Energetica India Magazine -October 2020

sation and necessary energy reforms, and thanks to the efforts of successive governments for ensuring and deliver- ing complete access to electricity to India’s population since the year 2000, the quality of supply, however, still re- mains inadequate and questionable. If the extant policy framework is further strengthened and energy efficiency mechanisms are put in place, then as per the reports, by 2020, India can save around USD 190 billion per year against energy imports and can also avoid elec- tricity generation of 875 terawatt hours per year. The Government is no doubt implementing reforms towards a se- cure, affordable and sustainable ener- gy system to provide impetus for robust economic growth, but the need of the hour is major shift towards the renew- able sector with much more liberalized policies and less of bureaucracy and stiff compliances. India’s achievements in the last decade in accelerating renewable capacity ad- dition have been remarkable but still are not enough to satisfy the needs of most of its population. Liberal policies and easy governmental compliances for creating a friendly environment that attracts investments in renewable ener- gy sector is the need of the hour. Intro- duction of national competitive auctions for wind and solar is a welcome step in the right direction, but in order to further ensure advancement in the evolution of renewables, auction design, grid con- nections and the financial health of the power distribution companies are criti- cal foundations for reform. Today, renewables contribute a signifi - cant share to the electricity mix which is vital for efficient capacity utilisation. In the past, while hydropower used to be the dominant source of renewable elec- tricity in India, more and more impetus is now being given to more futuristic re- newable energy sources. With technol- ogy to boot, reports suggest that solar power has started to grow in the last few years (2007-16) by 64% per year on average, much ahead of wind energy @14%. Given that the growth in India’s economy has resulted in more energy consumption, offices across the coun - try adding to this number, solar power is expected to become a dependable and friendlier option for consumers, re- sultantly reducing India’s dependence on coal. Development and generation of more solar power means less consumption of fossil fuels and consequently a reduc- tion in carbon emissions. Additionally, wind solar hybrid, although in a nascent stage, is fast becoming the favoured renewable energy option with the Min- istry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) having adopted the National Wind Solar Hybrid Policy in 2018. The policy seeks to promote hybridisation of wind and solar energy. India, albeit, has been leading the world on this front as it has set itself the milestone of 175 giga- watts (GW) of renewable capacity by the year 2022. This ambitious target is a clear expression of India’s efforts and pledge to take actions and attack global climate changes. The milestone set above also needs to be viewed under the lens of accelerat- ing India’s transition of energy from fos- sil fuels and towards renewable sources of energy. Over the past year, India’s en- ergy demand has gradually increased in agriculture, industry, commercial and residential sectors and further prog- ress is on the anvil. Renewable ener- gy sources that self-replenish at much faster rate than its rate of consumption, proves itself to be the answer of all hu- man energy needs in the near future. In fact, the IEA analysis illustrates that in 2018, India’s investment in solar was greater than in all fossil fuel sources of electricity generation combined. In fact, USD 1.8 billion of investments was done in the renewable energy sector in India during Q1 of 2020, as per the media reports. Energy efficiency is receiving more attention in India than ever with standards and codes being set for the consumption across the sectors. The NITI Aayog and Rocky Mountain Insti - tute released ‘Towards a Clean Energy Economy: Post-Covid-19 Opportunities for India’s Energy and Mobility Sectors’ report, which inter alia seeks for a spur in the enterprises towards building a clean, robust, and minimal cost energy future for India. Renewable energy has become one of the most important areas of discussions and deliberations as it provides a cer- tain degree of optimism to the world and in all probabilities shall govern the future energy needs of the world by proving to be economically viable. Harnessing the energy available naturally is a challenge but we are arriving at the point of em- bracing it and making robust decisions for our environment. POWER SECTOR 59 energetica INDIA- October_2020