India, with a population of 1.4 billion, requires a substantial amount of energy to support its rapidly expanding economy. At the time of its Independence, India was a power-deficient country. Yet, it never stopped striving to achieve energy independence. And this has been going on for over seven decades now. Presently, India has achieved a surplus in its power. In installed electricity capacity alone, India crossed the aggregate level of more than 4 lakh MW. The renewable energy capacity presently stands at more than 178.79 GW as of February 2023.
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Looking at the goals of sustainable development, India is rapidly transitioning its power generation mix. As of now, the country has emerged as the world’s third-biggest producer of renewable energy, with the share of non-fossil fuel sources at 40 percent of its installed electricity capacity. It has benefited from a steady breeze, especially in the Southern, Western, and Northwestern parts of the country; it is the fourth-largest wind power capacity in the world. Besides, a few of the major renewable Energy hubs of India are Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu.
The declaration by India to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2070 and to meet 50% of its electricity requirement from renewable sources by 2030 has been of monumental help to the global effort against climate change. Its renewable energy sector has also wooed sizeable foreign investments; firms across the world are investing their money in several solar and wind power projects across the country. According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, FDI in the renewable energy sector was USD 251 million (Rs 20.5 billion) in Q3 of FY 2023. The major investing countries are Singapore, Mauritius, Netherlands, and Japan.
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India’s Rising Energy Demand
The latest World Energy Outlook brought out by the IEA recently envisages India recording the largest increase in energy demand globally during this decade. This surge is due to rapid urbanization and industrialization, pegged at 3 percent per annum. India is on course to achieve its ambitious target of 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, with approximately two-thirds of the country’s rapidly growing electricity demand being met through renewables.
Coal will, therefore, play a large role in India’s energy growth, accounting for one-third of the rising demand, projected to exceed 770 mtce by 2030. Additional oil demand comprises almost a quarter of rising energy demand and is likely to reach almost 7 million bpd by 2030. However, although coal generation will continue to rise until peaking around the early 2030s, the share of coal in electricity generation is likely to fall away from just under 75 per cent to 55 per cent by 2030. Contrasted with this, renewables represent more than 60% of rising power demand. Renewables are on track to make up about 35% of the electricity mix by 2030, including more than 15% from solar PV.
According to the Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, India has had phenomenal growth of 250% in renewable energy capacity between 2014 and 2021. The Central Electricity Authority, with regard to this, estimates that India’s power demand is likely to touch 817 GW by 2030. Demand from the real estate and transport sectors is expected to contribute to it majorly.
Government Initiatives and Funding
Faced with the global green energy emphasis and commitment to reducing carbon intensity, it has just brought out ambitious plans for the green energy sector in its financial budget. The government has brought in an array of annihilative measures aimed at facilitating initiatives for green fuel, green farming, green mobility, green buildings, and green equipment. Moreover, with India assuming the presidency of the G20, its focus on green energy is likely to have a greater effect.
The government has been very active, positive, and progressive towards the consumption of renewable sources of energy. Of the bigger ones, one initiative is the flagship National Solar Mission, launched in 2010, serving as a kind of foundation that set the ambitious target for setting up 100 GW of solar power by the year 2022, which has since been revised to an ambitious 450 GW by 2030. Further, a government-induced wind regime was announced with the objective to reach an installed capacity of 60 GW by 2022. These targets of a high order are really what got the ball rolling for speeding up renewable energy adoption in this country. The Union Cabinet has also approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission, with an initial total budget of INR 19,744 Cr. This shall include INR 17,490 Cr for the SIGHT program, INR 1,466 Cr for pilot projects, INR 400 Cr for R&D work, and INR 388 Cr for mission components other than R&D.
In November 2021, the government announced its upcoming plan to increase the funding provided to incentivize domestic solar cells and module manufacturing from USD 594.68 million to USD 3.17 billion. This would further make India an exporting country in the solar energy sector.
Remarkable Growth in Solar Power Capacity
For India’s solar power sector, it constitutes a huge revolution in terms of installation and capacity. Due to its geographical position in the solar belt from 400 S to 400 N, India stands in line for ample solar energy receipt.
The installed solar power capacity has grown from 2.63 GW in the month of March 2014 to more than 18 times, reaching 63.3 GW by the end of 2022. Fuel cost savings of USD 4.2 billion in the first half of 2022 through solar power generation alone has meant that India has avoided the consumption of 19.4 million tonnes of coal. The country has produced 70.24 billion units of solar power in the first nine months of 2022, registering a remarkable year-on-year growth of 36%.
Situated in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan, Bhadla Solar Park is reputed to be the world’s largest solar power plant. The fully functional power plant has a total capacity of 2,250 MW, sprawling across 14,000 acres of land.
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Tapping into Untapped Hydropower Opportunities
The vast network of rivers and water bodies in India holds immense potential for hydroelectric power generation. Of course, as mentioned above, hydroelectricity has already contributed significantly to the basket of renewable energy sources of India, but there are still unexploited opportunities, especially in the northeastern states.
The International Hydropower Association has said that it crossed Japan, so India has assumed the position of a country with the fifth-largest hydropower production capacity in the world. With its total installed capacity crossing more than 51.77 GW, India has come in the line to take its place next after Canada, the United States, Brazil, and China in its capacity of hydropower. India has huge hydropower potential of around 145 GW, and out of these, more than 50 GW is already under utilization.
In February 2022, Nepal and India agreed to constitute the Joint Hydro Development Committee. The committee would be fashioned out of the joint exploration and assessment of the feasibility of possible hydro projects from both nations. It shall identify mutually beneficial opportunities in hydropower development where the resources and expertise of both countries can be used. This is, therefore, an extremely important step toward enhancing bilateral cooperation for exploiting the immense potential of hydropower toward deriving therefrom sustainable energy in the region.
Overcoming Challenges, Embracing Opportunities
India has limited conventional energy resources vis-à-vis its large energy demand propped up by its vast population and a swiftly growing economy. However, India is immensely suited to capture solar energy because it gets abundant sunshine during the major part of the year. The massive strides made in the field of solar power, wind energy, and hydroelectric power show India’s commitment towards mitigating climate change and curing dependence on fossil fuel sources. Besides, there is huge multi-untapped potential of hydropower in the country, as several states, especially the north-eastern part, are under exploration and development. Policies, investments and technology, backed by enabling policies, will put India on the roadmap of accelerating clean energy transition. Green transport in the form of augmenting public transport through e-buses and electric vehicles is being rapidly accelerated across the country.
Women’s empowerment can be coupled with green energy to achieve accelerated transition to a low-carbon economy with equal opportunity in green jobs. This currently also includes diversification of clean energy supply chains globally and handling the consequent shift in revenues and employment flows. A multisector approach to energy transition, combining energy system design, urban development, and domestic manufacturing, can suffice to make India self-sufficient with regard to a green economy. Cyclic solutions intrinsic in nature and having green energy as part of them have to be at the core of the future economy of India. In exploiting renewable sources of energy, India will have made provisions for ensuring energy security with less environmental impact and more job opportunities. These efforts will also be a contribution by India toward the global objectives of attaining a clean, sustainable future.
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