Article
Uploaded by
Trisha SinghArticle
Uploaded by
Trisha SinghRenewal Energy – Latest Capacity
Addition and Planning in India
India is endowed with vast solar energy potential. About 5,000 trillion kWh
per year energy is incident over India’s land area with most parts
receiving 4-7 kWh per sq. m per day.
The Government is committed to increased use of clean energy sources and is
already undertaking various large-scale sustainable power projects and promoting
green energy heavily The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set an
ambitious target to set up renewable energy capacities to the tune of 227 GW by
2022, of which about 114 GW is planned for solar, 67 GW for wind and other for
hydro and bio among other. India’s renewable energy sector is expected to attract
investment worth US$ 80 billion in the next four years. About 5,000 Compressed
Biogas plants will be set up across India by 2023.
The Government of India is aiming to achieve 227 GW of renewable energy capacity
by 2022, much ahead of its target 175 GW as per the Paris Agreement
A total of 8.6GW of renewable energy (RE) capacity – 7.6GW of which was solar –
was installed in the first seven months of FY2021/22. This is a material uplift
compared to year-on-year renewable installs of 5.7GW in FY2019/20 and 2.6GW in
FY2020/21
Thermal capacity, on the other hand, has seen net negative additions on the grid
during the same period, with 2.1GW of coal-fired capacity added versus 2.4GW
retired by October 2021.
India’s climate action pledges received a mixed reaction at COP26. The near-term
target for 50% of power capacity from clean energy sources won plaudits, while the
lack of a concrete plan to phase out coal power generation capacity left many
dissatisfied. However, India has committed to a phase down of coal-fired power
plants. This is a big commitment from a developing country with huge ambitions for
economic growth and to meet other social objectives such as energy security and
job opportunities.
To meet the mega target of 450GW of renewable energy capacity (500GW including
large hydro) by 2030, annual capacity installs will have to accelerate to ~35GW.
This requires massive investment not storage.
Renewable energy has assessed the Country’s solar potential of about 748 GW
assuming 3% of the waste land area to be covered by Solar PV modules. Solar
energy has taken a central place in India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change
with National Solar Mission as one of the key Missions. National Solar Mission (NSM)
was launched on 11th January, 2010. NSM is a major initiative of the Government of
India with active participation from States to promote ecological sustainable growth
while addressing India’s energy security challenges. It will also constitute a major
contribution by India to the global effort to meet the challenges of climate change.
The Mission’s objective is to establish India as a global leader in solar energy by
creating the policy conditions for solar technology diffusion across the country as
quickly as possible. The Mission targets installing 100 GW grid-connected solar
power plants by the year 2022. This is line with India’s Intended Nationally
Determined Contributions(INDCs) target to achieve about 40 percent cumulative
electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources and to
reduce the emission intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 percent from 2005 level by
2030.
There has been a visible impact of solar energy in the Indian energy scenario during
the last few years. Solar energy based decentralized and distributed applications
have benefited millions of people in Indian villages by meeting their cooking,
lighting and other energy needs in an environment friendly manner. The social and
economic benefits include reduction in drudgery among rural women and girls
engaged in the collection of fuel wood from long distances and cooking in smoky
kitchens, minimization of the risks of contracting lung and eye ailments,
employment generation at village level, and ultimately, the improvement in the
standard of living and creation of opportunity for economic activities at village level.
Further, solar energy sector in India has emerged as a significant player in the grid
connected power generation capacity over the years. It supports the government
agenda of sustainable growth, while, emerging as an integral part of the solution to
meet the nation’s energy needs and an essential player for energy security.
In order to achieve the above target, Government of India have launched various
schemes to encourage generation of solar power in the country like Solar Park
Scheme, VGF Schemes, CPSU Scheme, Defense Scheme, Canal bank & Canal top
Scheme, Bundling Scheme, Grid Connected Solar Rooftop Scheme etc.
Various policy measures undertaken included declaration of trajectory for
Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) including Solar, Waiver of Inter State
Transmission System (ISTS) charges and losses for inter-state sale of solar and wind
power for projects to be commissioned up to March 2022, Must run status,
Guidelines for procurement of solar power though tariff based competitive bidding
process, Standards for deployment of Solar Photovoltaic systems and devices,
Provision of roof top solar and Guidelines for development of smart cities,
Amendments in building bye-laws for mandatory provision of roof top solar for new
construction or higher Floor Area Ratio, Infrastructure status for solar projects,
Raising tax free solar bonds, Providing long tenor loans from multi-lateral agencies,
etc.
Recently, India achieved 5th global position in solar power deployment by
surpassing Italy. Solar power capacity has increased by more than 11 times in the
last five years from 2.6 GW in March,2014 to 30 GW in July, 2019. Presently, solar
tariff in India is very competitive and has achieved grid parity.
Sources: https://mnre.gov.in/solar/current-status
https://m-economictimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/m.economictimes.com/
industry/renewables/view-indias-renewable-energy-capacity-additions-could-reach-
highest-level-of-5-years/amp_articleshow/88270357.cms?
amp_js_v=a6&_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQKKAFQArABIIACAw%3D
%3D#aoh=16448449333883&referrer=https%3A%2F
%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F
%2Fm.economictimes.com%2Findustry%2Frenewables%2Fview-indias-renewable-
energy-capacity-additions-could-reach-highest-level-of-5-year
https://www.ibef.org/industry/renewable-energy.aspx#:~:text=The%20Ministry
%20of%20New%20and%20Renewable%20Energy%20(MNRE)%20has%20set,hydro
%20and%20bio%20among%20other.
