India doubled solar, wind use in electricity from 2017 figures: Report

Nagpur: Ahead of the G20 summit, a latest report comparing performance of five major economies has stated that India can become a showcase of successful net-zero development with additional financial investments.

According to the report ‘Competing in the new zero-carbon industrial era’ released by think tank Strategic Perspectives, India is making progress in incorporating solar and wind into its electricity generation, almost doubling its share from 2017 figures (5% to 9%). Comparing performance of the United States (US), China, the European Union (EU), India and Japan, the study found that net-zero transition policies have significantly strengthened competitiveness, energy security and future economic prosperity.

India has also performed well when it come to electric vehicle industry. While electric two-wheelers are expected to play a big part in the global EV market, India already had a fleet of 4 million EV two-wheelers in 2022, which is projected to rise to 6 million by 2024.

Highlighting another positive development, the report stated that India was among the few countries on track to meet its (NDC) target. “However, it will need to invest $12.7 trillion to reach net zero emission by 2050. The country remains one of the fastest growing major economies, especially as China’s post-pandemic recovery has slowed and India has become the fifth largest economy in the world,” the study added.

This G20, India is likely to push for the global green development agreement, which will include climate finance apart from the Lifestyle for Environment (LIFE) initiative, circular economy, accelerating progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), energy transitions and energy security.

Though the country is staring at some potential hurdles like less capital to spend on research and development (R&D), low per capita land availability, and mismatch between demand and supply of solar modules, experts said that the country still has significant potential to grow its importance in the global new industrial transition where it must scale up investments in R&D, and not solely rely on tech transfer and Chinese imports.

Stating that India, with its G20 presidency, holds responsibility to lead the growth in energy transition, director of Climate Trends Aarti Khosla said, “The significant progress in India towards green goals shows commitment to scaling up renewable energy, implementation across several state EV policies, and wins in energy efficiency. As a country which will witness massive industrial growth over the next few decades, it must focus on innovation, research and development, as well as creating an enabling environment that draws in faster investments whilst reducing dependence on China. Breaking down the sectors where clean technology can be game changing and ensuring upskilling of the systems and workforce is what will ensure real energy transition.”

The country is looking at massive requirements of deployment of renewable energy for decarbonisation of not just the power sector, said Vibhuti Garg, director (South Asia), the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). “The government has big plans for adding electric vehicles and also promoting green hydrogen as a clean energy solution for transport and other industries. Traditionally, India has been relying on imports of fossil fuels and now with a renewable energy growth story, relying on imports for downstream supply chains. The focus is shifting and we as a country are building a big base for domestic manufacturing of modules, cells, wafers, battery storage, electrolysers etc. and further looking at exploration and mining of critical minerals. India would need access to the best in technology for building the supply chain to improve efficiency of the products and more importantly access to low cost financing. The investments need to more than triple from the current levels if we have to achieve our 2030 targets.”