Today all of us are aware that the era of fossil fuels – oil and coal is coming to an end. So far these have been major sources of energy – for transport and electricity. Urban people often forget that energy is not just transport but includes many other forms – fuels from trees, animal power, including human, in farming and hosts of other activities.

This workshop will discuss implications of end of the fossil fuel era and what we in Hyderabad can do about it. The future scenario that we will consider has a window of 10 -30 years. During this period the crisis will come to play and we have to put the alternatives in place. The alternatives essentially consist of, first scaling down the amount of energy used to say 1921 level and – solar and animal power. Alternatives of wind, tidal, micro hydel and geo thermal are not relevant for Hyderabad. In solar again the bulk of it will come from solar photosynthesis, that is, from plants, then from solar thermal. Solar PV ­ photovoltaic, is only for electricity and will play a minor role in the total energy scenario of the future.