India's Emission Reduction through Renewable Energy Transition
Around 80% of global energy and 66% of electricity production come from using fossil fuels, contributing to nearly 60% greenhouse gas emissions which are responsible for human-driven climate change.
Transition to clean energy is a necessity nowadays and taking place in many countries around the world. Energy transition is crucial to combat the threat of climate change and environmental degradation.
Renewable energy is the energy that is derived from natural sources such as solar and wind which are replenished faster than they are consumed. The main reason for production of renewable energy is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and eventually stop climate change.
On the other hand, fossil fuels– coal, oil and gas - are non-renewable sources of energy. Replenishment of these sources is very slow. If they were consumed, it would take hundreds of millions of years to replenish. When fossil fuels are burned, they produce energy and also release harmful greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere contributing significantly to climate change and global warming.
Transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is the key to address the climate change crisis around the world. India is working towards energy transition in various sectors such as transport, electricity, agriculture, cooking, and industries.
Effectiveness of renewable energy depends upon how the resources are being used. Some renewable resources are more readily and effective than others. For example, solar energy is of great use in countries located in the tropical zone.
Renewable energy is essential for a low-carbon and sustainable energy future.
Types of Renewable Energy
Solar Energy
Solar energy is the most abundant energy resource.
Solar technologies convert sunlight into electricity either through photovoltaic cells (also called as PV cells or solar cells) or through mirrors that concentrate solar radiation. Solar PV is the fastest growing technology. Rooftop panels can provide electricity to homes. Solar farms use mirrors to concentrate the sunlight, and can create much larger supplies.
Solar energy can be harnessed anywhere in the world that receives sunlight; however, the amount of solar energy that can be used to generate electricity depends on the time of day, the geographic location, and the weather.
Not all countries are equally endowed with sunlight. The countries in the tropical region, particularly near the Equator, are rich in solar energy as rays from the Sun directly fall on this region.
Wind Energy
Wind energy can be harnessed from the kinetic energy of moving air by using wind turbines. The blades of turbines are driven around by wind and driving a turbine generates power. Nowadays, turbines are located both onshore and offshore. Offshore wind power offers tremendous potential.
Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy utilizes accessible thermal energy from the interior of the earth. Geothermal energy may be utilized to directly heat houses or generate electricity by harnessing the natural heat found under the surface of the Earth.
Hydropower
Hydropower harnesses the energy of water moving over gradients and can be generated from reservoirs and rivers. In rivers, the run-of-river hydropower plants produce electricity by using fast-running water of rivers and in reservoirs, the stored water falls down and drives turbines which generate electricity.
Hydropower or hydroelectric power, one of the oldest and largest sources of renewable energy, uses the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of water sources to produce electricity.
Biomass Energy
Bioenergy can be generated by using organic materials of plants and animals such as crops, trees, and wood.
Biomass produces electricity at a much lower economical and environmental cost by converting domestic, agriculture and industrial waste into solid, liquid, and gas fuel.
India has co-fired biomass in thermal power plants to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions in thermal power generation. With the help of evolving technologies, thermal power plants have economically viable and energy-efficient operations.
Tidal energy
Tidal energy, another form of hydro energy, can use tidal currents twice a day to run turbines. Tidal flow is not constant like other hydro sources, but highly predictable, therefore it can compensate for the periods when tidal flow is low.
India's Pledge To Renewable Energy
India has set the targets of 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022 at the COP21 which was later increased to 227 GW by 2022. This includes nearly 113 GW from solar power, 66 GW from wind power, 10 GW from biomass power, 5 GW from small hydro and 31 GW from floating solar and offshore wind power.
At COP26, India again revised the target to 500 GW renewable energy by 2030. India's commitment to ensure half of its electricity or generate 500 GW by 2030 from renewable energy sources can create about 3.4 million jobs both temporary and permanent. Solar and wind energy systems have huge potential for employment.
Under the Paris Agreement, India had pledged to reduce the emissions intensity of GDP by 33-35% by 2030 and create an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent through planting additional forest cover by 2030.
India has already achieved its targets of reducing emission intensity by 33% between 2005 to 2019, 11 years before the deadline. India further revised its target to lower emission intensity of GDP by 45% by 2030.
India’s renewable energy capacity was now the fourth largest in the world. At COP-27, India has announced its long-term strategy to transition to low emissions pathways.
Nationally Determined Contributions
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are voluntary commitments made by countries to reduce emissions by a fixed number relative to a date in the past to achieve long-term goal of climate change of preventing global temperature rising beyond 1.5 or 2 degree Centigrade by end of the century.
The NDC target set in 2015 to generate 40% of the installed (generation) capacity from non-fossil fuel sources and reduce emissions intensity of GDP by 33-35% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) by 2030 has been achieved well ahead of the target year and the NDCs have been updated in 2022.
There are India's updated NDCs to be achieved by 2030.
- India commits to ensure half of its energy (electricity) requirement to be fulfilled by non-fossil fuel sources.
- To create a net carbon sink that can sequester 2.5-3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by increasing forest and tree cover by 2030.
- To cut down carbon emissions by 45% by 2030.
To fulfill its NDCs, India largely depends on solar power and can exploit solar energy to large amounts due to its unique geographical location, tropical and subtropical, where plenty of sunlight falls. That's why solar power is at the core of the energy transformation of India. India will source nearly 60% of its renewable energy from solar power.
As a developing country, India can lower its per capita emission through energy efficiency policies and India can decarbonise the energy sector by using renewable energy sources.
India's priority should be to minimize loss and damages in terms of life, livelihood and biodiversity while equally focusing on adaptation and mitigation.
Government Schemes for Renewable Energy
The Union Cabinet has approved 19,500 crore under PLI scheme to incentivise domestic manufacturing of solar cell modules with a target to create 65 GW renewable energy capacity (or manufacturing capacity). This helps to reduce industry's reliance on china-made panels.
The Central Government of India and many state governments have launched various schemes by recognizing the fact that electric mobility offers a feasible alternative for energy transition in the transport sector. The key initiatives of governments are : FAME-I and FAME-II, jumping to Bharat Stage-VI emissions in order to increase fuel efficiency, ethanol blending in petrol with a aim of 20% blending by 2025-26, and others.
Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) aims to promote Electric Vehicles (EVs) in the country by offering incentives for purchasing electric and hybrid vehicles.
Other initiatives such as PM KUSUM in agriculture and UJJWALA scheme for cooking in the rural areas are bringing out a holistic energy transition within the country.
The PM KUSUM scheme aims to help farmers to access solar energy by incentivising them to install solar panels on their arid land in order to exploit solar energy for irrigation, thereby reducing power subsidies and decarbonising agriculture. Farmers can also sell surplus generated electricity to the grid and can augment their income.
It is mandated that large electricity consumers (big industries) in the country must fulfill 30% of their electricity needs from renewable energy sources.
57 solar parks with aggregate capacity of 39,285 MW under the Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects scheme has been approved till 2022 by the Government of India.
The Rewa solar project is the first in the nation to break the grid parity barrier and is being touted as the largest solar project in Asia.
Green Energy Corridor
The Green Energy Corridors are being set up to fulfill India's pledge announced at Glasgow during COP26 conference to ensure half of its energy demand from renewable energy sources and to increase energy capacity to 500 GW from non-fossil fuels by 2030.
The Green Energy Corridor (GEC) aims to synchronize electricity generated from renewable energy sources with conventional power plants in the grid.
Basically, Green Energy Corridor facilitates transmission of renewable energy produced in the areas endowed with plenty of renewable resources such as solar and wind to the deficit one in the country. For that purpose the Inter-State Transmission System (InSTS) project has been approved.
Green Energy Corridors are being set up in two phases in the country.
First phase of GEC would supply 24 GW renewable energy to the national grid by 2022 and the second phase of GEC is aimed to supply 20 GW renewable energy.
First phase of GEC is being implemented in 8 states of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
The 2nd phase of GEC would be implemented in the 7 states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The Government of India funds 40% of the total cost of the projects, the State Government shares only 20% of the cost and the rest 40% would be funded through a loan from KfW bank, Germany. It is about the 1st phase of GEC.
In the 2nd phase, the GoI would bear only 33% of the total cost of the GEC project.
Solar Energy Policy 2022 of Uttar Pradesh government is aimed at generating 16000 MW renewable energy by 2026-27 through the development of solar parks, small decentralized grid-connected solar power plants, solar installations along expressways and railway tracks and strengthening transmission network by creation of Green Energy Corridor in the Bundelkhand region in order to evacuate solar projects.
The solar park of 4000 MW renewable energy is being set up on the barren land of the Bundelkhand region.
The state of UP has no projects under the GEC-I.
Challenges To Solar Power Projects
High cost of solar panels (modules) is the major challenge to solar power production in India as Polysilicon is the necessary component to make solar modules and India till now does not have manufacturing facilities for polysilicon and for that India relies on China.
Land acquisition is also a major bottleneck in development of solar parks.
The intermittent nature of renewable sources of energy is a major bottleneck which leads to grid instability. The future of renewable energy can be secured only if power generated by solar and wind energy systems can be stored (in batteries) and made available on demand.
Despite all these challenges, renewable energy is growing at a faster pace and wind turbines and solar PV systems account for most of the new power plants all around the world.
Suggestions
Priority should be given to Agrivoltaics or Agri PV in which land used for both the agriculture and solar energy production, floating solar, building integrated PV, waste-to-energy, biopower, and expanding the production-linked incentive scheme to cover the entire value chain of solar panels, mirrors for solar thermal.
Implementation of Rooftop Solar systems over one crore low- and middle- income households for providing free electricity of 300 units is an example of recalibration of scheme that requires acceleration.
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