India has 165 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity already in place and needs another additional investment of around $300 billion to complete its 500 gigawatt target by 2030, says a recent report. The country is on track to meeting its goal of having 50 per cent of its energy needs through the green portfolio. The Arthur D Little (ADL) report titled ‘Powering India’s Energy Vision 2030’ states that to accelerate India’s power sector growth, private companies and governments must work with each other in executing a holistic transformation.
A rise in adoption of renewable energy, especially green hydrogen with effective storage solutions, tapping into tech like as carbon capture, smart meters, smart grids with robust data management systems, and enabling efficient price discovery via power exchanges will be the future of India’s power sector. The report also suggests a multi-pronged approach involving financial support from the government, policy reforms, judicial reforms and technology integration at the Central, State, and Local levels while targeting the entire value chain.
According to Barnik Chitran Maitra, Managing Partner, Arthur D. Little, India & South Asia, India is establishing itself as a reliable energy exporter at the global level and is at the cusp of attaining self-sufficiency in electricity generation.
As per the study, India’s electricity consumption is all set to grow at a yearly rate of 5.4 per cent over the next decade and we will see the annual demand rising up to 2300 Bus by 2030. At the current rate, generation will reach only 2024 BUs by 2030, highlighting the need for reforms in capacity addition. Maitra added saying that tactical capacity augmentation projects and financial assistance to private distributors through tax rebates and conducive loan structures is the way to go to revive and boost the power sector. To speed up adoption, India can also focus on developing solar and wind generation capacities. Government initiatives like rooftop solar program, national hydrogen mission and PM KUSUM have set the foundation for transitioning towards renewables, the country is still a long way from realizing the targeted benefits of these schemes.