Renewable Energy Sources

Indian renewable energy sector is the fourth most attractive renewable energy market in the world. India was ranked fourth in wind power, fifth in solar power and fourth in renewable power installed capacity, as of 2020.

Installed renewable power generation capacity has gained pace over the past few years, posting a CAGR of 17.33% between FY16–20. With the increased support of the Government and improved economics, the sector has become attractive from investors’ perspective. As India looks to meet its energy demand on its own, which is expected to reach 15,820 TWh by 2040, renewable energy is set to play an important role. The government is aiming to achieve 227 GW of renewable energy capacity (including 114 GW of solar capacity addition and 67 GW of wind power capacity) by 2022, more than its 175 GW target as per the Paris Agreement. The government plans to establish a renewable energy capacity of 523 GW (including 73 GW from Hydro) by 2030.

Market Size

As of July 2021, India had 96.96 GW of renewable energy capacity representing 25.2% of the overall installed power capacity, providing a great opportunity for the expansion of green data centres.

The country is targeting about 450 Gigawatt (GW) of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030 — about 280 GW (over 60%) is expected from solar.

Installed renewable power-generation capacity has increased at a fast pace over the past few years, posting a CAGR of 15.51% between FY16 and FY21. India had 94.4 GW of renewable energy capacity in FY21.

In July 2021, installed capacity of hydro projects in India reached 46.3 GW, while capacity of small hydro plants reached 4.8 GW.

By December 2019, 15,100 megawatts (MW) of wind power projects were issued, of which, projects of 12,162.50 MW capacity have already been awarded. Power generation from renewable energy sources in India reached 127.01 billion units (BU) in FY20.

With a potential capacity of 363 GW and with policies focused on the renewable energy sector, Northern India is expected to become the hub for renewable energy in India.

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. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set an ambitious target to set up renewable energy capacities to the tune of 227 GW by 2022, of which about 114 GW is planned for solar, 67 GW for wind and other for hydro and bio. India’s renewable energy sector is expected to attract investment worth US$ 80 billion in the next four years. About 5,000 Compressed Biogas plants will be set up across India by 2023.

It is expected that by 2040, around 49% of the total electricity will be generated by renewable energy as more efficient batteries will be used to store electricity, which will further cut the solar energy cost by 66% as compared to the current cost. Use of renewables in place of coal will save India’s Rs. 54,000 crore (US$ 8.43 billion) annually. Renewable energy will account for 55% of the total installed power capacity by 2030.

As per the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) estimates, by 2029–30, the share of renewable energy generation would increase from 18% to 44%, while that of thermal power is expected to reduce from 78% to 52%.

According to the year-end review (2020) by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, another 49.59 GW of renewable energy capacity is under installation and an additional 27.41 GW of capacity has been tendered. This puts the total capacity of renewable energy projects (already commissioned or in the pipeline) at 167 GW.

The Government of India wants to develop a ‘green city’ in every state of the country, powered by renewable energy. The ‘green city’ will mainstream environment-friendly power through solar rooftop systems on all its houses, solar parks on the city’s outskirts, and electric mobility-enabled public transport systems.

Want to know more about MIT College of Railway Engineering and Research Barshi, MH.

Apply now @ https://bit.ly/2K2tT00

#MITCORER #MITCORERBarshi #TransformIndia #MIT #BTech #RailwayEngineering #railways