Reducing Air Pollution in India's Industrial Cluster through Smart Energy Management (Odisha)

Smart energy management, along with clean technologies and advanced pollution control measures have proven to be an effective strategy for reducing air pollution in both developed and transitioning economies, holds significant potential to reduce emissions from industries and power plants—two of the major sources of air pollution in many of India’s urban areas. The project provides a critical proof of concept: That developing country cities can achieve significant, measurable reductions in air pollution specially, Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions and greenhouse gas emissions through investing in smart energy management and advance control technologies. Achieving this goal, however, requires addressing two key challenges: 1) Lack of a demonstrated link between smart energy management and air quality improvements in India; and 2) the need to scale up development, financing, and implementation of smart energy solutions, including renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE), that can help address air pollution in industrialized urban areas, critically polluted areas by offsetting fossil fuel use for diesel and coal-fired electricity generation.

This study aims to predict the possible reduction in background ground level concentration of criterial pollutants such as SO2, NOx, and PM due to the adoption of Energy Conservation Measures (ENCON) and cleaner production initiatives in various sectors in the Jharsuguda Industrial Area of Odisha. The study area is confined to Jharsuguda Industrial Area covering an area of 1961 sq. kms. The published secondary air quality data has been collected from various online ambient air quality stations installed by Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB). Baseline emission inventory data has been developed for all large to medium scale industrial facilities in the study area such as integrated steel plants, aluminum smelters, steel rerolling mills, sponge iron units, thermal power plants and captive power plants.