Energy Plantations

By the term “energy plantation” itself, we can get the idea that it is related to energy production. Energy resources play a vital role in the development of a nation, and in today’s world, the requirement for energy is more than its availability. Conventional energy resources are unable to meet the rapidly growing demand for energy, and thus it is essential to develop alternative sources of energy. In energy plantations, some selected species of plants or trees are grown, specifically to be used as fuel. These plantations are for a short time period, like 3-8 years.

What is Energy Plantation

The term energy plantation refers to the practice of harvesting some selected species of crops, trees or shrubs that are harvestable in a short time period and to be used mainly as fuel for domestic or commercial purposes. Petroplants are examples of energy plants. Euphorbia lathyris is a famous petro plant that contains more than five per cent oil and polymeric hydrocarbons. Some of the petro plants are as follows:

• Agave Americana

• Nerium odorum

• Allamanda cathartica

• Jatropha curcas

• Aloe vera

• Pedalium murex

• Madhuca indica

• Mimusops elengi

• Hevea brasiliensis

• Thevetia neriifolia

• Wrights tomentosa

• Vitis quadrangular is

• Calotropis gigantea

The fuel produced by these plants can be used for different purposes. We use them for our household works as well as different industrial processes. Unlike the conventional fuel resources, the fuel produced by petro plants is renewable as they take 3 to 8 years for their recycling. 

High-density energy plantation (HDEP) is a famous technique used in energy plantations. In this harvesting technique, the energy crops, trees, and shrubs are planted in close spacing. The crops of trees struggle for survival, and thus they grow rapidly.

Things to be considered for energy plantation: 

• The selected species of crops or trees should serve as minimal pollutants for the environment.
• The plantation should be suitable to its climate.
• The plantation should provide additional benefits like fruit, seeds, green manure, etc.
• Since the plant is to be used as fuel for different purposes, their wood should be hard.
• The energy plants must have low requirements of water and fertiliser. 
• The plants should be harvestable in a short time.
• They should increase the equity of soil.

Advantages of energy plantation:

Conventional energy resources like coal and petroleum are limited, and it takes millions of years for their formation process. The rapid growth of the census demands more and more fuel, and this is the root reason why many countries are motivated to adopt energy plantations in their area. There are several benefits of energy plantation, some of them are as follows:

• As we know, energy plants are mainly harvested for fuel, so they produce a good amount of heat that can be used for domestic and industrial purposes.
• The energy plants are environment friendly as the wood is low in sulphur, and they are non-pollutants.
• The ash produced by the petro plants is also used as fertiliser.
• Energy plants help meet the high demands of fuel.
• Energy plants are harvested for a short time period, so they are renewable sources of energy.
• Energy plantation motivates harvesting in waste or barren areas, which helps eliminate soil degradation.
• Energy plantation has brought a huge employment opportunity, specifically in the rural areas.

India and Energy Plantation:

It is the largest wood producer worldwide; however, the rate of using wood fuel is also high in India as it is the second-largest populated country in the world while China ranks first. Most of the land parts of India is covered with forest, and almost 75% of the total population of India reside in rural areas where they have to depend on forests to meet their basic needs. Cooking on wood fuel is one of the conventional ways of cooking in India, and thus, the demand for wood fuel in India is increasing day by day. According to a recent survey, firewood consumption in India is more than 133 million tonnes. In such a situation, energy plantation is a great relief for India, and it has also made a new type of employment opportunity, specifically in rural India.

Conclusion

As wood is the most conventional energy source we have been using till now, it will soon be gone if we do not plant new trees and shrubs to be used as fuel. However, new plantations may also take a long time for their formation. However, the harvesting of energy plants is quite suitable as their harvesting time period is comparatively shorter than other normal plants. So energy plantations may be considered a huge achievement, but we must not forget to use conventional energy resources sustainably. 

Energy plantation is specifically beneficial for hilly areas where other forms of energy like solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy, etc. are not adoptable due to unsuitable environments.