Three Trends will Fuel India’s Renewable energy in the Decade to come

India dropped its target of establishing 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, giving itself the flexibility of 50% power from non-fossil fuel sources by then in its commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This keeps India’s options open for new coal-based power plants in the projected 820 GW total capacity, if excess demand cannot be met from green fuels.

India’s announcement that it aims to reach net zero emissions by 2070 and to meet fifty percent of its electricity requirements from renewable energy sources by 2030 is a hugely significant moment for the global fight against climate change. India is pioneering a new model of economic development that could avoid the carbon-intensive approaches that many countries have pursued in the past and provide a blueprint for other developing economies.

The scale of transformation in India is stunning. Its economic growth has been among the highest in the world over the past two decades, lifting of millions of people out of poverty. Every year, India adds a city the size of London to its urban population, involving vast construction of new buildings, factories and transportation networks. Coal and oil have so far served as bedrocks of India’s industrial growth and modernisation, giving a rising number of Indian people access to modern energy services. This includes adding new electricity connections for 50 million citizens each year over the past decade. 

By 2026-27, our country’s power-generation installed capacity is likely to be close to 620 GW, of which 38% will be from coal and 44% from renewable energy sources.

The increased adoption of electric vehicles coupled with the rapid pace of industrialisation and the development of residential sectors will add considerably to the demand for power in the country. Here renewable energy will be an important part of the mix and help bridge the energy gap.

One, India will become a supplier and exporter to the world. With the incentives being provided by the government already, the manufacturing ecosystem is improving and we are likely to see India produce components for solar power, batteries, electric vehicles, green hydrogen, among others.

Two, we will see requirement of round-the-clock power solutions using only renewable energy as a way of easing its absorption by the grid. There will also be storage solutions using either batteries or other mechanisms.

Three, green hydrogen will emerge as an important instrument to decarbonise broader of the energy value chain, including in the corporate sector. A number of companies in the renewable power sector are likely to set up pilot scale plants in both India and other countries and will focus on achieving economies of scale through larger installations.