India hails ‘milestone’ for renewable energy capacity, challenges remain

The Indian government has said that the country’s installed renewable energy capacity has “passed the 100 gigawatt mark”.

In a tweet Thursday, RK Singh, India’s Minister of Energy, described the news as “another milestone” in the history of the country’s power sector.

The figure, which excludes large hydropower plants, represents the latest development in India’s attempt to reach 450 GW of renewable capacity – which refers to the maximum amount the facilities can produce, not necessarily what they currently produce – by 2030.

Along with this target, India has said it wants to reach 175 GW of renewable capacity by 2022, a major challenge given the significant expansion that is still needed.

Indeed, while the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen to highlight India’s progress in increasing renewable energy capacity, the country has its work cut out for decarbonization.

“India is the third largest emitter of CO2 in the world, despite low CO2 emissions per capita,” according to the India Energy Outlook 2021 report from the International Energy Agency. “The carbon intensity of its electricity sector in particular is well above the world average,” adds the report.

The IEA report, which was released earlier this year, said coal remains “the backbone of India’s energy economy, accounting for 44% of the primary energy mix.”

Despite the above, there is also potential when it comes to developing renewable energies on a large scale.

In a preface to the IEA report, Executive Director Fatih Birol described the “growth of India’s renewable energy sector” as “very impressive”.

The country, he said, “is poised to become the world leader in areas such as solar power and batteries over the next decades.”

Beyond solar, wind represents another development opportunity. In June, a report by the Global Wind Energy Council and MEC Intelligence, a research and advisory firm, said India is expected to add nearly 20.2 GW of new wind power capacity between 2021 and 2025.

The so-called green hydrogen is another area that has generated interest. Its potential was highlighted last December in a report by the New Delhi-based Energy and Resources Institute.

“To date, almost all of the hydrogen consumed in India comes from fossil fuels,” said TERI’s report, titled “The Potential Role of Hydrogen in India”.

“However, by 2050 almost 80% of India’s hydrogen is expected to be ‘green’ – produced by renewable electricity and electrolysis,” he added.

In the medium term, TERI said the cost of hydrogen from renewables would drop by more than 50% by 2030, allowing it to “start competing with hydrogen produced from fossil fuels.”