption, to increase efficiencies of cooking stoves, to improve livestock feed, and/or to decrease population growth for maximizing the revenue generated in the rural system of India. It shows that when the prices of fertilizers increase, a large increase in kerosene requirements can be expected. It also points to the necessity to increase kerosene consumption to reduce emissions (due to non-commercial fuels) and soil fertility loss. For example, the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the scenarios range from 137.50 to 62.50 million tons (in carbon equivalent terms) for the high and low cases, respectively. Correspondingly, kerosene consumption ranges from 0.18 to 15.49 kilotons (kT).     

Induction stoves as an option for clean cooking in rural India

As part of a programme on ‘access to clean cooking alternatives in rural India’, induction stoves were introduced in nearly 4000 rural households in Himachal Pradesh, one of the few highly electrified states in India. Analysis of primary usage information from 1000 rural households revealed that electricity majorly replaced Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG), generally used as a secondary cooking fuel, but did not influence a similar shift from traditional mud stoves as the primary cooking technology. Likewise, the shift from firewood to electricity as a primary cooking fuel was observed in only 5% of the households studied. Country level analysis indicates that rural households falling in lower monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) classes have lesser access to electricity and clean cooking options than those falling in higher MPCE classes. Again, only three states in India with high levels of rural household electrification report consumption statuses more than 82 kWh per month (the estimated mean for electricity consumption by induction stoves). Overall, the results of the study indicate that induction stoves will have limited potential in reducing the consumption of firewood and LPG if included in energy access programmes, that too only in regions where high levels of electrification exist.     

Evaluation of the performance of improved biomass cooking stoves with different solid biomass fuel types

We have studied the performance of different types of improved solid biomass cookstoves (Two natural draft and one forced draft) in comparison to the traditional cookstove (control) while preparing a particular meal with a variety of solid biomass fuels (e.g. fuel wood, dung cake and crop residue). Five replicates of each type of cookstove and fuel were maintained. The study was conducted in an Indian rural kitchen. There was no significant difference in the indoor concentrations of PM_2.5 and CO when natural draft and traditional cookstoves were used with any type of solid fuel. However, significantly lower concentrations of PM_2.5 and CO were recorded with forced draft stoves compared to others. While cooking with different types of solid biomass fuels, the concentrations of PM_2.5 and CO in the indoor environment were decreased by 21–57% and 30–74% respectively with the forced draft cookstove in comparison to the traditional cookstove. The fuel consumption, cooking duration and thermal efficiency of a particular stove to prepare a particular amount of food also differ depending on the type of the solid fuel used for the cooking purpose. The thermal efficiency of traditional, natural draft and FD cookstoves were in the range of 15–17%, 16–27% and 30–35% respectively for different types of solid biomass fuels. However, further studies on the performance of stoves are required based on the size and type of fuel wood or crop residues.     

Mathematical model for energy planning of rural India

This paper describes an integrated energy system planning approach for Wardha District in Maharashtra State, India, for the year AD 2000 and gives an optimal mix of new/conventional energy technologies using a computer-based mixed integer linear programming model. The district level planning is accomplished by successively applying in two stages a new statistical extrapolation technique for moving first from the village level energy scenarios based on surveys to the corresponding energy scenarios at the block level and then for moving next from the block level scenarios to the desired district level planning profile. The model is suitably scaled for obtaining the optimal results at the district level owing to limitations on the available memory on the PC-AT system in use. Energy options for seasonal crops have been considered explicitly in the model. Post-optimal analysis based on a linear programming model to study the effect of the variations in parameters on the optimal solution has been performed.     

Common factors and major characteristics of household energy consumption in comparatively well-off rural China

Common factors that influence Chinese rural household energy consumption are proposed and major demand characteristics of well-off rural areas are analyzed on the basis of survey data. A system of major characteristic indicators for rural household energy consumption includes effective heat consumption for livelihood per capita per day (EHC), the proportion of commercial energy in EHC (PCE) and annual electricity consumption for livelihood per capita (AEC). Typical values in three economic regions (out-of-poverty, well-off and rich areas) of China are also given.     

Study on sustainable development of rural household energy in northern China

The status of rural household energy consumption plays an important role in farmers’ daily life, especially in developing countries or regions. Here, we review the evolution of the rural household energy consumption structure in northern China from 1996 to 2005. Studies indicate that the proportion of straw, firewood, and coal consumption in total energy consumption have remained at 88.8–91.0%, whereas the proportion of high-quality commercial energy and modern renewable energy is still very low. The main challenges for the sustainable development of rural household energy supply are an unreasonable energy consumption structure, low-energy efficiency, serious environmental degradation, a large gap in energy supply among regions, and difficulty in developing renewable energy. We suggest some countermeasures to overcome the obstacles involved in the sustainable development of rural household energy in northern China, from energy sources to sociopolitical policies.     

Probabilistic single box approach for modeling PAHs associated with combustion aerosols in a typical indoor environment

Firewood, coal, dung cake, kerosene and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) are the most commonly used fuels for cooking and heating purposes in developing countries. Combustion of such fuels leads to high concentrations of pollutants in the indoor environment. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are emitted during residential combustion, and have carcinogenic and genotoxic properties. In this study, data from an experimental setup for estimation of emission rate of particulate-bound PAHs generated during combustion of such fuels are used. PAHs emission rates were used in a probabilistic single box model for prediction of time average particle associated indoor B(a)P equivalent (B(a)P_eq) concentrations of PAHs resulting from typical Indian cooking. Model parameters such as fuel consumption rate, stove power and cooking time were also evaluated experimentally. Particle bound B(a)P_eq PAH emission factor was found to be highest (0.96 mg kg⁻¹) for dung cake, and lowest for LPG (0.48 mg kg⁻¹) among tested fuels. The time averaged B(a)P equivalent concentrations in indoor environment were found to be 0.82, 0.45, 0.87, 0.30, and 0.14 μg m⁻³ for firewood, coal, dung cake, kerosene and LPG respectively. Results reveal that there was higher B(a)P equivalent concentration during combustion of biomass (dung cake, fire wood) as compared to fossil fuels (coal) and non-solid fuels (kerosene, LPG). Predicted time averaged indoor air B(a)P_eq concentrations of PAHs were found to be much higher than the WHO indoor air guideline values for all tested fuels.     

Renewable energy in India: Historical developments and prospects

Promoting renewable energy in India has assumed great importance in recent years in view of high growth rate of energy consumption, high share of coal in domestic energy demand, heavy dependence on imports for meeting demands for petroleum fuels and volatility of world oil market. A number of renewable energy technologies (RETs) are now well established in the country. The technology that has achieved the most dramatic growth rate and success is wind energy; India ranks fourth in the world in terms of total installed capacity. India hosts the world's largest small gasifier programme and second largest biogas programme. After many years of slow growth, demand for solar water heaters appears to be gaining momentum. Small hydro has been growing in India at a slow but steady pace. Installation of some of the technologies appears to have slowed down in recent years; these include improved cooking stoves (ICSs) and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. In spite of many successes, the overall growth of renewable energy in India has remained rather slow. A number of factors are likely to boost the future prospects of renewable energy in the country; these include global pressure and voluntary targets for greenhouse gas emission reduction, a possible future oil crisis, intensification of rural electrification program, and import of hydropower from neighbouring countries.     

Multi-criteria evaluation of cooking energy alternatives for promoting parabolic solar cooker in India

The policy formulation for cooking energy substitution by renewables is addressed in multi-criteria context. A survey is conducted to know the perceptions of different decision making groups on present dissemination of various cooking energy alternatives in India. Nine cooking energy alternatives are evaluated on 30 different criteria comprising of technical, economic, environmental/social, behavioral and commercial issues. Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE), a multi-criteria decision making method of outranking nature is used to rank the alternatives. It is found that liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stove is the most preferred device, followed by kerosene stove, solar box cooker and parabolic solar cooker (PSC) in that order. A sensitivity analysis is also carried out for identifying potential areas for improvement for PSC. On the basis of results, strategies for promoting wide spread use of PSC are formulated.     

Dynamics of rural energy access in India: An assessment

India’s rural energy challenges are formidable with the presence of majority energy poor. In 2005, out of a rural population of 809 million, 364 million lacked access to electricity and 726 million to modern cooking fuels. This indicates low effectiveness of government policies and programs of the past, and need for a more effective approach to bridge this gap. However, before the government can address this challenge, it is essential that it gain a deeper insight into prevailing status of energy access and reasons for such outcomes. Toward this, we perform a critical analysis of the dynamics of energy access status with respect to time, income and regions, and present the results as possible indicators of effectiveness of policies/programmes. Results indicate that energy deprivations are highest for poorest households with 93% depending on biomass for cooking and 62% lacking access to electricity. The annual growth rates in expansion in energy access are gradually declining from double digit growth rates experienced 10 years back to just around 4% in recent years. Regional variations indicate, on an average, cooking access levels were 5.3 times higher in top five states compared to bottom five states whereas this ratio was 3.4 for electricity access.