India’s RE May Fall Short Of 2030 Target By 104 GW: GlobalData

A new report has predicted that current growth trend of renewable energy production may pull India 104 GW short of the 2030 renewables target. 2030 RE target requires India, according to GlobalData, to add more than 38 GW of renewable capacity every year from 2022 to 2030. Ironically, Central Electricity Authority has predicted that India will have the luxury of excess energy in ’22-23. India aims to increase non-fossil power capacity to 500 GW and meet 50% of the country’s electricity needs through renewables by 2030.

A recent news report on July 18 has quoted Attaurrahman Ojindaram Saibasan, a power analyst at GlobalData, as saying, “India is already focusing on rooftop solar installations along with large ground-mounted solar PV projects. As part of the plan, India approved 45 solar parks with a total capacity of 37 GW under its solar park scheme in September 2021. India is situated in a solar belt and gets a significant amount of solar diffused horizontal irradiance and global horizontal irradiance. The top solar power-rich states are Rajasthan, Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra. Regulatory bodies in India have drafted attractive policies and schemes to boost the renewable energy sector. For instance, the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) provides custom and excise duty benefits to the solar rooftop sector to propel growth.”

Although India may achieve the 2022 target of renewables including hydropower, yet the solar-specific target is unlikely to be achieved, falling short of the 2030 target. The focus of India’s renewable projects is more on solar than offshore wind, waking up to hydropower of late.

A new hydropower policy has been drafted for 2018-28 to explore the potential for large projects. Other essential support schemes in this direction encompass accelerated depreciation, excise duty exemptions to manufacturers, concessional import duties on certain components of wind electricity generators, and a tax holiday on income generated from wind power projects. These are touted to aid participation from the private sector in renewable power projects.

Saibasan from GlobalData stressed the importance of easing approval processes, pre-identifying land spaces for the development of renewable power, enhancing the grid to connect renewable power plants seamlessly, and investing in battery storage besides micro-grids in remote areas to drive capacity additions in the future. There is nothing new that has not been said before. But old habits die hard. delayed auctions, weak the RPS enforcement mechanism leave much to be desired.