Geospatial characterization of electric power consumption over India
Student name: Ms Rashi Gupta
Guide: Dr P K Joshi
Year of completion: 2012
Host Organisation: TERI University
Abstract: In the present study, changes in electricity consumption over India were characterized
spatially and temporally, using nighttime data from the DMSP-OLS. The OLS has the
ability to take capture images of Earth at night. Through its wave bands in the visiblenear
infrared region, in effect, it is able to capture lights on Earth’s surface and show
‘lit’ areas on the imagery. This data is available as annually averaged images depicting
the stable lights. NTL imagery for 1992, 2001 and 2009 was examined for its relation
with lit areas. The spatial distribution of the lit area gives a good representation of
electricity consumption levels. Further, a future scenario of electricity consumption
levels was projected for 2025 by land-use change modeling. In order to meet needs
energy of the expanding ‘high’ consumption areas, which may further increase by 75%
by 2025 as predicted by the model, the state of renewable energy in India was explored.
In the light of the National Solar Mission, the potential of concentrated solar power and
solar photo-voltaic technologies has been looked into. The areas for these technologies
to viably produce power were mapped and linked to the high consumption areas of 2025
to give a possible scenario for meeting with the energy needs.
Keywords: nighttime lights, electricity, land-use change, predictive model, solar power
