India can raise its renewable energy use to meet a quarter of the
country's total final energy demand by 2030, according to the
findings of a report presented today by the International
Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Renewable energy
prospects for India, a study from IRENA’s REmap programme,
outlines action areas that can unlock India’s vast renewable
energy potential, ensure clean and sustainable energy for
generations to come, and enable the country to fulfill its
pledges under the Paris Climate Agreement.
Renewable energy prospects for India describes how
solar energy will play a vital role representing the second
largest source of renewable energy use with 16 per cent, followed
by wind at 14 per cent, and hydropower at 7 per cent of the
country’s total final renewable energy use by 2030. Biofuels —
which can be used across the end demand spectrum, such as for
transport, electricity generation and heating — would account for
62 per cent. The country could potentially increase its share of
renewable power generation to over one-third by 2030.
“With one of the world's largest and most ambitious renewable
energy programmes, India is taking a leading role in the energy
transformation both regionally and globally,” said IRENA
Director-General Adnan Z. Amin. “India possesses a wealth of
renewable resources, particularly for solar and bioenergy
development, which can help meet growing energy demand, power
economic growth and improve energy access, as well as boost
overall energy security.”
Increasing renewable energy deployment could save the economy
twelve times more than its costs by the year 2030, creating jobs,
reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and ensuring cleaner air and
water, with savings on health-related costs. Furthermore, the
renewable energy technologies identified in the report would
lower the demand for coal and oil products between 17 per cent
and 23 per cent by 2030, compared to a business as usual
scenario.
“Balancing economic growth and development, environmental
protection, and energy security is a real challenge in India that
can be tackled by enabling more renewable energy deployment,”
said Dolf Gielen, Director of Innovoation and Technology at
IRENA.
“Through this report we have attained a better understanding of
India’s renewable energy potential, that can assist in guiding
the country’s energy policy in a way that is both economically
and envionrmentally attractive,” Gielen added at the World
Renewable Energy Technology Congress in New Delhi today, where he
presented the main findings.
Meeting India’s electricity demand, which has grown by 10 per
cent a year over the past decade, and attaining the
country's economic growth targets will require significant
investments in power-generation capacity and related
infrastructure, and in transport, buildings and industry sectors,
creating important opportunities for renewable energy deployment.
IRENA’s report shows that investments in renewable energy
capacity must more than double to make the most of India’s
potential. Mobilising affordable financing and adapting new
business models will be essential to achieve this. India will
also need to accelerate the transformation of its power system to
integrate higher shares of renewables by strengthening
transmission grids, reducing grid losses, and in general
improving the resilience of the power system by investing in more
flexible system that values demand-response, interconnectors and
storage, as well as greater transport and power-sector synergies.
India’s population and economic growth, combined with
accelerating urbanisation, is expected to increase the number of
people living in cities and towns from approximately 435 million
in 2015 to 600 million by 2030. In addition, estimates suggest
that 80 million households — roughly 300 million people — have
limited or no access to electricity. Renewables can improve
energy access for poor communities and bolster energy security
through diversified, and largely indigenous, sources of supply.
Renewable energy prospects: India REmap analysis is
part of IRENA’s renewable energy roadmap programme, REmap, which
determines the potential for countries, regions and the world to
scale up renewables to ensure an affordable and sustainable
energy future. The roadmap focuses on renewable power
technologies and technology options in heating, cooling and
transport. The India study is the latest in the series of
country-level REmap analyses, which includes countries such as
China, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia and the United States.
Download the full report here.
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About the International Renewable Energy Agency
(IRENA)
IRENA is mandated to be the global hub for renewable energy
cooperation and information exchange by 150 Members (149 States
and the European Union). 27 additional countries are in the
accession process and actively engaged. IRENA promotes the
widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable
energy, in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access,
energy security and low-carbon economic growth and
prosperity. www.irena.org
