India’s quest for Sustainable Energy

The energy sector in India is quickly trying to diminish the supply-demand gap prevalent for a long. According to policymakers, India’s challenge lies in dealing with both climate change and the need to switch to renewable sources of energy. In this regard, India has established the aim of transitioning from conventional to renewable energy sources for power generation by 2030. Recent studies have found that the country could go even further with renewables and reduce overall energy costs.

The traditional sources of electricity, like coal, oil, and natural gas, are responsible for one-third of the global greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the need of the hour is to enhance the living standards by providing cleaner and more reliable electricity. Rapid urbanisation in India has resulted in increased energy demands to fulfil the economic development plans that are being implemented.  According to data compiled and released by the International Energy Agency, India is responsible for nearly seven per cent of the total global carbon emissions, ranking third after China (28 per cent) and the United States of America (15 per cent). However, the latest Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2021 has placed India among the top ten countries to have adopted substantial measures to mitigate climate change. The report has ranked India at 10th with a score of 63.98. India has taken an unprecedented course in renewable energy in the last few years. India’s priority is to expand the use of clean energy sources.  It has already taken various large-scale sustainable energy projects to ensure a massive growth of green energy. India is the fourth most attractive renewable energy market globally, assessed by Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index 2020. However, COVID-19 has adversely affected the performance of the renewable energy industry. Prime Minister  Narendra  Modi had set an ambitious aim of installing 175 Gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2022, which was intended to be increased to 450 GW by 2030, at the United National Climate Action Summit.

Wind Energy

The wind energy industry’s growth has given rise to a strong ecosystem, project operation capabilities, and a manufacturing base of about 10,000 Megawatt (MW) per annum. As of October 31 last year, the country has the fourth-highest wind installed capacity globally, with a total installed capacity of 38.26 GW, and had generated around 52.66 billion units between 2017-18. The wind is an intermittent and site-specific source of energy, and therefore, an extensive wind resource assessment is essential for selecting potential sites. Through the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), the government has installed over 800 wind-monitoring stations across the country. It has issued potential wind maps at 50 metres  (m),  80m  and  100m  above ground level. The recent assessment indicates a gross wind power potential of 302 GW in the country at 100 meters above ground level. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India, is also developing a strategy and roadmap to utilise the potential of offshore wind energy along the country’s coastline.

According to data released by the International Energy Agency, India is responsible for nearly seven per cent of the total global carbon emissions, ranking third after China (28 per cent) and USA (15 per cent)

Solar Energy

Utilising solar energy is one of the chief components of India’s renewable energy strategy. Most parts of India receive extensive solar radiation, and the country has an estimated solar energy potential of about 750 GW. The National Solar Mission (NSM), which was launched in 2010 to establish India as a global leader in solar energy, aimed at creating policy conditions for solar technologies diffusion across the country as quickly as possible. Initially, NSM had targeted to install 20 GW solar power by 2022. This was upscaled to 100 GW in early 2015. Various beneficial schemes and programmes under the Mission have escalated solar power’s installed capacity from 25 MW in the year 2010-11 to about 36.32 GW in October 2020. An additional 58.31 GW solar power capacity is currently under installation process.

National Policy On Biofuels (NPB) 2018

The NPB was adopted on May 16, 2018, to augment biofuels’ generation and build a sustainable biofuel ecosystem. The policy provided central financial assistance for projects using biomass such as agriculture-based industrial residues, wood produced through energy plantations, bagasse, crop residues, wood waste generated from industrial operations, and weeds. Under this policy, the Biodiesel Blending programme was affected due to lack of sufficient feedstock, coupled with an 18 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) effective from July 1, 2017. The high GST resulted in biodiesel’s price being higher than that of conventional diesel, thereby hindering the blending mandates. Most states in India do not allow the free interstate movement of molasses resulting in artificially depressed prices, besides derailing the Ethanol Blending Petrol programme. NPB 2018 prohibits the import and export of biofuels to other nations resulting in reduced economic efficiency. Foodgrains as feedstock for biofuel production hampers food availability to needy people and adversely affects food prices. These are just some of the reasons why biofuel has not been widely accepted in India yet.

Green Energy Corridor

To facilitate renewable power evacuation and reshape the framework for future requirements, the government launched the Green Energy Corridor (GEC) projects. The projects aim at synchronising electricity produced from renewable sources, such as solar and wind, with conventional power stations in the grid. The first segment of the scheme, Inter-state GEC with target capacity of 3200 circuit kilometre (ckm) transmission lines and 17,000 market value added (MVA) capacity sub- stations, was completed in May 2020. The second segment – Intra-state GEC with an intended capacity of 9700 ckm transmission lines and 22,600 MVA capacity sub-stations, is expected to be completed by May this year. The gross expense of the project is Rs 10,141 crores. The present efforts are focused on strengthening institutions, resources and protocols, and investing judiciously in grid infrastructure. A total of 7175 ckm of transmission lines have been constructed, and substations of the aggregated capacity of 7825 MVA have been charged.

Generation of power from other renewables

The MNRE is implementing a scheme to support biomass-based generation in sugar mills and other industries. Energy generation from urban, industrial, and agricultural waste/residues is the area of focus. Waste to Energy projects, besides generating useful energy, also help combat pollution. As of October 31, 2020, the installed capacity of grid-connected biomass power projects stood at about 10.15 GW, waste to energy projects capacity was 168.64 MW (grid-connected), and 204.73 MW equivalent (off-grid), and about 4.74 GW small hydropower capacity from 1133 small hydropower projects was operational.

Conclusion

According to the India Energy Outlook 2021 report, before the pandemic, India’s energy requirement was estimated to escalate by 50 per cent between 2019 and 2030. However, the escalation of energy requirement over this period is now closer in the Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS) and 25 per cent in Delayed Recovery Scenario. The latter would put some of India’s hard-won profits in the fight against energy poverty at risk, as lower-income households are forced to resort to more polluting and inefficient sources of energy. It would also extend the slump in energy investment, which we estimate to have fallen by 15 per cent in India in 2020. Even though the pandemic and its aftermath could temporarily suppress emissions, as coal and oil bear the brunt of the demand reduction, it does not move India any closer to its long-term sustainable development goals. As per the STEPS, within twenty years, more than half of India’s emissions will come from power plants, industrial plants, buildings and automobiles that do not exist today. This gives us hope and represents a huge opening for policies to navigate the country onto a more secure and sustainable course