The Next Frontier for Renewable Energy Sector

Janifha Evangeline

The total installed renewable energy generation capacity of the country crossed the 100 GW mark on August 13, 2021. While India stands fourth in terms of installed renewable energy capacity, by 2022, it aims to have 175 GW of renewable energy capacity.

"The total installed renewable energy capacity in India, excluding large hydro, has crossed the milestone of 100 GW. Today, India stands at 4th position in the world in terms of installed RE capacity, 5th in solar, and 4th in wind in terms of installed capacity," an official release said.

Renewable energy is evolving into a more attractive sector to investors since the climate crisis can be fixed by reducing carbon emissions. A recent report states that by 2025, renewables would be replacing coal - the most dominant energy source, as one of the largest sources of electricity generation. This would put an end to the 5-decade reign of coal.

Continuous Technological Advancements and increased Government Investment

The reason for the rise in demand for renewable energy is mainly owing to excessive greenhouse gas emissions that are formed by the extensive use of fossil energy for energy production. Furthermore, the renewable energy industry is not only bolstered owing to the limited supply of fossil fuels but also their unpredictable costs.
Therefore, this is anticipated to act as a growth restraint factor for the renewable energy market.

Also, in the Middle Eastern countries, fossil fuels are majorly utilized to generate electricity since fossil fuels in these countries are not as expensive as found in the other parts of the world.

Other major factors fueling the renewable energy market growth include continuous technological advancements and increased government investment in this sector. Lastly, owing to the government policies on climate change becoming more stringent in developed and developing nations, the scale of the renewable energy market is increasing highly.

Renewable Technology

While Renewable technology possesses the potential to decrease greenhouse gas emissions

to a great extent, Renewable energy can facilitate in reducing the use of fossil fuels - the main source of CO2 emissions.

Significance of improvements in renewable energy sector in India

Some of the most significant types of renewable energy sources are solar and wind power. However, other renewable energy sources that have gained importance include ocean energy, biomass, and geothermal and most corporations are currently focusing on geothermal energy, owing to the numerous advantages it offers.

Earlier, wind & Solar energy were considered expensive sources of power, however, these two forms of energy were in reality much more cost-effective, compared to other conventional forms of energy. Not just that, the solar power plants are also easy to maintain since they do not emit any harmful gases that result in air pollution and if it will be utilized correctly in countries like India, the simplicity of the technology would result in making it ideal to be used in rural regions or difficulty accessed areas that are isolated from the network coverage regions.

Renewable energy can facilitate in bringing electricity in most rural regions of India where the crowd of a particular place would have not enough of electricity supply or would have never used it. Solar panels in the country can not only transform lives for the better but also contribute economic benefits. Owing to its pollution-free nature, and as a virtually inexhaustible supply of energy solar energy is an appealing form of energy resource for most countries around the world.

The total installed Renewable Energy Generation capacity of India crosses 100 GW

"The total installed renewable energy capacity in India, excluding large hydro, has crossed the milestone of 100 GW. Today, India stands at fourth position in the world in terms of installed RE capacity, fifth in solar, and fourth in wind in terms of installed capacity," the Union Ministry of Power said.

This achievement presumes significance since the country has set an ambitious target of broadening the installed RE capacity by 2030 to 450 GW.
"While 100 GW has been installed, 50 GW is under installation and 27 GW is under tendering. India has also enhanced its ambition to install 450 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. If large hydro is included the installed RE capacity increases to 146 GW," the ministry said.

The 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.

According to the IBEF report, India’s renewable energy industry is anticipated to attract investment worth USD 80 billion in the coming years. In addition, by 2023, five thousand compressed biogas plants would also be established across the country.

The Indian government is looking to develop a “green city” in all the Indian states, that will be powered by renewable energy and further, it is anticipated to mainstream eco-friendly power via solar rooftop systems on all its houses, and solar parks on the outskirts of the city, and also using electric mobility enabled public transport system.