Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency

Electricity distribution utilities drive the expansion of energy access and the transition to clean energy. With the COVID-19 pandemic deteriorating the financial health of utilities, measures at operational, institutional, financial, and commercial levels should be initiated to make utilities economically sound and future-ready.

The 2015 Paris Agreement required countries to submit their long-term climate action strategies by 2020. At COP26, India made a surprise announcement of a target to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, which means it will aim to balance the amount of carbon dioxide emitted with the amount absorbed.

The year 2021 was a year of mixed fortunes. On the one hand, we witnessed India crossing 100 GW of installed renewable energy, while on the other, the pandemic took a toll on communities at large. Many of the efforts that had started at a good clip in early 2021 saw considerable slowing down mid-year due to the pandemic. The past year also had approximately 12GW of solar energy capacity installed, more than 250% compared to 2020.

India’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are 2.5 GtCO2 per year, which is very low compared to the highest emitting countries, such as the United States (10 GtCO2 per year) and China (5 GtCO2 per year). However, it is commendable that at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) held recently in Glasgow, India set ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions from its energy sector.

According to data from the International Energy Agency (2020) and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (2018), it is estimated that more than 90% of CO2 emissions from the transport sector is from road transport. The Government of India (GoI) has taken several steps to electrify the transport sector. In 2013, India expanded its decarbonisation vision by launching the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) for 2020.

At the recently concluded 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, India announced that it will raise its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030. Solar energy will play a key role in achieving this target. 

Mini-grids (MG) — the small power stations that are scaled-down versions of city power grids — are today recognised for their role in bringing reliability to power supply. They are also known for their inherent ability to utilise the abundant renewable energy (RE) present in India, and for providing a controllable and independent energy-service option to consumers. Mini-grids are crucial for creating a national-level distributed grid system too.

The Indian power ministry recently mandated periodic energy accounting to reduce electricity losses for distribution companies (DISCOMs). This move will help identify areas of high transmission and distribution (T&D) losses and theft and enable corrective action. It will also provide detailed information about electricity consumption by different consumer categories and will make DISCOM officials accountable for any losses and/or thefts falling under their purview.

In India, solar photovoltaics (PV), which is environmentally friendly and safer, is gaining popularity as a viable alternative to fossil fuels. With technological advancements in the last decade, India’s solar sector has made significant growth, with an installed capacity of 46.2 GW of the country’s total renewable energy (RE) capacity of 101.5 GW.

Over the last few years, the use of solar energy has increased considerably in India. While the overall installed solar capacity has increased by 17 times in the last seven years and stood at 47.7 GW as of October 2021, its share in the energy mix is just about 12 per cent, according to Central Energy Authority (CEA) data. This share is likely to increase in the future, considering the steady efforts from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) towards promoting clean energy technologies.