Paper: GS – III, Subject: Environment, Ecology and Disaster Management, Topic: Renewable energy, Issue: Challenges to India’s energy transition.
Context:
India’s 50% of electricity generation capacity is now from renewable sources which is achieved 5 years ahead of target. The next phase of India’s energy transition will be more challenging, especially in rural and decentralized areas.
Key Highlights:
Key Achievements:
- Target achievement: India met its voluntary Paris Agreement commitments well before 2030.
- Energy boost: Renewable energy growth boosted by
- Rapid solar adoption.
- 90% drop in global solar panel prices.
- Effective domestic policy measures.
Emerging challenges:
- Intermittency issue: States are now rejecting new solar supply even at competitive rates. Reason being mismatch between generation and demand time (solar peaks in day, demand rises in evening).
- Storage Infrastructure Gap: Lack of batteries and pumped hydro means solar power can’t be stored efficiently.
- Transmission Losses: Electricity is transported over long distances, increasing costs and losses.
- Tariff Distortion: Rooftop solar (RTS) users get higher tariff benefits while state utilities buy excess power cheap and sell it high, distorting financial books.
- Growing Residential Consumption needs: Residential power demand is growing 10% annually. Households now account for one-third of India’s power consumption driven by higher air conditioner sales owing to heatwaves and rising temperatures.
- Rooftop Solar (RTS) Bottlenecks: RTS accounts for just 16% of total utility-linked solar capacity which needs to be increased.
- Further challenges:
- Low utility incentives to promote rooftop solar.
- Heavily subsidized electricity for small users reduces RTS appeal.
- Larger users are already part of bulk solar deals.
Measures needed:
- Scale Up Rooftop Solar: Empower rural and urban households with easy access to RTS and encourage decentralized, on-site generation.
- Promote Local Market Intermediaries: Link RTS producers with nearby consumers and facilitate local energy trading and use of storage.
- Fix Tariff Distortions: Recalibrate subsidies and sunset clauses to balance fairness with efficiency.
- Enable Mass-Market Power Trading: Encourage platforms for localised energy exchange which helps integrate excess daytime power and bridge peak-time supply gaps.
Conclusion:
India needs a new roadmap that boosts decentralized solar, resolves storage and tariff issues and encourages inclusive, consumer-driven energy growth.
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