TOPIC : CAN INDIA DOUBLE ITS RENEWABLE ENERGY CAPACITY?

THE CONTEXT: India’s renewable power capacity is expected to double over 2022-2027. The country has made significant progress in recent years in increasing its renewable energy capacity, primarily through the development of solar and wind power projects. However, achieving the goal of doubling capacity by 2027 will likely require significant investment and policy support to overcome challenges such as technological advancement, land acquisition and transmission infrastructure. The following article attempts to analyse the various challenges and opportunities associated with enhancing India’s renewable energy potential from UPSC CSE perspective.

INDIA AND RENEWABLE ENERGY: KEY FACTS AND NUMBERS

• India ranks 3rd in the Renewable Energy Country Attractive index in 2021 and 3rd largest energy consuming country in the world.
• India stands 4th globally in Renewable Energy Installed Capacity (including Large Hydro), 4th in Wind Power capacity & 4th in Solar Power capacity (as per Renewables 2022 Global Status Report).
• The country has set an ambitious target to achieve a capacity of 175 GW worth of renewable energy by the end of 2022, which expands to 500 GW by 2030. This is the world’s largest expansion plan is in renewable energy.
• India was the second largest market in Asia for new solar PV capacity and third globally (13 GW of additions in 2021). It ranked fourth for total installations (60.4 GW), overtaking Germany (59.2 GW) for the first time.
• India’s installed renewable energy capacity has increased 396% in the last 8.5 years and stands at more than 159.95 Giga Watts (including large Hydro), which is about 40% of the country’s total capacity (as on 31st March 2022). The installed solar energy capacity has increased by 19.3 times in the last 8 years, and stands at 56.6 GW as of 1st June 2022. The installed Renewable energy capacity (including large hydro) has increased from 76.37 GW in March 2014 to 159.95 GW in May 2022, i.e., an increase of around 109.4%. The installed power capacity in the country is around 408.72 GW as of 30th November 2022.
• India achieves 166GW of renewable energy capacity till October 2022. India has achieved its NDC target with total non-fossil based installed energy capacity of 159.95 GW which is 41.4% of the total installed electricity capacity.
• FDI of up to 100% is allowed in the renewable energy industry under the automatic route, with no prior government approval needed.
• India has been ranked amongst top 5 countries in the world, and the best among the G20 countries, based on its Climate Change performance. India jumps 2 spots higher, and is now ranked 8th as per Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI, 2023).
• India attracts $13 bn FDI in non-conventional energy sector. India could attract close to $10 bn in renewable energy investment in 2023.

INDIA AND RENEWABLE ENERGY: COMPARING THE PRESENT WITH FUTURE COMMITMENTS

• With a population of 1.3 billion, India has a massive demand for energy to fuel its rapidly growing economy. From a power deficit nation at the time of Independence, the efforts to make India energy-independent have continued for over seven decades. Today, we are a power surplus nation with a total installed electricity capacity of over Four lakh MW.
• Keeping in mind the sustainable development goals, India’s power generation mix is rapidly shifting towards a more significant share of renewable energy. Today, India is the world’s third largest producer of renewable energy, with 40% of its installed electricity capacity coming from non-fossil fuel sources.
• As of 31st August 2022, Renewable energy sources, including large hydropower, have a combined installed capacity of 163 GW. The following is the installed capacity for Renewables:
• Wind power: 41.2 GW
• Solar Power: 59.34 GW
• Biomass/Co-generation: 10.2 GW
• Small Hydro Power: 4.88 GW
• Waste To Energy: 0.47 GW
• Large Hydro: 46.85 GW

Future Targets and actions

• India has set ambitious targets for increasing the share of renewable energy in its energy mix. The government’s target is to achieve 175 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2022, which includes 100 GW of solar, 60 GW of wind, 10 GW of biomass, and 5 GW of small hydro power.
• India has set a target to reduce the carbon intensity of the nation’s economy by less than 45% by the end of the decade, achieve 50% cumulative electric power installed by 2030, and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. Low-carbon technologies could create a market worth up to $80 bn in India by 2030.

Some recent steps towards the renewable energy push:

• 59 solar parks of aggregate capacity 40 GW have been approved in India.
• Solar Parks in Pavagada (2 GW), Kurnool (1 GW) and Bhadla-II (648 MW) included in top 5 operational solar parks of 7 GW capacity in the country.
• The world’s largest renewable energy park of 30 GW capacity solar-wind hybrid project is under installation in Gujarat.
• India offers a great opportunity for investments in RE sector; $196.98 bn worth of projects underway in India.
• Wind Energy has an off-shore target of 30 GW by 2030 with 3 potential sites identified.

CAN INDIA DOUBLE ITS RENEWABLE ENERGY CAPACITY?

THE INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY (IEA) ANALYSIS

• Renewable energy will comprise 90 per cent of global electricity capacity expansion in the next five years and much of it will be in India, according to a new study by the autonomous intergovernmental organisation, International Energy Agency (IEA).
• With the addition of 145 gigawatt (GW), India is forecast to almost double its renewable power capacity over 2022-2027. Solar photovoltaic (PV) accounts for three-quarters of this growth, followed by onshore wind with 15 per cent and hydropower providing almost all the rest.
• The report said consistent policy support from the Indian government may enable this transition, particularly by promoting local manufacturing of solar modules. This is because there are bottlenecks in the supply chain from China.

CHALLENGES IN ENHANCING RENEWABLE ENERGY SHARE IN INDIA’S ENERGY MIX

India faces three principal challenges:

1. how to expand reliable energy access and use while maintaining affordability for consumers and financial stability for the DISCOMs?
2. how, at the same time, to integrate increasing shares of renewable energy in a secure and reliable manner?
3. how to reduce emissions to achieve ambitious social and climate objectives while meeting economic goals?

There are several other challenges that India faces in its efforts to move towards renewable energy:

• Financial constraints: The cost of renewable energy projects is still relatively high compared to traditional fossil fuels, and this can be a barrier to large-scale deployment of renewable energy in India.
  o A recent joint study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water and International Institute of Sustainable Development claims that subsidies for India’s renewable energy sector have decreased by 59 percent since 2017. This is when the government has increased taxes on solar products such as solar panels and modules and hiked the Basic Customs Duty on imports of solar and wind energy equipment to support the domestic sector.
• Transmission and distribution infrastructure: India’s power transmission and distribution infrastructure is not well-equipped to handle the integration of large amounts of renewable energy into the grid.
• Land acquisition: Acquiring land for renewable energy projects can be difficult and time-consuming in India, which can slow down the development of these projects.
  o This issue is further highlighted in case of land intensive projects like wind energy generation. Issues like multiplicity of land owners too, brings new challenges to such projects.
• Skilled workforce: There is a shortage of skilled workers in the renewable energy sector in India, which can make it difficult for projects to be completed on time and on budget.
• Lack of storage solutions: The lack of storage solutions for renewable energy can make it difficult to ensure a stable and reliable power supply.
• Policy and regulatory challenges: Despite the government’s efforts to promote renewable energy, there are still challenges with policy and regulations that can make it difficult for developers to navigate the process of building renewable energy projects in India. For instance, the pandemic has affected the financial viability of the electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs), which were already struggling with mounting debts and a liquidity crunch.
  o The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy recently released a new draft policy which aims for replacing the old and ageing wind turbines of small size and lesser energy potential with modern higher efficient wind turbines to maximize the potential of wind energy in India. However, in case of mismatch between energy demand and supply, such policies may become redundant.
  o For example, till 2018 Gujarat was the only state to have a dedicated policy on repowering wind energy plants.
• Socio-economic challenges: Renewable energy projects may face resistance from local communities and farmers who may be affected by land acquisition and displacement.
  o Also, a zero-carbon electricity system needs to be cheaper than the current coal-based system to be economically viable and would need to be backed by robust storage technologies.
  o India’s dependence on coal can be gauged from the fact that owing to the shortage of the fossil fuel in thermal plants, Coal India, the country’s largest producer, was in 2022 was forced to import 8 million tonnes of coal for this fiscal.
• Impact on Environment: While RE generation is zero-carbon (barring some biofuels), there are emissions at other points of its lifecycle, such as during raw material extraction and equipment manufacturing. There are also RE’s detrimental impacts on biodiversity and ecology.
• The issue of variable Renewable energy penetration: Renewable energy penetration is highly variable by state in India. The share of solar and wind in India’s ten renewables-rich states (Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab and Kerala) is significantly higher than the national average of 8.2%.
  o Solar and wind account for around 29% of annual electricity generation in Karnataka, 20% in Rajasthan, 18% in Tamil Nadu and 14% in Gujarat (financial year [FY] 2020/21).
  o India’s renewables-rich states already have a higher share of variable renewable energy (VRE) than most countries internationally. As a result, many states are already facing system integration challenges.

HOW GOI IS RESPONDING TOWARDS THE RENEWABLE ENERGY PUSH?

The Government of India has taken several steps to promote the production and usage of renewable energy in the country, including:

• Setting targets: The government has set ambitious targets for increasing the share of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix. For example, The country’s vision is to achieve Net Zero Emissions by 2070.
• Financial incentives: The government has implemented various financial incentives such as subsidies, tax breaks, and low-interest loans to encourage the development of renewable energy projects.
  o The duty on imports was increased to 40 per cent for PV modules from 15 per cent and to 25 per cent for solar cells in April 2022. The report said this is expected to add 16 GW of PV capacity, 60 per cent higher than last year. This was done to reduce dependence on China and increase domestic manufacturing.
• Policies and regulations: The government has implemented policies and regulations such as the National Solar Mission, the National Wind Energy Mission, and the National Bioenergy Mission, which aim to promote the development of renewable energy projects.
  o The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme sanctioned 9 GW of PV manufacturing capacity to provide an ecosystem of local manufacturing. This programme aims to expand India’s solar PV cell and module manufacturing capacity to over 70 GW in this decade, including 29 GW of manufacturing capacity fully integrated across the whole supply chain, the report said.
• Transmission infrastructure: The government has initiated efforts to improve the transmission infrastructure to better integrate renewable energy into the grid.
• R&D: The government has also invested in research and development to promote innovation and cost reduction in the renewable energy sector. Biomass power/co-generation programme since mid-nineties. For example, India has co-fired biomass in thermal plants across the country to reduce its CO2 footprint in thermal power generation. Over 800 biomass power and bagasse/non-bagasse cogeneration projects have been installed in the country for feeding power to the grid.
• Capacity building: The government has implemented several programs to train and skill workers in the renewable energy sector. This is made possible through several decades of extensive scientific research and technology development. For example, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) was founded in the 1950s to secure the country’s long-term energy independence. Today, India is the only developing nation with indigenously developed, demonstrated and deployed nuclear reactors for electricity generation.
• Procurement: The government also purchases power from renewable energy sources under the Renewable Purchase Obligation and Renewable Energy Certificates policy which makes it mandatory for certain sector to source a portion of their energy requirements from renewable energy sources.
• International cooperation: Government of India also signed agreements and MoUs with various countries and international organizations to enhance cooperation in the field of renewable energy. For example, having achieved large-scale success in solar energy solutions, India has spearheaded the International Solar Alliance (ISA) which is an action-oriented, member-driven, collaborative platform for increased deployment of solar energy technologies.

These steps, along with private sector investment, have helped to drive the growth of renewable energy in India, but more work needs to be done to fully meet the country’s renewable energy goals.

THE WAY FORWARD

• The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF)’s report on Green Recovery Through Renewables mentions that as part of the green recovery package, the priorities should be fourfold:
  o focusing on job creation
  o injecting liquidity for financial relief
  o enhancing economic competence for improved trade prospects
  o ensuring a green energy transition
• Improving transmission infrastructure: The government should invest in upgrading the transmission and distribution infrastructure to better integrate renewable energy into the grid and improve the overall reliability of the power supply.
• Variability matching: To match the variable demand and achieve maximum efficiency in energy utilization, it is imperative to find the sectors having the largest energy consumption and match them with production sources. For example, the agriculture sector needs to be incentivised to draw power at the off-peak hours, to offset the load of peak requirement in household and industry.
• Garnering global support: India is currently chairing the G20 grouping which is by far a group of the world’s most powerful nations. India should use such platforms to arouse the global community for taking actions towards feeing the gaps in renewable energy finance and technology transfer.

THE CONCLUSION: As a developing nation at the time of Independence, India relied heavily on coal to meet its energy demands. However, India has always been committed to looking for more alternative energy sources for sustainable development. There should be transformative policies to accentuate sustainable renewable energy production in addition to a regulated and well-contemplated attenuation in fossil fuel consumption. The future should only have legitimate actions by the government towards fulfilling its targets regarding renewable energy.

Questions:

• “With the global average temperature expected to rise in the times to come, a pivotal move to bend the global emissions curve becomes imperative.” In this context, the renewable energy (RE) transition is vital to building a resilient and secure future energy system in India. Discuss.
• “India’s ambitious renewable energy targets need a concentrated and sustained effort in the times to come.” Examine critically in the context of challenges faced by India in enhancing renewable energy outreach.