Renewable plans of India - Goal 2030

An insight into where India stands today on renewables, and what's the 2030 plan like.

Renewable plans of India - Goal 2030

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• The story: Depsite being a major producer and consumer of coal, no one can blame India for not being ambitous on renewable energy. Various solar and wind energy projects were launched in the past ten years, and the governments pushed new installed capacity creation hard.
• 2030 plans: At the COP26 summit in Glasgow, India's PM announced that the country would increase the installed capacity of renewables to 500 GW by 2030. While the government's earlier plan was to ramp up renewable capacity of 450 GW, another 50 GW has been added to the target.

1. Till date, India has been able to achieve only a fourth of this target. Renewable capacity addition as per CEA (Central Electricity Authority) data for September 2021 had crossed the 100 GW mark. India plans to reach half of its total renewables' potential capacity by 2030.
2. The PM also set a target of net-zero for 2070.

• What is potential RE capacity: Energy statistics by the ministry of statistics and planning (MoSPI) show that India had a potential renewable capacity of 1090 GW. The government claimed that it shall reach the 500 GW target by 2030, which would translate into achieving half of that potential within the next eight years.

1. India would need to install four times the capacity it has installed until now within the next eight years. It would also need to correct imbalances in installation so that just a few states do not exploit the potential.
2. In the case of wind, while India has reached 12.5 per cent of its potential, data indicates that three states contribute to most of India's wind power.
3. In terms of potential, Tamil Nadu has achieved 27.5 per cent of its wind power potential, whereas Madhya Pradesh has covered 24 per cent, and Rajasthan has achieved 22.9 per cent. The rest of the six states have utilised less than 12 per cent of their wind energy potential.
4. With respect to solar energy, of the 30 states for which data is available, only nine states have utilisation levels higher than the national average. Nationally, India has been able to utilise only 4.6 per cent of its solar potential.
5. Only four states—Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana—have achieved double-digit utilisation levels. For most of the North-eastern states, utilisation levels are negligible.

• Hydro and Nuclear: Although hydropower is not part of the government's plan, North-eastern states lag the rest of the country to develop small hydro projects. Similarly, for nuclear power, the installed capacity hasn't move anywhere from the near 7 GW it has been at, for decades now.
• Summary: Whether the government can achieve the 500 GW target or not, it needs to ensure that the development is not uneven.
• Knowledge centre:

1. Renewable energy - A renewable energy source means energy that is sustainable - something that can't run out, or is endless, like the sun. It means sources of energy that are alternative to the most commonly used non-sustainable sources - like coal and oil. RE is energy from sources that are naturally replenishing but flow-limited; renewable resources are virtually inexhaustible in duration but limited in the amount of energy that is available per unit of time. The major types are: Solar energy, Wind energy, Hydro energy, Tidal energy, Geothermal energy and Biomass energy.
2. Zero carbon energy - Nuclear-generated electricity isn't technically renewable but it's considered zero-carbon, which means its generation emits low levels or almost no CO2, just like renewable energy sources. Nuclear energy has a stable source, which means it's not dependent on the weather and will play a big part in getting Britain to net zero status.

• EXAM QUESTIONS: (1) Explain the overall gameplan of Indian policymakers, as far as Renewables are concerned. (2) Can a major push to renewables alone mitigate the worst impact of climate change? Explain. (3) What has India achieved so far on renewables front? Explain.

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