The global warming caused by Green House Gases or CO2 emissions has led to rising concern around the world; increasing the pressure to shift to clean energy. Energy transition is now on top of the international agenda. And India, thanks to the vision and determination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has emerged as a world leader in this. In COP 21 in Paris, India pledged that by 2030, 40% of its established capacity would come from non-fossil fuel sources.
In parallel, Prime Minister Modi announced that India will endeavour to establish 175 GW of Renewable Energy capacity by end of 2022 – this was almost about 5 times the existing Renewable Energy capacity in 2014; but we are close to achieving it. Our Renewable Energy capacity today is 147 GW (including hydro-power which is included in the RE basket the world over); and we have 63 GW under construction. This adds up to 210 GW. We are already a world leader in renewables. Bloomberg categorised us as the most attractive destination for investment in renewables in the world.
Boost for innovation
And we are innovating. We are adding the solar – wind – hybrid with storage. We have already had successful bids for Round The Clock Green Power and Peaking Power with Green Energy. We are shortly going to come out with a bid for 1000 MWH of battery storage. This is 2½ times the biggest established storage capacity in the world. We propose to set-up a 10,000 MW of Renewable Energy Park in Ladakh with 14,000 MW hrs of storage.
Bravo!
Indiais building the world biggest solar park. Pavagada will power 700 000 households. 14 other parks are in the pipeline.
— Erik Solheim (@ErikSolheim) December 17, 2019
In COP 21 in Paris, India had also pledged that it will bring down the emission intensity of its economy by 33% as compared to 2005 levels. We are well on our way to achieving this. Under the LED Programme (UJALA), over 1.15 billion LEDs have been sold since 2015, leading to a reduction of CO2 emissions by 171 million tonnes per annum. Under the PAT (Perform Achieve & Trade) – the Energy Efficiency Programme for Industry, we have achieved a reduction of CO2 emissions by 86 million tonnes per annum by 2020. Under our programme for energy efficiency in appliances – the star-rating programme, we have achieved a reduction of 53 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum. By 2019, we had already achieved an emission intensity reduction of almost 28%.
The strategy to offer a ‘plug-and-play’ model to developers via utility-scale solar parks, which provide ready access to land, grid and other infrastructure, has helped minimise uncertainties and shortened project commissioning timelines. Since 2015, the Government has sanctioned 47 solar parks in 15 states, with aggregate capacity of 37.7 GW, Karnataka’s 2 GW Pavagada Solar Park is among the largest in the world.
Farmers get energy and water security under PM-KUSUM
With PM-KUSUM, we’re aiming to power our agriculture sector by providing solar-based power to irrigate fields. India is progressively becoming a preferred destination for investment in renewables: PM @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/cmdolaIj9l
— BJP (@BJP4India) November 26, 2020
The PM-KUSUM Scheme, launched in March 2019, aims to add ~31 GW capacity through solar plants on barren / fallow / marshy land owned by farmers; replace 2 million diesel pumps with standalone solar pumps, and solarise 1.5 million grid-connected agri-pumps, using domestically made solar cells and modules. PM-KUSUM is providing energy and water security to farmers, de-dieselising the farm sector and enhancing farmers’ income through excess solar power sale. It will save ~32 million tonnes of CO2 emissions and 1.4 billion litres of diesel annually.
Solar Cities brighten scope for cleaner environment
On the urban side, the Solar Cities Programme aims to develop at least one solar city in state, to source all electricity from renewable. So far, 23 States / UTs have identified cities to be developed as Solar Cities.
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To promote domestic manufacturing and reduce import dependence for RE equipment, Production Linked Incentives were launched in 2021 to promote manufacturing of high efficiency solar PV modules, including the upstream verticals such as cells, wafers, ingots and polysilicon.
National Hydrogen Mission
Prime Minister of India, on August 15, 2021, announced the launch of the National Hydrogen Mission with a target to make India a global hub for production as well as exporting Green Hydrogen.
Green Hydrogen is set to provide India a quantum jump in the climate sector.
Today, I’m announcing the National Hydrogen Mission keeping climate change in mind. We have to make India a hub for production & export of Green Hydrogen: PM @narendramodi #IndiaIndependenceDay pic.twitter.com/SsSJJRLCz9
— BJP (@BJP4India) August 15, 2021
It is estimated that about 5.6 million metric tonnes (MMT) hydrogen is produced annually in India and consumed for various industrial purposes. Most of this hydrogen is currently sourced from fossil fuels. The hydrogen market is expected to double in size about 11 MMT per annum by 2030.
There is wide acceptance based on techno-economic trends that use of Green Hydrogen would achieve cost-competitiveness within a decade or so. It has the potential to enhance penetration of renewable energy in areas like long-range heavy-duty transportation and shipping. It can also replace fossil fuel based feed-stocks in sectors like fertilizers, petrochemicals, steel etc. It can be particularly useful in remote locations as a carrier of energy. The New and Renewable Energy Ministry is accordingly developing a draft National Hydrogen Energy Mission document. The broad vision is to develop indigenous capabilities and lower costs to speed up adoption of Green Hydrogen.
The proposed strategy is to create initial demand for Green Hydrogen through suitable mandates in sectors like fertilizer, refining and natural gas networks and simultaneously promoting indigenous manufacturing of electrolysers. This will enable economies of scale, facilitate technology development and accelerate cost reduction. The Mission would cover the key areas of creating demand and market instruments; developing indigenous manufacturing capacities, particularly in electrolysers; establishing facilitative policy and regulatory frameworks; building production and supply infrastructure; and carrying out R&D for green hydrogen.
One Sun-One World-One Grid initiative
The @isolaralliance will be @expo2020dubai in #IndiaPavilion on 6 & 7th of Oct showcasing #ISA‘s flagship initiative 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐧 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐝,
during the Climate & Biodiversity Week. We look forward to meet you in person after a long hiatus@mnreindia pic.twitter.com/t5LcYI8q3D
— International Solar Alliance (@isolaralliance) September 29, 2021
In order to help other countries achieve energy access, India founded the International Solar Alliance (ISA). Today, the ISA has 98 member countries working towards facilitating the deployment of 1,000 GW of Solar energy globally by 2030. In 2018, Prime Minister Modi proposed the One Sun-One World-One Grid initiative – a global Green Grid to deliver solar energy across borders.
UNEP honours PM Modi as Champion of the Earth
In 2018, the UN Environment Programme bestowed Prime Minister Modi with its top environmental honour, designating him a Champion of the Earth for his bold environmental leadership on the global stage, his championing of the ISA, and his commitment to eliminating single-use plastics in India.
In 2021, India was selected as a UN Global Champion for Energy Transition for its voluntary and action-oriented clean energy and climate action policies, and citizen-centric approach to sustainable development. We shall continue to remain at the forefront of energy transition; setting the pace for the rest of the world by what we do.
(RK Singh is the Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy)
