Renewable energy is one of the most sought after projects undertaken by India in recent years. With critical policy decisions expected from Budget 2023-24, India is projected to further grow its stature in renewable energy over the next few years.
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With a population of 1.3 billion, India has a massive demand for energy to fuel its rapidly growing economy. Keeping in mind its sustainable development goals, India’s power generation mix is rapidly shifting towards a more significant share of renewable energy.
Today India is the world’s third largest producer of renewable energy, with 40% of its installed electricity capacity emanating from non-fossil fuel sources. The country has set an ambitious target to achieve renewable capacity of 500 GW by 2030, which is the world’s largest expansion plan in this space.
In the past 8.5 years, India’s installed renewable energy capacity has increased 396% and stands at more than 159.95 Giga Watts. The country achieved 166 GW of renewable energy capacity till October 2022 and has achieved its NDC target with total non-fossil based installed energy capacity of 159.95 GW, which is 41.4% of the total installed electricity capacity.
Source: Ministry of Power; *as of September 30, 2022
India aims to reduce total projected carbon emission by 1 billion tonnes by 2030. To reduce the carbon intensity of the nation’s economy by less than 45% by the end of the decade and expand India’s renewable energy installed capacity to 500 GW by 2030, the Indian government has been working on various schemes, some of which are listed below:
India’s vision is to achieve Net Zero Emissions by 2070, and attaining short term targets including:
Even though India is the second largest population in the world, its per capita CO2 emissions are much lower than the global average. The US emits 14.7 tonnes per capita, China emits 7.6 tonnes per capita, while India’s CO2 emissions amount to 1.8 tonnes per capita.
With Budget 2023-24 just around the corner, the industry is expected to get a massive boost in both production and usage in almost every renewable source of energy in India.
In the 2022-23 budget, the Indian government allocated an additional ₹ 19,500 crore for the solar PLI scheme and introduced Sovereign Green Bonds in public sector projects. Additionally, it has planned to co-fire 5-7% biomass pellets in thermal power plants, thereby saving 38 MMT of carbon dioxide annually.
In the 2023-24 budget, the renewable industry expects a number of initiatives, taking into account the importance of renewables in India’s energy security. Some of these are listed below:
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