Comments
As India works towards achieving various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and meet commitments under the Paris Agreement, energy efficiency and renewables become key factors.
At a recent meeting of BRICS energy ministers, it was disclosed that India has an installed capacity of 83,000 MW and about 31,000 MW is under execution; a capacity of about 35,000 MW is under the bidding process. Along with an installed capacity of about 45,000 MW of hydel power and another 12,000 MW under construction, India has the potential to cross the 2,00,000 MW of renewable energy capacity, thereby surpassing the target set for 2022.
This is significant as the government had set a total renewable installation target of 175 giga watts (GW) by 2022 and as of mid-2019, the total renewable installed capacity is nearly 80 GW and projected to soon cross 100 GW.
Wind, solar scene
According to a mid-year review by the Central Electric Authority, solar and wind power generation capacity is expected to constitute about 440 GW watts of the total expected/projected capacity of 831 GW by about 2030. As against 72 per cent of the current power generation coming from fossil fuel power generation plants, by 2030 it is expected that renewables would contribute nearly 50 per cent of total generation capacity. While there have been headwinds for wind energy, solar power generation too faced numerous problems, including dumping of solar modules from China and other markets, and issues of payments and defaults by discoms.
There is some sort of parity in terms of costs when one evaluates renewable energy projects and fossil fuel projects. The cost has progressively come down to ₹2.40-₹2.50 per unit. Even if one were to peg it at, say, ₹3 a unit, it works out to just about the same that fossil fuel power costs.
The current electric grid manages total installed capacity of about 362 GW, with renewables at 82.5 GW, accounting for about 23 per cent of total installed capacity. India needs to take up development of renewable energy in a concerted manner and push implementation of projects.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.