This is a sample environmental impact assessment. It is essential for IB ESS students to know the format and requirements of reports as such. This is a sample assessment I had written on the development of solar farms in a land located in Mumbai, India. This summative writing helped me achieve a 6.
India is very optimistic about the future of energy production, simply because the country has
a huge amount of renewable resource availability and potential. Coincidently, it seems that
the planet will soon run out non-renewable sources such as fossil fuels; so it seems that
India aims to be well set for the future.
Background: India aims to be able to generate 100 GW of Solar Power by the time they hit
the year 2022. In order to do so, plans such as construction of solar farms must be
implemented. Sunlight is consistently present throughout the days in several places in India
(e.g Mumbai, Chennai). In these circumstances, it’s essential to make use of the advantages
and generate as much renewable power we can. Aarey Colony is located due north of
Mumbai City, and serves for multiple purposes such as the following: Poultry Farms, Mumbai
Veterinary College, Film City, and even Dairy Farms. The land is also home to nearly 1020
acres of unused/wasteland. The idea behind converting the unused land of Aarey Colony
into a solar farm can bring about benefits in energy production and the economy. However,
just as we get the benefits, there are also disadvantages which serve as obstacles.
Purpose and Need for Action: In Aarey Colony, all but roughly 1020 acres is used for
purposes such as farming and many other Central Government Institutes. Keeping in mind
that “overcrowding” is a big issue in a densely populated country as such, it’s best to make
use of the land as much as we can. This means ensuring that the unused land in Aarey
Colony is used for something useful such as construction of Solar Farms. As mentioned
earlier on, the country has kept a target of generating at least 100 GW of Solar Power by the
time 2022 comes by; in order to keep this vision alive, action as such must be taken. India
has a huge amount of availability and potential for renewable resources, and this is an
advantage for the country to make use of as much as they can.
Proposed Action: Construction of Solar Farms in Aarey Colony will help keep the 2022
vision alive in India. Apart from that, the suggested idea helps to make use of such a large
patch of unused land at Aarey Colony. It is believed that the Solar Farm construction in the
area can bring about economic benefits to the country due to aspects such as job openings.
Decision Framework: In the economic side, constructions of such farms are indeed
expensive as the technology is in the midst of becoming a “selling point” all around the
world. In places like India, the price of setting up Solar Farms as such can go up to “70
Lakhs per 100 kW generated”. The cost of setting up a Solar Farm can cause problems to
investors who can’t afford to pay the amount. If the proposed project goes well, then
investors can see into receiving offers from foreign countries for power supply in the long
term - as it’s known that India has a great potential for renewable resources. This would
mean that Indian investors will have to make the decision of having to set up the farm at a
greater cost in order to welcome both international and domestic contract offers for power
supply.
, Public Involvement: Apart from this, the technology requires special attention. In days were
the panels are dirty, or covered by clouds and trees; they won’t function properly. If factors
such as weather cannot be controlled by us, then surely we’ll be needing labour to help in
maintaining the conditions of the solar panels. Though this may seem like a tough job to do,
this can open up more job opportunities for low-skilled labour. As of 2013, the unemployment
rate was 4.9, and sources such as “Trading Economics” predict a steady decrease in the
country’s employment from this point. Having said that, this project can provide ample job
opportunities to both low-skilled and high-skilled labour. Low-skilled labour can help with the
maintenance of the solar panels (ensuring they’re running in good conditions), likewise
high-skilled labour for the purpose of managing the solar farms and presenting statistics on
the amount of power generated. For the long term indeed, the country’s rate for providing
power to the citizens can get much cheaper if Aarey Colony sees sunlight almost everyday
of the year. Likewise, projects as such can also ensure that power is available to more
people around the country (even in rural areas).
Issues: However, just as there are economic benefits to the project, there are also
“downsides” to this idea. Renewable energy is known to be variable, unlike non-renewable
energy; so the power output is entirely up to how much sunlight Aarey Colony receives. If
some days are extremely sunny (you can give example here too), and other days are
extremely wet (e.g Monsoon season) then it makes it hard to generate useful output. It
seems to be a seasonal operation as businesses investing this project will not be in favour of
seasons like Monsoon. Businesses are essentially putting themselves at risk because the
profits they make off this technology is completely variable (unpredictable). Having said that,
not many businesses would be open towards investing in the Solar Farm project because of
these risks.
Not only that, the power received by the users (citizens) will also be variable. Unlike
receiving a definite output off nonrenewable sources, we now have people skeptical over the
reliance of renewable sources. Some days, they can expect a surplus of power due to sunny
days over the months - and in times during monsoon, the Government can expect a huge
demand for alternate energy productions.
Alternatives: Suppose the Solar Farm project cannot be implemented due to some of the
above serious circumstances, then at least Wind Power could be looked into. It is known that
India aims to generate 60 GW of power from wind power by 2022. As of now, only 27.441
GW of power is being generated off wind power. Apart from that, hydropower is another field
in which the country aims to improve; currently only 5 GW of power comes from hydropower.
The proposed action here would be to have construction of wind turbines in the part of Aarey
Colony, simply because hydropower can’t be possible as the land is landlocked.
Comparison of Alternatives: When comparing Solar Power with Wind Power, we find that
construction of wind turbines can interfere the flying patterns of birds; that too even during
migration time. Wind turbines are known to cause noise pollution too. This can be of
disturbance to farmlands nearby - for both farmers and the animals. This will also be an
issue for nearby neighbourhoods in Goregaon.
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