Renewable Energy Sources:
Indian renewable energy sector is
the fourth most attractive renewable energy market in the world. India was
ranked fourth in wind power, fifth in solar power and fourth in renewable power
installed capacity, as of 2020.
Installed renewable power
generation capacity has gained pace over the past few years, posting a CAGR of
17.33% between FY16-20. With the increased support of the Government and
improved economics, the sector has become attractive from investors’ perspective.
As India looks to meet its energy demand on its own, which is expected to reach
15,820 TWh by 2040, renewable energy is set to play an important role. The
government is aiming to achieve 227 GW of renewable energy capacity (including
114 GW of solar capacity addition and 67 GW of wind power capacity) by 2022,
more than its 175 GW target as per the Paris Agreement. The government plans to
establish a renewable energy capacity of 523 GW (including 73 GW from Hydro) by
2030.
Market
Size
As of July 2021, India had 96.96 GW
of renewable energy capacity representing 25.2% of the overall installed
power capacity, providing a great opportunity for the expansion of green data
centers.
The country is targeting about 450
Gigawatt (GW) of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030 – about 280 GW
(over 60%) is expected from solar.
Installed renewable
power-generation capacity has increased at a fast pace over the past few years,
posting a CAGR of 15.51% between FY16 and FY21. India had 94.4 GW of renewable
energy capacity in FY21.
In July 2021, installed capacity of
hydro projects in India reached 46.3 GW, while capacity of small hydro plants
reached 4.8 GW.
By December 2019, 15,100 megawatts (MW) of wind power projects were issued, of which, projects of 12,162.50 MW capacity have already been awarded. Power generation from renewable energy sources in India reached 127.01 billion units (BU) in FY20.
With a potential capacity of 363 GW
and with policies focused on the renewable energy sector, Northern India is expected
to become the hub for renewable energy in India.
Road
Ahead
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. In addition,
renewable energy has the potential to create many employment opportunities at
all levels, especially in rural areas. 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. 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.
It is expected that by 2040, around
49% of the total electricity will be generated by renewable energy as more
efficient batteries will be used to store electricity, which will further cut
the solar energy cost by 66% as compared to the current cost. Use of renewables
in place of coal will save India’s Rs. 54,000 crore (US$ 8.43 billion)
annually. Renewable energy will account for 55% of the total installed power
capacity by 2030.
As per the Central Electricity
Authority (CEA) estimates, by 2029-30, the share of renewable energy generation
would increase from 18% to 44%, while that of thermal power is expected to
reduce from 78% to 52%.
According to the year-end review
(2020) by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, another 49.59 GW of
renewable energy capacity is under installation and an additional 27.41 GW of
capacity has been tendered. This puts the total capacity of renewable energy
projects (already commissioned or in the pipeline) at 167 GW.
The Government of India wants to
develop a ‘green city’ in every state of the country, powered by renewable
energy. The ‘green city’ will mainstream environment-friendly power through
solar rooftop systems on all its houses, solar parks on the city’s outskirts,
and electric mobility-enabled public transport systems.
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