The Lakshadweep Islands are switching to coconuts as a fuel to power electrical generators to supply the needs of their residents. This may mark the first time ever that a government has chosen coconuts as a staple power source.
The people living on this chain of islands do not use much electricity. The energy they do use is currently generated by diesel engines. By burning coconuts in generators, generation costs will be lowered by 60 percent and emissions will be reduced by over 80 percent, according to the project designer.
Lakshadweep is covered in coconut trees, giving the inhabitants of the archipelago a nearly plentiful, almost free, renewable domestic energy energy source. Several parts of the trees and fruit will be utilized in the generators, keeping waste low.
The name Lakshadweep is a Sanskrit word meaning "100,000 islands." In fact, there are 36 total islands in the chain. Only 11 of these are inhabited, with a total population of over 64,000 people. The island chain is located between 125 and 275 miles off the southwestern coast of India in the Laccadive Sea.
Because the islands are so low-lying, they are one of the first places that could be affected by global warming-induced sea level rise. This gives the government of Lakshadweep a personal reason to want to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Over the last few years, corals around the island chain have turned brown and have slowed growth, possibly due to warming water. Those changes are being investigated.
"Basically, we are using carbon and oxygen isotopes to find out sea surface temperature... and monsoon-driven nutrient changes for the past 100 years," S. Masood Ahmad of the National Geophysical Research Institute in India said.
Authorities looking to improve energy production facilities on Lakshadweep brought in an expert on solar energy, Gon Choudhury. Instead of solar, however, Choudhury realized that the best choice for the island would be biomass. Wind power was also ruled out as cleaner alternative to diesel, because there weren't enough good places to build the turbines on the islands, which total just over 12 square miles in area.
"After studying the landscape of the cluster of islands, its habitat and the ecological system, despite being a solar expert, I suggested setting up small biomass power generation systems on each island that will use coconut leaves, husk and the shell," Choudhury said.
When fully operational, the 11 coconut-powered generators will produce around 10 megawatts of electricity. Although that is a tiny capacity compared to units in larger nations, it is enough to power the needs of the residents of Lakshadweep.
